Calling all Cars: Toyota Develops Cell Phone for Japan

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Word came down from Tokyo today that Toyota's developing a cell phone with Japan's #2 wireless carrier, KDDI Corp (in which Big T owns an 11 percent stake). It's not just any throwaway burner, mind you; the handsets — dubbed "TiMO" — which are based on an existing KDDI phone made by Toshiba, will tie in via Bluetooth to navigation and other systems already installed in the company's cars. The service will include downloads of music, games and various manner of digital media, as well as an emergency telematics dealie that may or may not involve a team of unicorns that cascade down a sparkly rainbow to provide 24-hour road service. The phones will go on sale this October in Japan at the company's automotive outlets.

[Reuters via Autoblog]

Related:
Toyota to Offer Upgraded Satellite-Based Communications, Like On-Star [internal]

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