Mazda is launching its own version of G-Book Alpha telematics service at the Tokyo motor show. It's the second manufacturer to employ the Toyota-developed system (guess who the first is), which provides a number of data-centric driver-assistance functions, including safety and security services, like those GM offers with OnStar, as well as "driving intelligence" (navigation and traffic avoidance) and entertainment features like downloadable music and (good lord) karaoke. If you don't intend to tool around Tokyo anytime soon, you probably won't see the system — which uses Japan's newest third-generation CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network to enables a transfer rate of 2.4 Mbps — in action, though similar systems are likely in the works for the US, possibly by 2007.
Related:
Toyota to Offer Upgraded Satellite-Based Communications, Like On-Star [internal]