Who needs a key? IPhone app unlocks and starts car

Baack · Oct 14, 2009

California company Tuesday will announce an iPhone application and car receiver that will enable users to lock, unlock and remotely start their car with the phone rather than the car's key fob.
The Viper SmartStart is the latest example of automotive electronics functions migrating into Apple iPhone and other smartphones, including turn-by-turn directions or locating the closest gas station.
Such ideas are a challenge for automakers and aftermarket suppliers for whom advanced auto electronics have been highly profitable.

The days of these dedicated products we could put in our cars are rapidly coming to an end unless those products evolve into something more integrated," says William Matthies, an auto electronics veteran who now heads market research firm Coyote Insight.

Some automakers are embracing such integration rather than fighting it. Ford's latest version of Sync, an in-car communications system developed with Microsoft, works with a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone to offer turn-by-turn directions. And Ford just announced partnerships with the University of Michigan and the University of Detroit Mercy to encourage students to devise new mobile applications.
"We recognized the trend," Ford spokesman Alan Hall says. "Sync will be able to leverage the power of your mobile device."
Other automakers rolled out new iPhone apps, as well. Some are practical, such as BMW Mini's free app letting owners call a tow truck with the push of a button. The Mini Road Assist was developed by Allstate Roadside Services to let Mini owners summon services such as a battery boost or tire change. Others are just fun, such as an app from Toyota Scion that lets would-be DJs time the precise speed of a song by tapping the phone to the beat.
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http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2009-10-12-iphone-app-unlocks-car_N.htm

kajidono · Oct 14, 2009

50,000 cars stolen by hackers on steroids. Scientists throw toga party.

YETI1 · Oct 14, 2009

now if I just had an APP for making supper, just call the microwave from my Iphone

kajidono · Oct 14, 2009

It's called "wife.exe" but it's very buggy and may kill you.

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