Chevy Volt to get iPhone, BlackBerry apps
By Donald Melanson 
posted December 10th 2009 6:58PM
posted December 10th 2009 6:58PM
They may not let you actually drive the car James Bond-style, but it looks like there will be some apps for the iPhone and BlackBerry launching alongside the Chevy Volt, with apps for other devices apparently also a possibility. That word comes from Chevrolet's soon-to-be-retiring VP Brent Dewar, who unfortunately had little to say about the apps themselves, but did briefly flash the above slide during a presentation at the LA Auto Show last week. The apps will apparently let you control when the car charges, however, and even include integrated real-time features from OnStar, which should include things like electricity rates from utility companies by the time the Volt rolls out.
[Thanks, Dave]
[Thanks, Dave]
That charging emblem... sorry... but that has a very striking resemblance to the iPhone/iPod touch charging logo...
@Mushrooshi
I don't get why legions of morons compare everything to the iPhone/iPod Touch. Does it not make sense to put an animated battery graphic to represent the charging status of a device? So if Apple was first, it is assumed that any device that comes out after it is a carbon copy of it?
Seriously, WOW.
I would have gone with an iPhone for the ad, or at least ANY OTHER blackberry than the first Storm.
Something tells me that this is only for Touchscreen BB devices.
@NeoJew Bb STORM is one of the crappiest phones I have ever had, if it wasnt for crackberry.com I would had gone to iPoop
The Volt is like the Duke Nukem Forever of the car world. I swear the god damn thing's been in development for ages.
@HurricaneDC
So's Linux.. -_-
You can actually use Linux right now. You can't play Duke Nukem Forever or buy a Chevy Volt
@Dafrety
Chuck Norris can play Duke Nukem Forever and buy a Chevy Volt.
@HurricaneDC
cars take a long time to develop, car companies just don't usually hype their products from concept to production. thats why it seems so long
Where's the Android love? ....not that I'm going to be dropping 40k this car.
@djt
I MIGHT get one if they add support for the Droid, otherwise, what's the point?
I agree with adding Android, and would go farther by saying supporting all major smartphone OSes.
@NeoJew
As I am thinking about it I guess it depends on how versatile the app is. My first knee jerk reaction was that any application support would be really pointless.
Then I started thinking. You could change performance setting for your car. Create charts on your battery charges for efficiency. Schedule an appointment with a dealer for service. Now I am thinking every damn car needs to have an app for that. :)
@djt
You forget the type of people that buy these types of cars. It'll be the same people who buy a Prius. The tree huggers/organic nerds who think they are better than everyone and for sure they'd have an iPhone or Blackberry so it makes sense. When you think of those smug people driving these "green" cars, you think of iPhone but many have Blackberry's as well cus of where they work.
@ZeRoCo0L
I'm not so sure that will be the case. I'm not sold on the whole humans-are-causing-global-warming stuff, but I do try to conserve energy at home.. if anything because it saves me money.
I'm excited about this car for 2 reasons:
1) The ability to drive to work and back without ever needing to stop to get gas is awesome (especially in winter). Just charge it at home and that's it.
2) Like I said before, I don't care about the auto emissions, but I do think the US needs to get off foreign dependence, and although one car is a tiny tiny dent in oil importation, it's a start.
@bstock
And who/what's powering the exponential increase in electricity usage & manufacturing production if this goes mainstream? Oil.
@Almo
Oil made up
I have a new name for it: Fadmobile
I can see this app getting hacked within days... can we say iJacked (your car by opening my hacked app)
@basroil iSifoned your charge, what?!?!
Umm, err, charging, why does it have to activated, remotely or not? Am I hallucinating or is there a cable behind the car? Does it plug-in remotely too? Oh, how nice of the engineers :-)
It might just be one way of changing the settings of the charging timer. Having a timer set up so that it starts charging during off-peak hours would be very helpful.
@(Unverified) maybe it charges from your Blackberry by induction? that'd get you a good 50cm or so :)
So, if I buy a $40k electric car they'll give me a free iPhone app? Um... thanks?
Can it send me a message if someone unplugs my car? And also include the charge level when they did it. So then I can decide if I want to run back out there and kick some butt/plug it back in.
@spin cycle Better yet, put a camera in the side of the car and if it is unplugged, take a picture so I can see the person and email that to me.
@spin cycle
Plug should have a thumbprint sensor which links to a database of names and phone numbers. When some foo' unplugs yo car, your phone automatically calls them ceaselessly until they pick up. Also, the house phone. If those fail, it calls the car itself, which plays your voice over loudspeakers.
Satisfied?
These phones will be outdated and useless by the time this stupid car is ever released to the public
LOL come on Chevy. How long has it been and you still aint relelased this dam car. You do realise that other companys have had cars like this out for years. Whats so special?
@(Unverified)
No they haven't? Certainly no midsize sedan that plugs into a wall.
@(Unverified) GM thinks everyone is waiting with baited breath for THIS car to arrive. The reality is that few people care.
Besides, not everyone can even buy an electric car. Not everyone lives in the suburbs, and since this car does best in the city due to its short range, rots o' ruck. People who can't buy this car: people who live in apartments without garages; people who live in brownstones or row homes, etc...
GM cars are shit.
Here is how they developed the VOLT.
CEO's
1- meeting one: Lets all go to LAS VEGAS and eat in a 5 star restarunt and order $10,000 bottle of wine to discuss out latest POS car.
----------------------5 YEARS LATER-----------------------
ooze under NY cal the Ghostbusters
--------------------------------------------------------------------
2- Shit we wasted money, how much we got left for out bonus this year?
3- OK lets go to Toys-R-Us and get one of those remote controlled cars then just make it BIGGER! same shit.
4- Let beg OBAMA for some time on the loan, he cool wit it!
2011
Ok Ok no more F_in around we need to get this thing on the road.
Call up Duracell, they got some good batteries!, how much do they want for 10,000 AA's HEY !
make sure they are the White tops, those are rebranded Eneloops.
Ok OK, release the thing even though its unfinished and Honda has a car that runs on water...
USA #1
That's pretty damn cool
No apps for WinMo and Android? :(
why do i have this feeling the chevy volt is only hype and will end up a miserable failure.
@raghavny80 Because GM made it ... and because you're right.
iPhone owners won't buy Volts. They have too much taste.
I wonder if they are going to make just an Onstar app for other cars. I would love to have one for remote start. Is that too much to ask?