OnStar and Chevy show off Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone control apps for Volt
By Tim Stevens 
posted January 6th 2010 2:35AM
posted January 6th 2010 2:35AM
It was announced back in December and now we've gotten a chance to play with it. More importantly, you can play with it too. Chevy and OnStar have officially launched their suite of mobile applications for the Volt, a three-pronged assault on smartphone and automotive bliss set to be available for BlackBerry, Android, and the iPhone set to deploy with the launch of the car itself sometime between the end of 2010 and 2011. Want to see it in action? Click on through to read all about it -- and see it in motion, too.
While we're surely getting a bit tired of the constant delays and inflated promises, the tech behind the Volt is certainly interesting, and the tech in the OnStar application is even moreso. When the car is connected you can monitor the charging status and program it to delay its recharging, giving it a deadline for when you need it to be full and then letting it charge itself when the rates are lowest. Cool, but just the beginning. You can check driving statistics, honk the horn, lock or unlock the car, and even start it up, all from your handset.
Of course, since the car is basically an electric with an on-board generator, the point isn't to warm up the engine early but rather the interior, making things nice and cozy while (hopefully) the car is still on AC power and not depleting its internal batteries. It's great but there is a catch: you'll need to be an OnStar subscriber, a service that once felt like something of a waste but is continually getting more and more appealing. When this app launches for real it's hard to see it as anything but a must-have. Until then you can get a taste yourself, with a demo appearing soon at the Apple App Store, and separate ones downloadable now at OnStarMobileDemo.com for Android and BlackBerry. Naturally it won't actually unlock anyone's doors yet, but nobody needs to know that but you.
I can't wait to take this car on a test drive. Chevy is really coming along now.
@Techie
And this is why I sold my Palm Pre...
@KingCoop
Ahh... I think they will also have support for the Palm Pre though...
NO!
I drive Acuras myself, but I hope the Volt suceeds for GM.
@trek
But you are going to keep your Acura because you need the car to actually start and drive when you need it... unlike GM cars that are like women that break down and dont want to move randomly and frequiently every month
ahahahahha
F-U GM, I still want you to die
Man That will suck the Volts Battery life by half with thePod/Phone/Droid/berry
Now they just have t find someone who actually wants to drive a Chevy...
I am sorry GM but your marketing is terrible, you cannot compete with Ford or any of the other manufacturers.
where's the WebOS love?
http://www.google.com/trends?q=android,+webOS&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0
Hard to say.. you sure you don't see it anywhere? Hmm.
@ethana2 Yeah, it's amazing they're even including Android:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=android%2C+webOS%2C+iphone%2C+blackberry&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0
@state08
I'm amazed they're even including iPhone:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=iphone%2C+sex&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0
what about windows mobile?
It has a successor :D
@rayray1983
Seriously. If anyone is geeky enough to use this, it's WM users.
@sonicyoof I agree this sucks! Show WM users love!!!! :( we need TLC too.
Finally a car company shows some love to something other then the Iphone! a great day for competition.
I would buy one if they had a Palm Pre app.
@ohioviper
You'll spend 30k+ on a bumb ass Chevy just because it supports your $200 phone?
By no you should see where I'm going with this...... :-o
Wow, I'm messing around with it on my droid right; it's pretty cool actually. If you guys want to try the demo go over too onstarmobiledemo.com and download it.
Right now it looks like it only works on the droid, iphone and storm.
How about GM focuses on actually making the car and staying out of bankruptcy? I seem to remember GM having an electric car a few decades ago that people loved... Why does the production of this one take so long. I know it isn't going to be worth the wait.
@gittenlucky GM is pretty much banking on this car as the future of the company. Production is gonna take longer to make sure they get it right. It's all new technology, what did you expect. These aren't computer parts that you can throw out and expect a firmware update to fix you know? Besides, it's my understanding that the car is ready for production, now GM just has to get the people interested in it. If it's supposed to be this advanced tech vehicle, it should have things in it that prove it. All the gadgets and stuff are what help set it apart as from something like a Prius, which is what the general public will see this as in more than just a some fancy hybrid.
Ha, ha. It's pretty funny that we are so attached to our phones that we are having cars marketed to us as accessories. It wasn't long ago that it was the other way around.
Oh my God there is a kid running in front of my car, quick, find my phone so I can honk the horn!