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Autonet Mobile puts a new twist on the car key (video)
Remember Autonet? The company -- which is best known for providing manufacturers like Chrysler with in-car WiFi hotspot solutions -- is launching a new product designed to replace the key fob and enable low-latency remote vehicle control and diagnostics from any smartphone. Of course, this is nothing new -- car makers have been featuring apps to unlock doors, start the engine and monitor vehicles for some time now. Still, most existing solutions rely on satellite or 2G connectivity and often require the car's computer to be fully booted before responding to commands, which makes for a slow and unreliable experience. Autonet's new system combines in-vehicle hardware, mobile software and cloud services to streamline this process for both manufacturers and owners. More after the break. %Gallery-195223%
Autonet Mobile bringing WiFi to Cadillac CTS sports sedan
Autonet Mobile just notched another one in its belt by scoring a deal to hook GM's Cadillac CTS up with integrated WiFi. Starting this April, folks who splurge on one of these sports sedans will be treated to WiFi (a $499 dealer-installed option) in the car, and best of all, it uses a new, smaller router than can be easily transferred to another vehicle that's equipped with an identical dock. The agreement is a first for Caddy and also the first luxury brand that Autonet Mobile has managed to invade. 'Tis a shame that monthly subscription still starts at $29 -- we get the feeling that even the affluent won't much care for that.[Via Gadling]
Chrysler's Web Edition vehicle package: includes WiFi, iPod touch and a Dell Mini 9
Chrysler has been toying with in-car connectivity for months now, so it's really no shock to see the next logical step being taken. At the San Francisco Auto Show this week, the automaker is set to showcase a "Web Edition" package, which would theoretically be available as a dealer-installed option for most Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge vehicles. The bundle would include an Autonet Mobile router (branded as Uconnect Web), a Dell Mini 9, 8GB iPod touch, Sony PSP and an Eye-Fi WiFi SD card; couple that with one year of internet service and you've got everything that makes up the $1,999 asking price. Reportedly, a slimmed down option will go for $1,100 and only include the router, service and Mini 9, though there's no indication of when it'll be hitting new whips. Nor if Chrysler will survive long enough to tell us.
Walt Mossberg reviews Autonet: spotty, but still distracting enough to be dangerous
Chrysler's in-car WiFi, Autonet Mobile, has been around for a little while now, and Walt Mossberg has helpfully reviewed it for us. He found the service (which is basically an in-car 3G WiFi router) to be great for email and basic web surfing, but it was too slow to handle anything much more demanding, like streaming videos. Speed test results ranged from 100 kbps to 500 kbps, with an average of 400-450 kbps... pretty average for 3G speeds, and Walt says the connection never dropped. On the plus side, it appears that Chrysler is willing to mount the ruggedized router in the trunk of any car -- not just their models -- which is great news if, like most people, you have no intention of driving a Chrysler around. The Autonet box runs $499 ($399 for the holidays) with a one-year contract and monthly fees of about $29. That may seem expensive, but can you put a price on your kids checking Facebook rather than asking "Are we there yet" every twelve seconds? Hit the read link for the full review.
Autonet Mobile now serving up music, movies, and games
The press release is pretty low on facts, but Autonet Mobile, the quirky car-centric ISP / EV-DO MNVO, has just announced that it will now allow customers to download music, movies and games to its routers and access them from any WiFi device. Of course, Autonet's EV-DO / WiFi routers don't have any built-in storage that we know of, so it looks like you're pretty much just downloading all this stuff to your laptop -- which isn't exactly press release-worthy, so we're assuming they forget to mention something that would actually make this interesting, like a content partnership or network storage. It's either that or CES PR fever is starting to hit a couple days early, but we'll optimistically read "passengers can access their personalized stored content via the unit's simple user interface" as meaning something substantial -- at least until we see this thing in action next week.
