Google Android Interface For the Chevy Volt 132
jerryjamesstone writes "Earlier this month, General Motors hinted at a partnership with a major tech company to fully overhaul its telematics system, OnStar. While OnStar CEO Chris Preuss was tight-lipped about who that partner was, Motor Trend recently reported that it's Google. If the rumor's true, GM will make the Chevy Volt the first Android-based vehicle to hit the road. The Motor Trend article suggests 'Google would sell its Android operating system for in-car use,' while the Wall Street Journal has a slightly different take: 'The pairing would likely involve a way for users of Android-based smartphones to use OnStar features from their phone while not in their car. ... For instance, a person could find out information about their vehicle's maintenance needs through the Android phone. In the case of the Volt, GM's coming electric car, an owner may be able to keep track of the car's battery charge without being in the car.'"
Re:Beta (Score:3, Insightful)
The CPU which actually runs the car won't be running android... Most likely it will be some RTOS.
Re:Erm, is this really usefull? (Score:3, Insightful)
Wow, those 'features' all sound very useless..., or that there is a use to track your car's battery charge when you're not in it.
Imagine this, you're at work on a Friday, it's 2pm and you want to know if you've got enough juice in your car to get home or if you should wait till three to start that early weekend.
Re:Erm, is this really usefull? (Score:4, Insightful)
Imagine this, you're at work on a Friday, it's 2pm and you want to know if you've got enough juice in your car to get home or if you should wait till three to start that early weekend.
The Volt can 'charge' at any gas pump, so it's pretty much irrelevant.
Am I the only one who doesn't want people having remote access to my car?
seem pretty lame to me (Score:5, Insightful)
Great, now Google knows (Score:2, Insightful)
OnStar - No thank you. (Score:5, Insightful)
When I look at all of OnStar's "Features", it's just about the worst option you can have on a car. I would never own a car that had a remote disabling system built in. OnStar is not unhackable. Once it's hacked, you just became an easy carjacking victim, they can follow you without needing to see you and stop you whenever they want.
If you're in a car crash and the airbags deploy in a remote area, the car sends a signal to OnStar, and they can send help. Unless you didn't pay your $19.95/month, then they ignore the signal that they recieved and you can die, for all they care. Sell all the other OnStar services, charge whatever a month for then, shut them off when no payment is recieved, that's fine. The crash notification system should never be shut off. Yes, I know there's an expense involved, but it's not that expensive to pass on the information since the entire system is in place, it's just hiring a few more employees to deal with the slight increase in volume of OnStar calls. You could even automate it to send emails to whichever local jurisdiction is closest to the accident. Doing nothing should be criminal, in my opinion.
Their advertisements are horrible, especially the one with a woman imitating a child's voice who's Mom's heart medicine's not working. Scaremongering assholes.
Re:Erm, is this really usefull? (Score:3, Insightful)
More freedom, more power, more control, are all good things. Don't like a feature?
Don't use it. Have a better idea?
Well, now you can develop your idea on:
Phones, tablets, set-top boxes, and cars.
I agree, I struggle to think of a good use for such things, but who knows - all you have to do is use it ONCE, and it was worth it. I've been in tight jams before, and said to myself "There must be a solution out there!", and there it was, in handy app form.
Re:Erm, is this really usefull? (Score:1, Insightful)
I'm not afraid of new things just because they may or may not be vulnerable to some ethereal idea of vulnerability.
You know, the INTERNET allows people to have remote access too.
I am willing to let someone try and impress me on the idea of having an intelligent, useful OS in my car. I wonder if I could program anything useful?
It is the ability to ask that question that matters.
Re:seem pretty lame to me (Score:1, Insightful)
The fact of the matter is they could have some really cool stuff in cars but they chose not to because they want to sell you crap. Every car should have a USB port in the dash.
Most GM cars now do - actually mine is in the center console. Chrysler's also have them.
I should be able to get all my cars info on a laptop
What info? OnStar emails your cars status every month. Are you looking for live data? You just need to buy a ODBII interface. The USB interface is to the audio system, not the ECM. You want manufactures to allow anybody to plug into the ECM? Come on - Remember this is America, Land of the Free and home of the Lawyer.
or upload songs to the audio system.
I can on my GM car, 10GB of storage. While not huge, it beats having an MPS player plugged in all the time and being in the way. My sister-in-laws Chrysler minivan also has onboard storage. Why cant you on the car you drive? Maybe you should consider buying an American car instead of complaining they dont give you the options you want.
GM sees it as a way to milk more money from you rather than an included feature that simply makes the car more desirable. Imagine if they charged a monthly fee for using the heated seats. It's just that stupid.
Heated seats do not cost them anything after you own them. Onstar however, uses cellular networks to deliver phone services, and traffic updates. GM purchases this airtime from it providers and charges you for it. If you dont want it, then dont pay for it. Maybe you can ask ATT for free airtime on your iPhone, and Apple for free iPhone Apps. Good luck.