Google Android Interface For the Chevy Volt

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.'"

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Best use-case?

[onefriedrice]

For instance, a person could find out information about their vehicle's maintenance needs through the Android phone.

Is that really the best use-case you can come up with? The only time I care about my car's maintenance needs are when I'm actually driving it. The 'check engine' light is annoying enough, I certainly don't want it to push notifications to my phone!

Re:Best use-case?

[Totenglocke]

The only time I care about my car's maintenance needs are when I'm actually driving it.

And I think that's a big part of why Americans aren't too on top of keeping their car maintained and only have anything done after something breaks. Despite being a car enthusiast, I know I don't do a good job of keeping track of preventative maintenance beyond oil changes. If you could have an app on your phone that could say "Hey, you've driven X thousand miles since these tires were installed and they're only good for X+5,000 miles, so you should get new tires soon" or "Hey, you're coming up on 75,000 miles, you should take it in and get the belts and hoses checked so that they don't break / spring a leak on you while you're driving". No one would be forcing you to use the app, but I could definitely see a lot of people who would get a lot of usefulness out of such a thing.

Re:Best use-case?

[BlueBoxSW.com]

It could have an OBD reader, too, so instead of "Check Engine" it could say "Faulty Oxygen Sensor, service soon".

1 lost sale

[Mr Stubby]

I was quite interested in the car as initial impressions and details looked rather positive, It's enough I have Google tracking my every move online, but the line needs to be drawn somewhere.

Re:Erm, is this really usefull?

[schon]

Wow, those 'features' all sound very useless. What use does it have to check all those stuff when you're not in your car?

Exactly - when I'm scheduling maintenance for my car, I have to be sitting inside it! I don't do it from my office, where I can see my own calendar to know when I have time to take it in or anything.

Fleet managers!

[webweave]

This would be great for people who have to manage a large number of vehicles. Not only do you know where all of your fleet is at any one time but you know who and how the miles are being put on them. Could save millions.

Hmmm, let's see

[fustakrakich]

Your car - Android - Google - maps - street view - "accidental" data harvesting...

I'll take two!

Sorry, only one per customer

Not as lame as u think

[stabiesoft]

The last thing I want to do while I'm driving down the highway lost is to flip open my laptop and try to get directions. And yes, I have done exactly that with onstar, gotten directions and was on my way in about 60 seconds. The not lame thing about onstar is you connect to a real person that speaks real english and can answer real questions. Sync & google are going to be voice recognition. Which is great. "I'm sorry I don't understand your question, please try again" Onstar is expensive for 2 reasons. 1, real operators. 2. cellphone connection. Try calling 411 and see what they charge for a number. You can call onstar all month every day and get directions. Same price. I'm sure they negotiated a volume discount, but still, to connect to their operator, it is a cellphone connection. Last time I checked, a base cellphone plan with few minutes is about the same price as onstar. The weird thing is I used to think why the hell do I want onstar, I'll never use it. After having them save my butt a couple of times, now I've come to the reverse position, why would I get a built in Nav system, I'll get onstar instead. My nav system just doesn't do well with "I'm looking for that restaurant near I-40 and stevenson..." Until VR gets some AI that works, I'll stick with people. And finally, what does uploading songs have to do with onstar. My car has a USB port and can play music thru the port from mp3 or ipod. There are quite a few pretty cheap OBD-II interface products to let you snoop your car's data. See http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=10/05/15/2210212 for details. The article was today. You might as well have asked why don't computers have OBD ports? After all OBD predates USB.

Re:Beta

[PopeRatzo]

Compared to solutions that cost actual money like real gps units, google navigate still has a long way to go.

The article says the Volt's travel data interface will be running Android. It doesn't say it's going to run Google Apps.

The way I understand it, Android is the OS (or more precisely, the software stack). I'm betting there will be special apps written by a contractor for Chevrolet that will actually do the GPS-ing.

Do I have that right?