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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.'"
That's exactly what I want, beta software on my car while I'm driving at 100mph! I will make sure to submit bug reports!
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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!
This author takes full ownership and responsibility for the unpopular opinions outlined above.
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.
"Educate the mind but never at the expense of the soul."~Blessed Basil Moreau
Note that the photos accompanying the article show the Chevrolet Volt OnStar Mobile app, which has nothing to do with this rumored GM/Google deal. (There is an Android version of the app, as well as iPhone and Blackberry).
Airplane Photos, Airline News, Planespotting Guides
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?
Take it from us. This could end badly...
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. I should be able to get all my cars info on a laptop or upload songs to the audio system. Or even plug in a cellular modem or wifi card. All of this would be cheap and easy for any automaker to implement and the fact that it doesn't exist just shows how they continue to be out of touch with what their consumers want. Onstar is what's stopping real automotive computing systems from coming forward because 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.
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.
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.
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.
where your Chevy is.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
Your car - Android - Google - maps - street view - "accidental" data harvesting...
I'll take two!
Sorry, only one per customer
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
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.
This sentence no verb.
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.
Guns don't kill people, "with glowing hearts" kills people.
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.