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Volvo Wants You To Ditch Car Keys For Its New Smartphone App (dailydot.com)

Posted by msmash on from the but-is-it-more-secure? dept.

An anonymous reader quotes an article on DailyDot: Lending your car to a friend could be as easy as sending a text. That's the future Volvo is imaging with its smartphone app that enables keyless entry for the driver -- and anyone with permission to enter. Announced earlier this year and now prominently on display at the New York International Auto Show, the app does away with key fobs and puts the key right on the user's phone. Using the device's Bluetooth capability, the app can do just about everything that a standard key could do -- from unlocking the doors to popping open the trunk to even starting the engine of the vehicle without turning the ignition. Beyond just convenience for the primary holder, the Volvo app also allows others to take the wheel without requiring a physical key. Users are able to grant digital keys to others, allowing them temporary or ongoing access to the car.

13 of 293 comments (clear)

  1. It is inevitable by the_other_one · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Someone will forget to charge their phone when parked in the desert.

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    134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
    1. Re:It is inevitable by Nkwe · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If the battery is too dead to unlock the car it's probably not going to start.

      Yes, but it would be nice to be able to get into the car so you can open the hood so you can attach jumper cables...

    2. Re:It is inevitable by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Hell, I hope this is optional.

      A regular old analog key works JUST fine for me...

      Heck at this point, I'm trying to make sure I can DISable many of the new car "innovations" before I get a new one, especially if something like OnStar or UConnect which are no longer options, but are imposed upon you.

      I just want a car that works, looks nice and goes fast...I don't need the tracking, surveillance or other multiple points of failure, like a missing, out of power, or stoled cell phone required to make my automobile function.

      I rarely ever let others drive my car to begin with....

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    3. Re:It is inevitable by Wycliffe · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You realize that all these doom and gloom scenarios you're forecasting have literally always been the problem with cars?

      The big difference is the frequency of occurrence? How many times have you lost your keys and weren't able to find them? I've NEVER permanently lost my the keys to my car. I might misplace them and I've even left them in a store or restaurant a handful of time but I've always been able to find them. I've also never lost a cellphone. On the other hand, I've broken my cellphone multiple times and my cell phone battery has gone dead on me more times than I can count. Whether it is not being near a charger, using it too much, or forgetting to charge it at night. This isn't a super big deal under normal circumstances but becomes a much bigger deal if you need a working cellphone to start your car. How do you even drive to the nearest cell phone store to buy a replacement phone?

  2. I'm sure... by caladine · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... that this will be secured in a fashion consistent with the auto industry's stellar record on vehicle security.

  3. How is this more convenient? by Geeky · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not sure how this is more convenient for the main user... compare "get keys out of pocket, click button, put keys in ignition" to "get phone out of pocket, unlock phone, open app, press button on app"... OK, it's one less thing to carry, but then you'd probably end up carrying the keys anyway as backup in case your phone died or the app crashed.

    I've been experimenting with home automation. While having lights come on automatically via various rules is nice, it's a pain to go into the app to turn them on and off manually when you need to - easier to get up, walk across the room and flick a switch. This feels similar - a solution in search of a problem

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    Sigs are so 1990s. No way would I be seen dead with one.
    1. Re:How is this more convenient? by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm not giving the Valet my smartphone.

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      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    2. Re:How is this more convenient? by twotacocombo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm not sure how this is more convenient for the main user... compare "get keys out of pocket, click button, put keys in ignition"

      Not even that. I have keyless entry/start on my car. My key fob always stays in my pocket, I just push a button on the handle to open, and another on the dash to start. The battery runs out maybe once every 2 years. I've never once wished it could be "easier" by bringing a phone into the mix.

    3. Re:How is this more convenient? by Moof123 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Precisely. Just because there's an App for that, doesn't mean that it is easier, or better. Just make the key fob small and inexpensive to replace (and give me more than 2 when I buy the car!). I want less electronics in my future cars. The engine and frame vastly outlive infotainment system and other connected crap they are shoveling into these cars.

      Please get rid of:
      XM radio that I have to cycle through 3 selections of to get back to FM.
      Climate settings that are only displayed on the LCD, and often not displayed unless I am in the right mode.
      2G, 3G, or 4G anything. I want to drive. I can login when I get there.
      Anything with sub-menus. I'm trying to drive, KISS.
      Ability to order a pizza. Recently saw this touted as a feature, WTF?

    4. Re:How is this more convenient? by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You forgot: Touchscreens in automobiles in general. Why doesn't the department of transportation ban control devices that by definition you have to look away from the road in front of you to use? With mechanical buttons, you could usually tell which button you were pressing by sense of touch without looking. With a touchscreen, you almost always have to look. They do have touchscreens now that can provide braille-like 3D markings on the screen, but I haven't seen any car company adopt those touchscreens yet, probably due to the high price.

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      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  4. I don't have a phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...you insensitive clod.

    No, seriously. I don't have a phone. If I did have a phone, I wouldn't carry it everywhere. This is the opposite of useful.

  5. You still need to get in.. by thesupraman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sigh..

    It is if you need to get in to the car to pop the hood (or trunk depending on model) to charge the battery!!

    Or are you just planning to walk away and buy a new car?

  6. NO. by kuzb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seriously, why does every damn thing now need to be controlled by a cellphone? It makes zero sense to network the security of your car.

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    BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.