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Volvo Wants You To Ditch Car Keys For Its New Smartphone App (dailydot.com)
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.
... that this will be secured in a fashion consistent with the auto industry's stellar record on vehicle security.
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
Sigs are so 1990s. No way would I be seen dead with one.
Not exactly. It lacks the smug sense of superiority that Tesla owners crave.
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
Don't worry, you can just call Volvo to have them unlock the car so you can charge the phone.
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...