Chevy to use smartphone with Volt
Detroit Free Press
By JEWEL GOPWANI
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
iPhone as a keyfob?
LAS VEGAS — The key fob of the future may be a Blackberry or an iPhone.
As GM prepares to launch the Chevrolet Volt electric car, the automaker has developed technology that will let a driver use a smartphone to start charging the car, lock the doors and fire up the air conditioning — even miles away from the vehicle.
GM unveiled the plan today in Las Vegas, ahead of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, which runs Thursday through Sunday.
The world’s largest electronics show, CES is becoming increasingly important to automakers as they try to make their cars work easily with the sophisticated mobile phones and mp3 players that are so popular among consumers.
As people become increasingly dependent on their mobile phones for e-mail, Internet, music, movie listings and more, automakers are under pressure to make many of those functions easy to access in the vehicle, even while driving.
While Ford Motor and a few other automakers already offer a sophisticated suite of in-car technology to do some of those things, others have been left playing catch-up or must evolve older technologies to a future more dependent on mobile devices.
Hundreds of automotive and tech firms are slated to show in-car technology during the show this week.
The Volt’s mobile features, powered by OnStar, are just the beginning of a new suite of technological offerings that could be coming to future GM vehicle, said Thilo Koslowski, head of the automotive practice at technology research firm Gartner.
“The car is the ultimate mobile device,” Koslowski said.
OnStar’s new mobile features for the Volt will first be available on the Droid, iPhone and Blackberry Storm smartphones. Eventually, phones could be widely used as a key fob across more GM vehicles.
“The Chevrolet Volt ushers in a new era of automotive technology,” said OnStar president Walt Dorfstatter.
Here’s are many of the things a Volt owner will be able to do with a smartphone:
•Check how much charge is left on the car.
• Schedule a charge, or start charging the vehicle, as long as it’s plugged in.
• Check how much battery life is left on the car.
• Receive texts or e-mails from the car when the charge is complete, has been interrupted or reminders to charge the car.
• Find out the miles available on the battery, the gas-powered generator, and updates drivers on how many miles have been driving using each power source.
• Lock or unlock the doors.
• Start the heat or the air conditioning prior to entering the car.
“Ultimately all of that will make it easier for consumers to feel good about purchasing an electric vehicle and operating it,” said Koslowski, head of the automotive practice at research firm Gartner.
