Communications

Automotive industry equipment supplier Aisin showed off a new navigation system to debut in Toyota models with a swipe interface.

The navigation and infotainment head unit, intended as an inexpensive option for entry level Toyota models, uses an SD card to store its maps. During a demonstration, we watched an Aisin representative put the head unit into interactive map mode, then move the map by swiping his finger across the screen. Faster swipes caused the map to move faster. Likewise, he swiped across a zoom bar to magnify the map, as opposed to the current method of tapping an onscreen … Read more

Google is addressing one of the biggest complaints new Gmail users have about the service: it's giving users a way to turn off threaded messages.

The company plans to start letting users toggle between Gmail's threaded "conversation" view--which groups messages with the same subject in the in-box--and an old-school in-box style in which incoming e-mails are displayed in the order they were received. The option will be provided to both regular Gmail users and corporate Google Apps users, the company plans to announce today.

Google's Wiltse Carpenter compared the frustration with threaded Gmail to the … Read more

Editors' note: By late afternoon, Facebook was saying that it had gotten to the bottom of what it called "the worst outage we've had in over four years." Below is our account of how things unfolded during the course of the day.

Facebook struggled to maintain service availability today during the same period of time as a prominent Internet service provider dealt with a major outage.

We're getting countless reports of Facebook problems from users both inside and outside of CNET, with most reporting that the site has been up and down all morning. Facebook acknowledged … Read more

BMW today unveiled the Mini Scooter E, an all-electric concept vehicle that was originally scheduled to make its debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show next week.

The German automaker apparently decided to give a preview of the vehicle during London Fashion Week, employing model Agyness Deyn to make the introduction.

As predicted, the scooter is an all-electric plug-in vehicle with an onboard cable that can be plugged directly into a standard household outlet.

BMW also incorporated some quirky high-tech gadgets into the compact gadabout vehicle.

For starters, the scooter has an enclosed docking station for a smart phone. Instead of using a key, or an electric key fob, owners unlock their Mini Scooter E by securing their smartphone into the docking station on turning it on.

Once the car is on, the smart phone--integrated with BMW software--acts as the scooter's GPS device, music player, and a hands-free phone via embedded Bluetooth. It's an innovative, but not entirely unexpected next step in the evolution of vehicle communications.

However, BMW takes things one step further. BMW's GPS software also alerts drivers to other Mini Scooter E drivers nearby and will even automatically flash the scooter's headlights when met with another Mini Scooter on the road.

There will be three versions of the Mini Scooter E, all incorporating the retro circular instruments and speedometer on BMW's current Mini cars. But BMW takes that nostalgia one step further using actual chrome trim on the scooter body, which is, of course, reminiscent of the original Mini Coopers that came out in the 1959 and were popular throughout the 1960s.… Read more

Our lovable and eccentric British chums at CNET UK have made a lighthearted head-to-head video pitting two of 2010's hottest cell phones--the iPhone 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S.

Actually, maybe "lighthearted" isn't the best description of their test. Completely "off the wall" might be a more apt summary, as they've conducted the entire grudge match while being driven around in a rally car by professional World Championship Rally driver Dani Sordo. Maybe all that tea's finally gone to their heads.

Despite the chaotic setting, the test begins in a fairly structured … Read more

It seems that GM is realizing it needs to play catch-up to Ford's SYNC infotainment system, and has promised to release new features in addition to the beta testing of its OnStar-to-Facebook and voice text messaging capability that it announced this week.

"Within the next nine to 18 months, GM will aggressively introduce a wide variety of in-vehicle infotainment solutions providing smart, intuitive, and safe technologies that will improve the driving experience," says Micky Bly, GM's executive director of electrical architectures and infotainment.

On GM's blog, Bly says that the automaker will integrate online streaming applications … Read more

The 2011 Ford Fiesta is shaping up to be one of the most tech-savvy vehicles in its class. When we reviewed the compact car, we came away impressed with its Sync-based suite of cabin technologies and how well it integrated voice command, navigation, digital audio sources, and integration with iOS devices. So when Ford releases an iPad app for the Fiesta, we expect to see some cool features. Instead, the Ford Fiesta app for iPad released today is little more than a really good-looking digital brochure.

We're not trying to say that promo-ware apps are a bad thing. This … Read more

A select group of OnStar customers will have the opportunity to start beta testing Facebook in their cars today. We attended a demonstration of OnStar's new Facebook app to see how it works.

Participants can add their Facebook log-in to their OnStar account via the Web. Once enabled, you can hear Facebook status updates in the car. During a demonstration, an OnStar representative pushed the blue OnStar button and requested Virtual Advisor, a voice command gateway to OnStar services. After giving the command for Facebook, OnStar read the Facebook newsfeed out loud in the car.

The system, which uses … Read more

A Gartner forecast on Friday showed Android's market share surging past Apple's iPhone operating system by 2014. Who knows if this is an accurate assessment of the future, but one simple example in the present demonstrates that Android has the potential for more market reach than Apple's iOS.

This mini epiphany happened when I was boasting about a great app (BirdsEye Lite) I had just downloaded to my iPhone. One of the people I was talking to, however, was thoroughly unimpressed. The reason: he had just snapped up a Nextel Motorola i1 phone for his business and, … Read more