With Destination Download, you don't have to use the navigation system's destination entry.
(Credit: GM)GM announced two new services for OnStar this week, one that involves a partnership with MapQuest, and one for people who can't program a DVR. With the MapQuest partnership, called OnStar eNav, users will be able to find destinations on the MapQuest Web site, then push a button to have the destination sent to their cars. This service should come in handy for people planning vacations or needing complex routes, and signals OnStar's foray into the Web-enabled world. To use eNav, you will need a vehicle equipped with OnStar turn-by-turn navigation. The second service, OnStar Destination Download, requires you to have a vehicle with an LCD screen-based navigation system. Using this service, you can call an OnStar operator while you are on the road and request a destination. A button will appear on your navigation screen letting you download the destination, and you are good to go. There is definitely a convenience factor here, but we've never had much trouble programming in a destination using the navigation system's interface.
For our $64 million question, when will OnStar seriously get into the data business? Talking to operators is all fine and good, but given that OnStar provides wireless data connections into millions of cars, why aren't we seeing local search services through an on-screen interface? Why isn't OnStar providing traffic, weather, and gas price data? XM and Sirius are already busy eating that lunch.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Earlier this week, we told you how Mercedes-Benz had followed in the footsteps of its estranged partner, the Chrysler Group, by announcing a partnership with Hughes Telematics for all future models. At the time, Hughes confirmed that its service is scheduled to replace Mercedes' current Tele Aid system in late 2009 but declined to give any specifics on any of the features it would include. Well, thanks to the industrious gearheads over at Edmunds, we now have a clearer idea.
According to their report, the new telematics service will include all the emergency and roadside assistance features associated with GM's OnStar service plus some advanced entertainment, connectivity, and diagnostic services. In what sounds like a similar arrangement to Ford's new Sync system, the Hughes service will include "voice control of iPods and cell phones" according to Edmunds. It will also provide drivers with the ability to remotely download software and update navigation information, search the internet, and even comes with an optional tracking system for informing parents of their teen driver's activities. The system looks like the next stage in Mercedes' effort to upgrade cabin tech in its models, following its recent update to the COMAND system.
Source: Edmunds
Thanks for the tip, kyler!
Coming to a Benz near you
(Credit: CNET Networks)Mercedes-Benz today followed in the footsteps of its estranged partner, the Chrysler Group, by announcing a partnership with Hughes Telematics for all future models. Starting late 2009, Mercedes will replace its existing cellular- and satellite-based Tele Aid service, which provides drivers with emergency aid, roadside assistance, and information, with an upgraded service supplied by Hughes. Details on what the new service will include are still sketchy (apparently we will know more at next month's Consumer Electronics Show), but today's announcement made an interesting reference to the availability of "infotainment" features, which suggests that it will go beyond roadside assistance and emergency calls.
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