smartphone apps in cars

It is all happening like I said it would.

A while back I stated to some friends numerous times that car stereo makers, and even car manufacturers themselves would soon be putting mini-PC’s in cars and that stereos would soon become standard with USB ports to upload music and info into the cars.  While the USB part has not caught on like I thought It would, several manufacturers are producing application- friendly cars.  Nissan, GM and ford are creating cars that are smartphone app friendly, giving cars the potential to run apps and communicate with smartphones.  Another brave example of how technology is taking over rapidly.

This started on Oct. 28 when OnStar used an application that allowed users to unlock their cars, check their tire pressures, and even start the vehicle with their phones.  The App runs on the Iphone and the droid and will soon be available to more than 20 new vehicles.  Manufacturers are now working on technologies that will allow cars to run apps, communicate through the phones, and even download music, videos and applications through wireless connections.  Alpine entertainment and other car accessory companies are also looking in to the new possibilities.

A global consultant is predicting a rise to 28 million people globally who use Automotive apps in 2015, a rise from 1.4 million in 2010.  This would provide a vast market for this new technology.  Even more interesting Is that some cars will be equipped with in-dash Pandora, the popular internet radio that has caught on like wildfire.  Another interesting piece of technology will provide provides streaming audio versions of Facebook news feeds, short blogs from Twitter, national news updates, and traffic reports.  This will presumably be available in 2011.

One overlying concern with this new technology is the safety aspect.  Whether or not these new technologies can be used safely while operating a vehicle is still suspect and the fact that if a driver has a wreck while looking at an App, the manufacturer can be held responsible for the accident.  This has hindered some of the production.  However, the practice director at Nissan believes that these apps will one day be the standard option in all cars, and I cannot see how they will not and look forward to the new possibilities.

throw your wallet away

            The next step of electronic commerce has been taken.  Individuals will now be able to use their phone as a digital wallet, eliminating the use for credit cards, cash and checkbooks. 

            AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, along with a total of 220 million U.S. customers have come together to form the ISIS mobile commerce network.  This network will allow users to use their phone as a credit card.  The network uses Near Field Communication technology, NFC, which allows wireless data to be transferred within four inches of the phone and reader.  While NFC technology is not new, as it was founded in 2003, it has been slow to catch on in the USA.  However, this new technology will eliminate the need to carry around credit cards and empower the mobile device even more. 

            The leverage and strength of such major firms signing on with this new technology will give ISIS the leverage and market value it needs for the new technology to catch on. Mike Abbott, the CEO of ISIS stated; "We're painting a vision of the future; we're pulling this together.  It's all about simplifying the consumer's life."  Credit card companies are signing on to this new technology and retailers will even be able to give coupons back to the ISIS users.  The android and Nokia’s new phones will be NFC ready and apple has signed on an NFC expert for the next generation of iphones.  This is clearly a step in the future. 

            One might be concerned with the security implications of such an open method of payment.  However, Abbott states that it is much easier to be protected with one’s private data with a phone than with a credit card.  He states that it is locked in with a password that is encrypted inside of the phone.  It cannot be stolen as easy as a credit card.  One call can shut ISIS down immediately and one call can restore it, making it easier than having to order or cancel credit cards.  This is just one more example of how IT is allowing us to live an easier an streamlined lifestyle.

judgement day

I am a huge fan of the terminator movies, not just because of the great action and effects, but because I knew that it could one day be true.   That one day, robots could become all knowing and take over the planet.

It appears that we are closer than it seems.  Well, the production side of the terminators anyway.

Kiva systems, a company founded in 2003 by Mick Mountz, is producing production line robots that pull products from warehouses and bring them to a specialized workstation called packing stations where humans pack the inventory.  The robots are so smart that the founder claims they are more productive than humans, continuously updating and re-organizing inventory based on order volume and frequency. Mountz claims that the product can up efficiency levels up to four times, allowing some companies costs to be cut enough to offer incentives to customers such as free shipping.

About a dozen retailers, including amazon and their shoe company zappos, is using the technology, and it will soon be available to lease in peak shipping times for certain markets to help cut costs.  Although the packages run from the 4-6 million dollar range, with the cheapest, 1 million, supplying 30 robots and two packing stations, the investment can run on any inventory software, eliminating the need to install a new system.  It appears that the age of robots is finally coming around, I just don’t want a “orange tortoise” robot coming after me one day, that might be too much to handle.

Camera shirt

               Wow, I have always secretly been a spy.

               The company Thinkgeek has created a t-shirt that James Bond would find incredibly useful.  Although to the average eye the shirt looks like an ordinary blue shirt with a graphic image printed on the front, the shirt has a tiny digital camera attached to the front of it.  The camera is connected to a feedback remote that the user can hide in his pocket or his hand and is what is used to snap the photos.  The remote vibrates when the picture is finished.  You can store up to 150 photos on the camera and the photos are downloaded through a USB onto the PC. 

This is simply incredible that a camera can be made small enough to take photos like this.  The photos are 640 by 480 resolution, which is by no means incredible quality but for a camera small enough to be incognito in a t-shirt, this is still pretty good.  The website does state, however, that the camera should not be used in low light situations, being that the photos may not come out at all, so the wannabe spy will be forced to spy in broad daylight. 

While this camera is an interesting novelty, there are some implications as to the invasion of privacy.  Although there are no specific laws that prohibit secretly taking pictures, there are not too many people who will be willing to have people secretly take their photos.  It could also technically be used to take illicit or inappropriate photos of people in places such as bathrooms and dressing rooms.  While there are some negatives to the new camera shirt, it is mostly just a novelty that shows how far technology has come.