The smartphone market is fierce, and automotive applications have not been spared
The smartphone application or 'application' market has long become the core of the global technology industry. A large number of equipment manufacturers, wireless service providers and software developers are struggling to share this fast-growing market.
Now, the war is gradually spreading to the automotive market. At the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in September 2009, BMW, Nokia and Parrot SA each demonstrated different ways to implement smartphone applications in cars.
"The global automotive industry is entering a new era. OEMs, suppliers and software developers are all studying various innovative and unique methods to add smartphone applications to automobiles." Kevin, Automotive Electronics Analyst, iSuppli Hamlin said.
Hamlin went on to point out that for software developers, this will open up a whole new field where they can sell applications. For car manufacturers, these applications provide new ways to deliver infotainment systems and provide in-vehicle information system services.
For the driver, the application allows them to fully enjoy the benefits of the infotainment system, and only pays for the desired application-this allows them to save money. As the importance of such applications in the automotive market increases, companies in this industry are also trying to promote ways to make them profitable. Although most of the solutions presented in this year's IAA are just concepts, these concepts will undoubtedly come out soon.
Car industry practices
BMW launched the latest ConnectedDrive in the IAA: BMW App Concept Store. This concept store provides a variety of different applications that users can download to their iDrive through a car or home computer, and then transfer these applications to the car. The current concept store application includes a variety of multimedia travel guides, from Merian, Geowiki, various games, Internet radio stations, podcasts, Facebook, XING and Twitter. The BMW App Concept Store also allows users to transfer data to navigation systems and mobile phones.
In addition, the application can also receive car-related information, for example, when using the social networking tool XING, you can obtain car location information. In the future, BMW hopes to provide users with more new applications.
Mobile phone company solutions
Leading mobile phone manufacturer Nokia recently acquired map supplier Navteq and launched its automotive application concept at IAA. Nokia ’s approach is to integrate more mobile devices with vehicles, rather than launch applications. But it is not just a simple iPod connection or Bluetooth connection. On the contrary, Nokia has introduced a cable that can transfer the complete smartphone or other device functions to the car.
The Nokia Research Center showed a cable under development that can connect a cell phone to a car audio unit (headunit). It is said that this connection can display all the mobile phone functions on the car headunit, and allows users to control through voice, touch screen or any human-machine interface. Users can use their familiar interface-exactly the same as their mobile phone interface. In addition, because the headunit is usually connected to the car's control area network (CAN) bus, Nokia also intends to allow mobile devices to communicate with the car some car information, such as display fuel level or map-based advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) alarm Wait. Although Nokia showed the cable, it is reported that the system under development will operate via Bluetooth.
The show also used MagneTI Marelli headunit, but Nokia said it can also be used for any headunit and any mobile device.
Supplier's plan
Wireless equipment supplier Parrot introduced a new Android-Java-based headunit at IAA. The company's FC6100 module allows the car to perform all smartphone functions. According to reports, its headunit itself includes hands-free Bluetooth, which can support A2DP audio streaming, non-specific person voice recognition, multimedia connection, intelligent tracking browsing and playback management, 3G + web browsing, and 3.0 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
All of these features are quite attractive, but the most intriguing point is the Android / Java-based operating system (OS). The Android / Java operating system provides OEMs with an easy-to-customize user interface and extensive open source community development resources. In fact, applications developed for smartphones using Android can also be used for this module. Developers do not have to develop separately for cars. This means that hundreds of applications are already available for the module.
The app site battle begins
The various application solutions presented at IAA have brought some innovative thinking to automotive OEMs.
For car manufacturers who are eager to control content and do not want to worry about having to install new hardware, BMW's solution is the most appropriate. If OEM manufacturers want to provide customers with more connected and more flexible hardware solutions, then Parrot is the most suitable. If you want to provide OEM with the least design changes and the most economical solution, then Nokia's connection method may provide the answer.
Regardless of the method chosen by car manufacturers, mobile apps will be easier to obtain in future cars.
Although the IAA has only demonstrated the concept of how to achieve these goals, it is only a matter of time before these solutions are realized.
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