The USPTO published a number of Apple patent applications Tuesday, including two related to automobiles (via AppleInsider). The car patents both describe systems that can be built into future iPhones, replacing most of the functionality of your standard key fob with the smartphone, and providing a way to help drivers navigate the often maze-like interiors of parking garages to find their ride. → Read More
BlackBerry has been hit hard by Apple and Android in the enterprise smartphone market, and now it’s making some moves to make sure that it doesn’t face the same fate in the automotive segment. QNX, BlackBerry’s operating system subsidiary that makes the new BB10 operating system, today announced that it would be adding music streaming service 7digital into its in-car entertainment and information… → Read More
My recently-purchased car has Bluetooth built-in to let me use my phone hands-free from the steering wheel, as do most cars coming off the line new these days. The one issue is that there’s no way to activate Siri using the car’s default controls, which is another unfortunately common thing for modern cars and aftermarket Bluetooth stereo kits. But Plano, Texas-based Beanco Technology offers a… → Read More
I’m shopping for a car right now. Just something that can handle a little city driving and frequent trips to the cottage in the warmer months, with the ability to haul a decent amount of cargo. I’m weighing factors like size, fuel economy, engine power, cargo space and FWD vs. AWD, but for my purposes most of those points are relatively moot; I really just need something to get me from A to B. But… → Read More
Generally speaking, I don’t care much about cars, but Audi Canada, together with Toronto-based ad agency Zulu Alpha Kilo and Slot Mods USA have managed to use cars in a way that piqued my interest by building an iPad-controlled test track. The best part? Players get a driver-perspective point of view of the RC cars in action in real time. → Read More
This year’s CES may have been about startups more than ever before, but over the last few years, the car industry has also increased its presence at the show. In previous years, we heard a lot about the connected car, but until now, those cars remained virtually closed for developers. In one fell swoop, that changed this year, as Ford and GM announced concrete programs with SDKs and APIs that are… → Read More
Carvoyant, a startup that’s been busy developing a platform that will tell you exactly what’s going on with your vehicle’s general health (and what that blasted “check engine” light means), is today ready to start shipping its devices to early adopters and developer testers. It has also signed a couple of agreements with auto dealer partners, who will be the first to distribute the system more… → Read More
Our cars today feature lots of sensors, but it’s not easy for developers and hardware hackers to get access to all of this data, which is typically proprietary and manufacturer specific. Last year, Ford, in collaboration with Bug Labs, announced its OpenXC program to allow developers to access metrics from its car’s internal network and today, it is opening up the program and launching an SDK so… → Read More
Ford just introduced its new AppLink API that allows mobile apps to talk to its cars. Not to be outdone, General Motors just introduced its own API and SDK for its new in-vehicle app platform. the big difference here is that while Ford uses a driver’s smartphone, General Motors’s framework for its MyLink platform is meant to let developers run apps hosted in the car’s infotainment system. → Read More
Click A Taxi, one of the many apps in the increasingly congested car-service apps market, is today announcing a couple of key developments that it hopes will help it zoom past the competition in the months ahead. It’s picked up $1.5 million round of angel funding from serial entrepreneur Tommy Ahlers; and it is expanding to Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, taking the total number of… → Read More
If, one day, we really are all going to be carted around in driverless cars from the likes of Google and others, then we may as well have some apps on board to keep us occupied. Today, the Linux Foundation announced that it was throwing its hat into the car-apps ring, with the creation of the Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup. → Read More
Almost a week ago, we kicked off our Hackathon at TechCrunch Disrupt. Before the event started, Ford had already picked a number of teams that would get access to the otherwise closed Ford AppLink API. The winner of this challenge was BeCouply, which developed the Dates.fm app for suggesting interesting dates to Ford’s in-car interface. Date.fm, the team says, “lets you tune in to nearby date… → Read More
Vital Insights, an enterprise startup focused on providing a cloud-based customer experience management solution to the automotive industry, has announced a $20 million growth round from a single investor, private equity firm Bregal Sagemount. This is a first round of funding for the company, which has actually been cash-flow positive since 2008, seeing revenue growth of 30% in the first half of… → Read More
Uber is still growing its business as a disruptive (sometimes controversial) car service app, but in the meantime it continues to push the envelope on what else it might eventually do with the logistics infrastructure it is also creating. The latest development comes by way of Chicago, where Uber is now laying on busses with DJs and drinks. Yes, it’s bus bumping from Uber.
Uberpalooza will… → Read More
The ridesharing-disruptive car service space in the U.S. is about to get a little more crowded: Carpooling.com, a ridesharing service out of Munich, Germany currently enabling million rides monthly, is today announcing a C-round of investment from carmaker Daimler, which it will be using to expand to the other side of the Atlantic starting in the fourth quarter of this year. Financial terms of the… → Read More
Uber, the breakthrough car service app with big ambitions to do much more, is now making its way to international markets: today the car service company kicked off its London operation with a soft launch, just in time to start prepping for the summer tourist rush and the visitor onslaught also known as the Summer Olympics.
The launch is still at a very early stage — with “secret Ubers”… → Read More
YC-backed new car-buying service CarWoo is partnering up with car comparison site FindTheBest, which operates something like a Kayak.com for hundreds of products and services from smartphones to snow blowers. The partnership means FindTheBest’s Car Comparison tool will now point users over to CarWoo’s service when shoppers are ready to look for a local dealer. → Read More
You know what I hate most about getting too drunk to drive home? The hangover. No, no, I’m kidding (well, sort of) – it’s having to go retrieve my car from wherever I left it the next day. Sometimes, it’s been towed. Other times, it’s been broken into (true story). That’s why I’m hopeful about the possibilities a new service called StearClear has in store. The startup, which is backed by $500,000… → Read More
Carvoyant is a new service that aims to maintain your car’s “health records” in the cloud, while also keeping track of when you need repairs, where you should go, and what that blasted “check engine” light means, already! To build the database containing your car’s health and service history, the company uses data gathered from a transmitter you plug into the car itself, as well as from the… → Read More
Uber, the SMS/iPhone/Android friendly private car service, has been on a (ahem) roll, with the service expanding out to new cities and picking up ever more passengers. But this week at SXSW it is trying out a little something different while still playing on its strengths in on-demand service:
It is running an on-demand barbecue sandwich service in partnership with Iron Works BBQ, which can be… → Read More
San Francisco-based HiGear, a peer-to-peer car-sharing service for luxury vehicles, has been acquired. The news follows the company’s decision to shut down operations last month, after a criminal ring targeted HiGear, resulting in multiple incidents of theft involving its members’ cars. The criminals stole four cars totaling $400,000 by using stolen identities to bypass HiGear’s background… → Read More
California may be the 800-pound gorilla in the automotive legislation world, but their neighbor Nevada seems to be taking the initiative when it comes to self-driving cars. They’ve adopted a number of regulations into law, and are pushing the state as a legal testing-ground for companies preparing such vehicles. These changes were telegraphed last summer, when the state legalized driverless cars… → Read More
The age of driverless cars may still be years in the future, but to those playing a long game, that just means that work now will pay off even more later. Google is getting into the business of tracking and managing driverless cars, and while the technology actually steering and perceiving the cars’ surroundings will be undergoing lots of changes, some fundamentals of their interactions with the… → Read More
At the Tokyo Motor Show 2011, Mitsubishi took the wraps off EMIRAI, a near-future concept that will become reality in about 10 years (if the company is to be believed). The core element is a large-sized, curved dashboard that combines rear-projection to display various operations with touch control support.
The steering wheel features shape-changing buttons that only raise when the system… → Read More
Driverless cars have been a popular and fertile topic for research and discussion for years. From the first high-profile Grand Challenge to the more recent work by Google, there has always been activity, though it’s rarely applicable to everyday life. But a few years from now we’ll really need to start pondering the potential effects of these robocars on cities, infrastructure, and… → Read More
We like the Leaf. It’s not a good choice for everyone, but it’s a great second car or city car, set back the most perhaps by the trouble one has to take in charging it. At home you are advised to spring for a high-capacity outlet, and abroad you must plan your trips to coincide with existing charge points. Anything that can make adding power to these cars easier will increase their… → Read More
Well, it looks like Coda Automotive — makers of the zero emissions all-electric Coda Sedan — and General Electric (a name that requires no introduction) have teamed up to sell the Coda Sedan and the GE WattStation Wall Mount EV Charger in the same retail outlets.
Many of us are already feeling that a shift toward electric vehicles is the responsible decision, but a change that big… → Read More
Because our resident automotive enthusiast Matt Burns up and decided to go camping this week, I was lucky enough to attend BMW’s sneak preview event in NYC today where I got a first look at two new eco-friendly vehicles: the BMW i3 and i8. Referred to as mega-city vehicles (or MCVs if you will), both are built with the urban driver in mind, capitalizing on green features and stability. The… → Read More
Luxury car-sharing service HiGear is announcing a new product called “Swap Club,” which will allow its existing car owners the opportunity to swap cars among each other in exchange for HiGear points. To participate in the “Swap Club,” vehicle owners will either need to accumulate points by renting out their cars on HiGear or they can optionally purchase points via HiGear’s website. → Read More
If you’re a fan of the Parrot AR.Drone, you’ll probably get a kick out its earthbound relative, the AirXRacer by AniApp. I got a first hands on with this iPhone- or Android-controlled racecar in Shenzhen and you will be able to pick it up this holiday season.
The car is a standard RC racer that, as you can see, is quite fast. You control it using your phone’s accelerometer or using an onscreen… → Read More
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