Bluetooth In Cars - Report

A recent report predicts that one in five new cars shipped next year will include Bluetooth hardware. This is a promising prediction. When matched with the growing number of phones with Bluetooth radios and 2.5G or 3G data speeds, Bluetooth-enabled cars will be able to access the Internet or telephony functions through a paired-up phone. This will allow the car to perform: handsfree calls, location-based services and map downloads, traffic updates, emergency calls when airbags deploy, diagnostic data calls with the car-maker, and messaging, browsing, e-mail, and more. Instead of the car having its own phone number and service plan (a la OnStar) it will share the mobile phone's service. Among the great benefits of this architecture is that new phone technologies come along every few months, but lead time in automotive products is about three years. An OnStar car buyer today uses an analog cellular connection, and the car will still use that radio in five years. A Bluetooth-connected car can connect through an GPRS phone today, a EDGE phone next year, and a UMTS phone in a few years.

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