AUTO Connected Car Review of Chicago Auto Show News: Hyundai, Aha, Connected Car 2014 & Next

renaultLet’s see the latest announcements for AUTO Connected Car readers from the Chicago Auto Show.

Hyundai America announced the enhanced Blue Link system Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.  Today, Hyundai announced the same Google location search will be part of an update for 500,000 Hyundai owners with the previous version of Blue Link. It offers voice Google search and navigation along with Google Glass integration.

Cars and Infotainment are Over-Connected?

nscEven though Gen Y through Boomers want connected cars, the National Safety Council today warned of the dangers of too much infotainment going on while driving and support initiatives by car companies and after market manufacturers to limit infotainment functionality when requested by the driver and or parents.

dash App Better Driving with Car Info & Bluetooth for Android Like Automatic

DashappandroidscoresHere’s an easy inexpensive way to connect to the data in car on Android via Bluetooth. Dash claims it can “make any car, a smart car.”

Dash is similar to Automatic, using Bluetooth and a connection to the OBD-II port to gather driving information and make suggestions. Automatic, however, currently only works with iPhone(Android coming soon) while Dash works with Android and will be available for iPhone in the future.

Gov’t 2 Require Connected Cars via V2V Tech to Avoid Crashes

intersectionWe may be driving more safely in the future when cars connect to each other. The U.S. government is looking into cars, buses and trucks communicate to each other and to the Department of Transportation to cut down on accidents, gas consumption and speeding.  After reviewing research, the government will work on laws to require vehicle data connections in future models.

It’s called Vehicle-to-Vehicle  communication in which vehicles talk to each other.  It’s sort of like data saying to your car, “I’m over here traveling a 30 mph and you’re going 25 mph, get ready for a fender bender,”  or “Watch out the drunk driving this car is going to run the stop sign!”

TeleNav Scouts with Auto OTA Updates Wi-Fi

carscoutTelenav partnered with Red Bend Software to provide over-the-air (OTA) map and point of interest (POIs) updates to Scout for Cars. Telenav Scout comes in two forms Scout for Cars Built In or Brought In.

Telenav makes navigation products for Ford, Delphi, Sony and QNX Car Applications Platform

Pioneer AppRadio 3 Big Winner Connects iPhone 4/4S/5/5C/5S & Android Mirrors & Siri

appradio3Car dealers can charge thousands of dollars for head units that connect cars to music, navigation and smartphones.  Another viable options is to put an after market receiver with all the apps you need and more. Pioneer AppRadio3 devices will be available  for$399-$499. The CD-DVD player (SPH-DA210) is currently available from Amazon for $362.29 with free shipping.

Volvo Pandora New Cloud Music Update

Volvo S60 S80 XC60 XC70 Dashboard header imageVolvo along with updating Sensus Connect, on-board infotainment and navigation solutions through cloud-based services, Volvo Car Group also announced it would be the first to market with Pandora internet radio service via the Volvo Cloud.

Primer What Can Connected Cars Do?

AAAmobileappsHere is a list of connected car services that can be deployed in connected cars from the American Automobile Association (AAA):

Crash Response: Connected cars can automatically send real-time data when an accident happens with the exact location to help, saving time and helping to save lives.

Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai and NVIDIA OAA (Open Automotive Alliance)

oaaAudi, GM, Google, Honda, Hyundai and NVIDIA have joined together to form the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA),to deploy the Android platform to cars starting in 2014.

Before the launch of the Android operating system, Google formed a similar alliance with smartphone makers throughout the world.