Mentor Blogs

  Last week I had the opportunity to experience Visteon’s e-Bee concept car (http://e-bee.visteon.com), which is based on a Nissan Leaf but has a remarkably different interior – one much roomier than I’m used to. The car is Visteon’s take on what a car might look, feel, and act like in 2020, by which time Visteon expects that car sharing and short-term rentals will be more common than they are … Read More

e-Bee concept car, Nissan Leaf, Bluetooth, Visteon

At Electronica in Munich last month Visteon unwrapped its e-Bee concept vehicle, which represents the company’s vision of mobility in 2020. Visteon expects more car sharing and short-term rentals as alternatives to private vehicle ownership by then, and to accommodate that trend the concept car allows a set of preferences for each user to be stored in the cloud and retrieved when the driver enters … Read More

Japan Display Inc. (JDI), Human-Machine Interface (HMI), TFT (thin film transistor), blind spot detection, Bluetooth, BAE Systems, turn-by-turn navigation, head-up displays (HUD), heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit, Visteon, collision avoidance warning, e-Bee concept vehicle

The market for Wi-Fi in original equipment manufacturer (OEM) automotive applications will increase eightfold over the next seven years in North America and Western Europe according to IMS Research (recently acquired by IHS Inc.). The research firm notes that Wi-Fi attach rates in North America and Western Europe are relatively low at the moment but suggests that Wi-Fi will follow a trend similar … Read More

IHS Inc., IMS Research, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Miracast, MirrorLink

When I was a kid, we had an example of the very latest high technology electronics in our kitchen: a transistor radio. This amazing device was light and portable, ran for ages on a set of batteries and would come to life instantly when switched on, offering a choice of sources of entertainment from around the world. I seem to recall that it used an incredible seven transistors to achieve this feat. … Read More

iPad, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee

  Ford announced in England that in-car CD players are going the way of cassette tapes. The company noted that each Focus in the UK is equipped with an auxiliary input socket for connecting MP3 devices, and Bluetooth for wireless connection. Ford said it’s increasing the availability of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radio to UK customers, and will launch Ford SYNC next year. So customers won’t … Read More

MP3 devices, Ford Sync, reel-to-reel tape players, Bluetooth, cassette tapes, 8-track players, Ford, Ford Focus, Chrysler, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB)

I thought everybody but me had a smart phone but Tony Kraatz, lead engineer for GM’s new infotainment system, the Chevy MyLink, reminded me that, in fact, not everybody has one, so you won’t need one to use MyLink. Any Bluetooth phone or USB device will work, and if you don’t have either of those you can use the 7-inch color touch screen, steering wheel controls, or voice commands to control the radio, … Read More

IHS iSuppli, Gracenote, Infotainment, Bluetooth, turn-by-turn navigation, Chevrolet, Add new tag, Chevy Volt, Nuance, OnStar, GM, Chevy Equinox, Pandora Internet radio, Stitcher Internet radio, Chevy MyLink

The market research firm iSuppli recently predicted that factory-installed Wi-Fi will grow from about 174,000 this year to 7.2 million in 2017. That got me thinking about in-vehicle Internet access. iSuppli said automakers increasingly view wireless connectivity as a key competitive differentiator, and I am sure they do, but there is little consensus on how to provide that connectivity and little evidence … Read More

Harman Automotive, General Motors, in-vehicle Internet access, Audi a8, USB mobile broadband modem, Autonet Mobile, Wi-Fi, WLAN, Amazon, Chrysler, iSuppli, eBay, Marvell Technology, Ford, Bluetooth, Subaru

I want lots of connectivity in my next car and have every reason to expect it (and, of course, to use it responsibly). We’re talking-cutting edge technology of the kind increasingly available to mid-range buyers; features like Internet access, voice recognition, full-color touch-screen displays, diagnostics, and various forms of infotainment. I was a bit surprised to learn that all of that and more … Read More

OLED Displays, Network Car, LCD, Android, Bluetooth, Linux, Microsoft, Netscape, 3G Cellular, Google, Delphi, DSRC, IBM, Infotainment, Bob Schumacher, COMDEX, Internet Access, DVB-T, DVB-SH, Genivi Consortium, QNX, Voice Recognitiion, Wi-Fi, Touch-Screen Displays, USB, Smartphones, Sun Microsystems

How long will it be before we start referring to car dashboards as a user interface, or is it already happening? It seems like only yesterday, and probably was, that automakers were concerned about offering hands-free Bluetooth. Now it’s smartphone connectivity. Cars are fast becoming another network node. An extension of our connected consumer electronics lifestyle; where we want to do whatever we … Read More

Visteon, Human-Machine Interface (HMI), Bluetooth, Mercury Milan, Range Rover, Jaguar Land Rover, Lincoln C Concept Vehicle

Does anyone still listen to CDs in their car or have we all migrated to iPods and other personal storage devices, and/or to HD or satellite radio? With so many more infotainment choices available now, and digital music downloads on the rise while CD sales continue to decline, can automakers just do away with CD changers? Someday they will follow 8-track and cassette players to the technology afterlife, … Read More

Infotainment, IMS Research, iPod, Bluetooth, Cassette Player, 8-Track Player, iSuppli, Satellite Radio, HD Radio, CD Player, SBD, Clarion Corporation of America