Silicon Insights: On-Road Data
April 26, 2001 -- Let's start out with a quiz this week. What does the word Telematics refer to?
Listen to Andrew Seybold's report.
Give up? Well it is a word for one of the biggest growth areas for wireless voice and data activity over the course of the next five years.
Telematics is the marriage of the automobile, the computer, and the world of wireless. General Motors' OnStar service which provides voice directions, and emergency assistance is the leader in this field but there are a number of other players including ATX, InfoMove, Wingcast, which is a joint venture between Qualcomm and the Ford Motor Company.
Hot Pursuit
But because the telematics area is seen as the next hot market it is attracting lots of other players. Recently Intel announced a set of partnerships with Microsoft, IBM and others that will bring its chip technology into the automobile.
In addition all of the car companies are on board as are entertainment device vendors such as Clarion, and Visteon with their soon to be released MP3-CD player.
In the United States Telematics started with companies such as OnStar and ATX providing services over a wireless voice link for specially equipped cars. General Motors and On-Star have now expanded their offering to include many of the General Motors brands of cars and are providing the first year of service for free.
But I am hearing that telematics customers are balking at renewing their service, which costs between $120 and $240 a year. It appears as if many drivers do not believe that safety alone is enough reason to pay for this type of service.
The Next Step
So the race is on to add value to the services offered. What you will see in the next year or so are existing offerings being upgraded and new offerings coming on line that will include up to the minute traffic reports, rerouting around congestion, important email alerts and other personalized features and functions.
It is anybody's guess at this point what the driving public will want to have access to and whether it will want it delivered by voice or via data on a screen in the car.
Location based services play well into the telematics market. Many cars today are equipped with a GPS system that determines the almost precise location of the car and if this information is then fed wirelessly to a call center, as is the case with the OnStar system, or other back-end service, there can be some interesting service built around knowing where you and your car are located.
There is likely to be rejection from some consumers who are uneasy that such systems are able to determine where the car is located, and even how fast it is going and in what direction. But I believe that the industry will put enough checks and balances in place that we will all be comfortable with the entire process.
So what lies ahead is a world where are cars are wirelessly connected to the Internet, and we will have access to a whole set of personalized news, weather, and sports options, real time traffic, the ability to find the nearest Starbucks and perhaps get a coupon for a discount.
In the back seat our kids may be able to download the latest game, video or audio clip to view on their screen, and it not beyond probability that two teenagers in two cars thousands of miles apart will be competing against each other in a game of skill.
My caveat is that like every new technology and application of technology, there will be a lot of hype in the market and the reality of telematics will take longer than either the wireless or automotive industries believe.
Andrew Seybold is a consultant and top computer industry analyst. He is considered by many to be the leading authority on the mobile computing industry. He's based in Campbell, Calif.