The Ford Motor Company has become the first car maker in the world to develop a dashboard broadband system. It seems inevitable, but is it a good idea? Especially because beyond the simplicity of a touch screen, it will come with a wireless keyboard and mouse. There’s even an optional printer. Can you imagine looking into a car as you pass, seeing someone typing and catching printouts? I guess it could increase carpooling if you needed someone to dictate to as you drove.
The system is only available in the US and is limited to commercial vehicles like the Ford F-150, Super Duty, E-Series and Transit Connect trucks. The hardware is made by the Italian based Magneti Marelli and will be running the Microsoft auto operating system, which will be preloaded with the Opera mini browser. The user will also be offered the ability to access the system remotely through the LogMeln Pro application.
There have been other in-car broadband systems, introduced as early as 2006. One, the MSN-TV/KVH, used 3G cellular technology to put Internet connectivity into the car, and came with A wireless keyboard. C-Net’s Brian Cooley said, “This may not be the ultimate model for in-car broadband, but IP, in general, could trump radio broadcasting, dedicated GPS systems, and in-car DVD players if they get it right.”
The town of Indianola, Iowa, had the right idea, installing a 2Mbps broadband connection in all its police cars for fast access to criminal databases and live in-car monitoring of networked security cameras around town. It was done over a secure layer that kept the sensitive stuff from ordinary citizens using the wireless network.
It gives “Information Superhighway” a whole new meaning, doesn’t it? Downloading Speedplexer to your laptop would allow you to clock your internet speed while you are being driven in the fast lane!