This article was published on January 5, 2012

Web-enabled vehicles set to become the norm, say car bosses


Web-enabled vehicles set to become the norm, say car bosses

We’ve previously written about the ubiquitous Internet concept, the notion that the World Wide Web goes wherever we roam and even becomes embedded in everyday objects. Just ask Jack.

Well, it seems we could be taking a big step towards this with a survey revealing that in-vehicle Internet access is set to become the norm in the next few years, according to the bosses of some of the world’s top car firms.

As the BBC reports, a KPMG survey sought to unearth future trends and found that in-car Internet connections, including both WiFi and 3G, will become standard, with speech recognition built in too.

We’ve already seen glimpses of this, and during last year’s Super Bowl Chevy Cruze broadcast this advert revealed a car that reads out your Facebook news feed as you drive:

Also, Toyota teamed up with Salesforce last year for an in-car social-networking service. And with Google already trialing robot-controlled cars, it certainly makes sense that many vehicles will soon come equipped with the Internet embedded within the very fabric.

37% those surveyed by KPMG believed that so-called “infotainment” in cars is just about as important as car safety, and it seems that car manufacturers will start partnering with music, telecoms and IT companies. So don’t be too surprised if you start seeing some pretty funky gadgetry from the likes of Apple and Google embedded in vehicles over the next five or so years.

“The recent collaboration between Toyota and Intel was announced at the end of last year,” said John Leech from KPMG, noting that some car manufacturers are already building connected cars. “Intel claims that the connected car is the third-fastest growing technological device, following smartphones and tablets. For a car maker that offers huge potential.”

Furthermore, Audi is already pushing out 3G wireless in its A7, and it’s expected to extend this to other models in the future. “The connected car concept is well and truly here,” added Leech.

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