Posted on 01/02/2007 7:30:26 PM PST by PeaceBeWithYou
Not literally of course, but a new service in the US promises to provide Internet access from motor vehicles on 95 percent of US roads.
Autonet Mobile (www.autonetmobile.com), which bills itself as the first Internet service provider for cars, will debut its new service at ShowStoppers during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company also promises to announce an agreement with a world leading car rental company to offer a portable, wireless Internet service by the end of the first quarter of 2007.
It says the service will let passengers check email, surf the web, game or communicate via any WiFi-enabled device. According to Autonet Mobile "The service is optimised for the in-car experience, and is specifically designed to work on 95 percent of US roads, regardless of driving conditions or location."
Installation is claimed to be plug and play by plugging the WiFi access point and router into the car' cigarette lighter.
Autonet has given no details as to how the unit connects to the Internet except to say that its patent pending 'TRU Technology' (of which it gives no information) "enables seamless Internet connectivity so that passengers stay connected while driving...providing intelligent, dynamic automatic session management between high/low speed networks, producing a reliable user experience."
The unit retails for $US399 with a monthly service charge of $US49.
According to Autonet Mobile CEO, Sterling Pratz, 40 percent of all SUVs and station wagons shipped in the US come equipped with media centres, supporting music and DVDs "yet, do not support today's connected lifestyle of the Internet, e-mail and social media."
ping
New offense - DWF (Driving While Freeping).
Use EDGE or EVDO and you can get connectivity wherever you have a cell signal.
Been there, done that.
Have Blackberry, will FReep.
Oh great. Morons can't talk on the phone and drive, now they get to surf on the net and drive.
This should only work with an interconnect that disables the driver airbag if the unit is connected to the net at the time of a collision. Lets give Darwin a chance here....
This has been going on for quite a while now. Sprint, Verizon, etc., all have wireless access cards for laptops.
People shave and put on makeup while they drive so they'll be surfing the net.
(Man, are these dudes going to get sued, or what?)
I would surf the net while I drive, but I only drive while blindfolded.
LOL
I gave it up as well. Too distracting at stop lights.
Not only can you be FReeping on the go you can eliminate your XM or Sirius subscribtion and listen to Internet Radio.
I agree. that would make it very useful
Great, something else to distract drivers when they should be paying attention to the road. Then the states will be passing legislation to make it illegal to be online while you're driving and everyone will ignore it anyway; just like the idiots who nearly broadside me while illegally talking on their cell phones and blowing off stopsigns.
surfing while driving = bad idea
Thats a very good point!
I recently took a car service from Newark Airport into New York. The driver used his cell phone many times even though New York State requires hands free devices.
There, that's better.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.