The collision between the economy and car companies has caused one unpleasant pile up.  Indicators for consumption and growth are not very pretty.  It is important to note that despite some of the macro gloom, there are still signs of a growing future.

According to a report prepared by ABI, OEM’s continue to plan for future iterations and advancements for telematics services.  Global penetration rates in new cars will reach 12% in 2010 and 43% by 2014.  “With GM’s OnStar and Ford’s SYNC to be joined by telematics solutions from Toyota and Chrysler launching later this year, the US remains the most competitive market,” says ABI Research practice director Dominique Bonte. As scale and affordability push prices down and as technology adoption rates by consumers continue to grow, their inclination for in-car solutions will grow.  Features similar to GM’s “OnStar” which offer safety and security assets along with diagnostics continue to show strength.  Increasingly however consumers want the technology envelope in the car to open up.  Read More »

For those of following the IPGLAB on Twitter, you likely saw the Tweet announcing AT&T and their child locater offering.  Called FamilyMap, this new tool offers to locate a family member’s phone via web browser on a PC or mobile device. The service enables users to see details such as location on a map and surrounding landmarks like schools and parks. Users can also toggle between satellite and interactive street maps for an option that best fits their viewing needs. Families can customize their mapping experience by assigning a name and photo to each device within their account, and can also label places they visit frequently, like “Home” or “Soccer Field.” Read More »

If you didn’t look you might have missed it.  If the letters LTE just passed your field of vision at CTIA you might have missed the next evolution in wireless technology.  LTE or Long Term Evolution is being positioned as the successor to 3G.

Technically speaking, LTE is a modulation technique that is the latest variation of Global Systems for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology. It was dubbed “Long Term Evolution” because it is viewed as the natural progression of High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), the GSM technology that is currently used by carriers such as AT&T to deliver 3G mobile broadband.

Read More »

The Mobile World Conference (WMC) took place recently in Barcelona and proved once again that Telematics/Infotainment (T/I) is increasingly sharing its technology infrastructure with Mobile.� DOOH is also connected with Mobile and T/I.� Here are three key points marketers should keep in mind about the telematics-mobile relationship:

1) Location based services (LBS) and mobile social are driving innovation.� As phones increasingly incorporate GPS and become more location-enabled, developers will create more location aware applications.� Social Mobile is the logical offshoot of this technology and offers users, advertisers, and brands unique challenges and opportunities.� Thomas Hallauer writes in Telematics, �by combining location and social networking, the mobile industry will be able to tempt advertisers with reliable profiling from a very extensive and rich source of consumer information, as well as precise targeting at the mobile consumer market.�� There are many large players in this space looking advance this capability in a time when new revenue streams are much needed. Read More »

As I sat at my gate last week, awaiting my flight home from Las Vegas CES 2009, I overheard other CES-ers recounting their experiences at the consumer tech summit.  Some commented on attendance while others mentioned the cool new stuff from industry stalwarts like LG and microsoft.  It made me long for the day that changes in the telematics space could create the same kind of buzz as the TV’s do.

Certainly this year was not that year. Read More »

Today, in conjunction with the start of CES, the IPG Emerging Media Lab and location services provider Navteq announced a formal partnerhsip following months of negotiations. This unique partnership will allow both teams to collectively leverage each others core set of assets.

For Navteq, it provides the company with a branded venue to showcase their unique product sets in both the Lab’s Mobile space and the “in progress” Telematics space. Navteq’s branded space will feature all the latest in mobile devices that leverage realtime mapping/navigation, as well as their current set of personal navigation devices (PNDs). Both will show agencies and brands how to use location-based service (LBS) as part of any digitally integrated campaign. This profile is key for any cutting edge “digital” marketing plan.

For the Lab, the benefits are several fold.  Read More »

In 2008 I talked about in-car technology as becoming less utilitarian and more about the car as a content platform of tomorrow.� And why not, cars and trucks increasingly share information with other platforms (RFID sensors, tolls, central tracking systems, etc.).� For 2009, I am curious how this in-car technology and the growing digital ecosystem could actually help improve one�s quality of life, beyond just getting to your destination.

We know that cell phones and cars are increasingly being delivered to the end user with GPS capability (in-car GPS, Personal Navigation Devices, or Pedestrian Navigation Devices).� We know that this GPS capability can allow people to see where you are.� We also know that it is possible to cross reference where you are specifically to what is around you.� Whether this technology is actually deployed is unclear.� This ability to locate and cross reference will increase as more and more locations look to formalize their location in the GPS universe.

So what am I getting at here? Read More »

The economic perils facing the country are on the minds of the Lab�s practice leads. Contractions in aggregate spending are clearly going to impact consumers and marketers in Digital Out of Home, Gaming and Mobile.

As the person who focuses on Telematics/Infotainment (T/I), I know this space too will suffer in a down economy. SiriusXM stock has been crushed because of a combined slowdown in unit sales tied to new cars, and a slowdown in unit sales tied to consumers wanting to add the service to their existing cars. Sales of personal navigation devices (PNDs) heading into the holiday season will slow both because of the economy and because of the move by more and more automakers in developing their own �in-car� solutions. In short, slow downs and retrenchments will be seen across the spectrum. Read More »

Telematics, like many of our other categories that we cover here at the Emerging Media Lab, is constantly evolving.� Our Mobile and Social Media practice leads see change on an almost daily basis. Telematics/Infotainment, while still new to most, is showing growth and change on a regular pace.� This month I thought it might be more helpful to single-out a few new items rather than focus on an singular topic.

This coming year and beyond will continue to show an expansion of in integration, services and connectivity.� Industry resources show that over 58% of new cars will have iPod connections available from the factory.� Non iPod interface will come by way of a USB interface.� Bluetooth will continue to have a strong presence in the car�s of 2009.� The expanding adoption of this into more cars will take it from 55% to 82% in 2009.� The result will be more cars with Bluetooth and more features available to the consumer. Read More »

They say that all politics are local. That it�s all about me..me�me. A unique and interesting example of what I like to call �local me� can be seen in the Personal Navigation Device (PND) and Location Based Services (LBS) world. PND makers are looking for their next playing field�and while the car market still has some legs�the �pedestrian� PND market is now in focus.

In the not too distant future, the two technologies will be working to make your content and search results local and relevant. It is still early in the game but as LBS comes online in a more robust manner, the market expansion for pedestrian devices will surely move quickly. Expectations are that the �pedestrian� segment of the PND market will gain traction towards 2010-2012. In the near future, growth prospects are likely more on the application side than the device side. Until PND�s and �pedestrian� PND�s can step away from a purely utilitarian profile, the adoption will sit with GPS capable phones. Read More »