Car tech at CES inches forward this year, with better controls, 3D GPS systems, syncing features, and smart phone integration.
Car tech at CES has almost always been about audio equipment, but this year we saw several companies that were laying out plans to change the future of not how we drive, but how we interact with vehicles.
It’s truly sad how long this change has taken, and even now, the technologies we will detail will not show up in the majority of new models. There are no plans to implement these new technologies in older vehicles or even newer 2009 and 2010 models. Such a drastic change will come at the huge price of purchasing a brand-new vehicle. Considering today’s economy and the increase in used car sales, we can only hope that what you see in the coming pages may one day make it to your car and ours.
However, one of the biggest factors we discussed with car and software specialists is safety, and how new technologies can disrupt that. Because we know all too well the dangers of technology, we have inquired as to the safety measures and precautions of every new system to see what companies are doing to ensure the best and safest driving experience. More On CES
(for the rest of the article, please head over to the ever-popular Tom’s Guide)
The first of two “mobile” posts, via Tom’s Guide . . .
Hit the Road, Jack
We show you how to turn your car into a complete wireless office with all the extras. Be safe out there. Don’t work and drive.
Call it an outcome of the always-on digital lifestyle, but these days most of us have to work whenever we happen to be, whenever duty calls. That can be in a traditional office, but it’s just as likely at home, at a coffee shop and, increasingly, in a car, says Kate Lister, coauthor of work at home self-help book “Undress for Success” and an expert on telecommuting.
“At any point in time, 80 percent of American workers are on the move, going from here to there, often trying to work out of a car,” explains Lister. “The car is becoming the natural place to work but the technology needs to catch up.”
The bad news is that the typical car isn’t exactly work-friendly. It has neither desks nor the AC outlets, data connections and printers that we depend on in a traditional office. The good news is that a car generally has a wrap-around view of the world that rivals the best corner office, good air conditioning and even the equivalent of a comfy couch in the back.
A lot that can be done to turn a car into a killer mobile office. By stuffing my car full of digital creature comforts, I’m going to transform it into a workplace on wheels so that I can work where and when I want.
I’m starting with my 2006 Mercedes E350 station wagon that I previously added satellite radio to. In essence, I’m going to trick out my ride by adding an office full of these techno-goodies so that I can work from the road:
