4 ms·

Just saw a Buick commercial touting their in-car wifi and my first thought was, why is this something I want to pay extra for? Whatever crappy mobile network de

Just saw a Buick commercial touting their in-car wifi and my first thought was, why is this something I want to pay extra for? Whatever crappy mobile network device it has is already older than my iPhone/Hotspot and I'm tied to whoever their provider is for however much they want to charge. Let me run it in reverse. Let my connect my phone using my frequently updated hardware and the network that I want to use. I've got power so I don't care about the battery drain, and I gaurantee I will have a better speed/data cap/price relationship than whatever tiers they will have. Better yet, instead of the crappy infotainment system make it Android and/or AirPlay capable and let the phone run the head unit and you just have a dumb display.

gregmac 10y ago
More than that.. Your device will see it's on a Wi-Fi network, and freely download software updates, do backups, etc. All the stuff it normally wouldn't do on mobile data. I wonder what the general uptake of usage is? Anecdotally, do any HN readers use their car's Wi-Fi? Why?
Spooky23 10y ago
I think the systems that are powering this are being phased in in relation to the US government's "smart roads" initiatives. This stuff starts becoming mandatory in 2020 or thereabouts. There are pilot programs in place now where over the air motor carrier inspections and other road telemetry is being exchanged with vehicles. You're also going to be taxed based on mileage or other telemetry and certain classes of vehicles can have geofencing and other controls enabled.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  The Buick thing is via Onstar and uses AT&T 4g.
chiph 10y ago
> already older than my iPhone/Hotspot There's obviously a danger of severe obsolescence, like when all the analog cell towers got turned off. But even gradual obsolescence will be a problem, like the shift to LTE. Suddenly, your old car just got a lot older. But you can buy a new car with the new techology! Because to a hardware manufacturer like those in Detroit, "upgrade" means "buy new". There won't be the option to replace just the telematics unit on your 6 year old car.

gregmac 10y ago

More than that.. Your device will see it's on a Wi-Fi network, and freely download software updates, do backups, etc. All the stuff it normally wouldn't do on mobile data. I wonder what the general uptake of usage is? Anecdotally, do any HN readers use their car's Wi-Fi? Why?

Spooky23 10y ago

I think the systems that are powering this are being phased in in relation to the US government's "smart roads" initiatives. This stuff starts becoming mandatory in 2020 or thereabouts. There are pilot programs in place now where over the air motor carrier inspections and other road telemetry is being exchanged with vehicles. You're also going to be taxed based on mileage or other telemetry and certain classes of vehicles can have geofencing and other controls enabled.

maxerickson 10y ago
The Buick thing is via Onstar and uses AT&T 4g.

chiph 10y ago

> already older than my iPhone/Hotspot There's obviously a danger of severe obsolescence, like when all the analog cell towers got turned off. But even gradual obsolescence will be a problem, like the shift to LTE. Suddenly, your old car just got a lot older. But you can buy a new car with the new techology! Because to a hardware manufacturer like those in Detroit, "upgrade" means "buy new". There won't be the option to replace just the telematics unit on your 6 year old car.