http://blogs.strategyanalytics.com/auto/?p=31
Audi’s announcement of an optional Google Earth-enabled navigation system for the 2011 A8 due in mid-2010 has raised a question for competitors: To 3G or NOT to 3G? Having just put a messy transition from analog to digital technology in the rearview mirror, the automotive industry is facing yet another key point of inflection between 2.5G, 3G and 4G wireless technologies for embedded telematics solutions. Several automakers have already taken some preliminary decisions leading down the 2.5G path for their future telematics platforms focusing on safety and security. The belief is that additional functionality can be handled via the customer’s smartphone – and that the primary function of automotive telematics remains automatic crash notification and, perhaps, navigation. Some OEMs are targeting the wider spectrum of location-based applications with their related revenue opportunities enabled by 3G technology. And QNX and Alcatel-Lucent have partnered to prepare the market for a 4G LTE future. It is worth noting that QNX is a strategic partner with Audi as is Elektrobit, both of whom are developing cloud-based, location-based solutions for cars.
Big decisions await the industry in 2010. Car makers will want to avoid the cost of a 3G module. They will also want to avoid the cost of data plans, hoping to tag along on the customer’s data plan via a physical or Bluetooth connection to the smartphone. This strategy will work in the short term, but Audi is one OEM pointing the way to a 3G future with its announcement of a Google Earth-enabled navigation system for the 2011 A8.
Initially built around a GPRS/EDGE platform, the car maker has announced its intention to bring UMTS on board. This decision will put Audi into the telematics forefront where it can be expected to be joined by Mercedesand BMW. The key to success will be leveraging location-based technology to deliver a superior value proposition to the driver. With 3G, the full spectrum of content and services and related business models will be at the company’s disposal and not dependent on the capabilities of the customer’s smartphone or a flaky Bluetooth connection, though Bluetooth will have a role to play.
Ford will have the sexiest solutions at next week’s CES event in Vegas, but Audi has served notice that it is stepping into the telematics ring and will be a contender. By this time in 2010, the luxury segment may have a new technology leader.
