2011 Outback to have .... wifi + 3G?

[Nick Koan]

http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/...2/daily38.html

Subaru of America Inc. said Friday it will offer wi-fi in its 2011 Outback models.

The Subaru Mobile Internet system creates a wi-fi hotspot for 10 or more users within 150 feet of the vehicle.

The system, which operates on a 3G network, was created by a San Francisco-based company, Autonet Mobile, which was founded in 2005. Autonet has also form partnerships with Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Cadillac, GM and Volkswagen, according to its website.

Wi-fi can be added to a 2011 Outback for $499, plus a $35 activation fee. A one-year subscription is another $348, or $29 a month.

Outback models start at $22,995.

Subaru of America of Cherry Hill, N.J., is a wholly owned subsidiary of f Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. It has 600 U.S. dealers.

Interesting. I wonder what 3G network they are going over.

[Dean]

Originally Posted by Nick Koan

http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/...2/daily38.html



Interesting. I wonder what 3G network they are going over.

I don't know why people want wifi built into their car. I would think a phone with tethering or MiFi type device you can move from car to car or take with you would be a better option for most anyone.

To slightly derail this, I am also disturbed by some of the trends towards cloud based navigation apps. If I am really lost, last thing I need to worry about is having a wireless data connection. The whole US and Canada map data with POIs is < 1.5gb!!! There are uses for live data and navigation but not base map data.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by Dean

I don't know why people want wifi built into their car. I would think a phone with tethering or MiFi type device you can move from car to car or take with you would be a better option for most anyone.

To slightly derail this, I am also disturbed by some of the trends towards cloud based navigation apps. If I am really lost, last thing I need to worry about is having a wireless data connection. The whole US and Canada map data with POIs is < 1.5gb!!! There are uses for live data and navigation but not base map data.

To continue the derailment... what navigation apps are cloud based? AFAIK all the streaming data is for POI, satellite views, street views, augmented reality, etc. The map itself is still local to the device. It's not like trying to use mobile Google Earth to navigate... and even then, GE caches your local area and would work offline anyway, unless the last time you had a signal and pulled map data was 500 miles ago.

But back to the thread topic... I too don't see a huge benefit to having my car as a wifi to 3G bridge. Sure, it means being able to use your laptop in the car over its wifi connection... but wouldn't a 3G card for the laptop itself be more useful, because then you can use it outside of the car as well? If I'm paying $30/mo for 3G data access... I'm going to want to have it away from my ride too.

[Dean]

I did a lot of research on this because I do not have a data plan for my iPhone... I tested most every free app and scrounged data on all the pay ones.

TomTom, Navigon, etc have full base maps on device and can create routes, find POIs, etc. on the fly without data connection. MotionX-GPS Drive, Skoober, Gokivo, Waze, Google, MapQuest, etc. all rely in some way on on-line data access for map, routing, street names and/or other data, not just up to date POIs.

Some won't even fire up without a data connection, others will work from cached data but only if you already planned a route. Some can't create a route or display street names.

These also require that the Internet is up and their servers/site is up, not just a data connection. Servers apparently being an issue with some of the open source or smaller company apps.

Living in Nevada, any of those are objectionable to me. If I am near but not in Winnemucca, Lovelock, Hawthorne, Tonahpah or worse and get turned around and turn on my Nav app and it can't tell me what to do without a data connection, I am not a happy camper. Lot's of other scenarios, but you get the point.

[Nick Koan]

Yeah, that is the main problem with the Nav apps. A standalone unit with built in maps is much better if you are planning on spending a lot of time outside of developed areas.

[Dean]

Originally Posted by Nick Koan

Yeah, that is the main problem with the Nav apps. A standalone unit with built in maps is much better if you are planning on spending a lot of time outside of developed areas.

No, what I was saying is some iPhone Nav apps are fine while others are not without a data connection.

TOMTOM, Navigon, Copilot Live and any other 400mb(regional)-1.5gb(national) Apps mostly work fine without data. 2-10Mb ones, not so much.

[cody]

My TomTom blows me away. It can find pretty much any business you're looking for in any random place and it has no data connection. It just has a seriously robust bank of POI's onboard.