Perhaps some car manufacturers were encouraged by the old TV show to dabble a little in K.I.T.T tech back in the day. Few people are aware that Mercedes did some development work on a smart key some twenty years ago. It included two-way voice functions for vehicle locking/unlocking, diagnostics, theft deterrence, various vehicle functions, etc. Don't know how far they got with it or whether they bothered patenting anything but in any event they seem to have been way ahead of their time.
Edit: Wow, they actually patented some of it, tho they apparently have abandoned the idea since they didn't bother to continue paying the USPTO renewal fee. http://www.google.com/patents/US5889472
They would have expired soon anyway, and with the technology not available yet it made sense to let it lapse.
Comments
Hey, BMW, you reading AppleInsider?
Either way, please get your scheiße together and integrate CarPlay into your 2016 models.
I'd hate to have to buy an aftermarket system for my next car.
you know the radio in a BMW does more than just play music, it handle some of the computer control functionality of the car.
That would be the problem, wouldn't it? Not the remote starting which comes on such a variety of vehicles these days?
you know the radio in a BMW does more than just play music, it handle some of the computer control functionality of the car.
Have driven many iDrive-equipped BMWs and have been a passenger in even more.
But I have no idea if it is even possible to replace the iDrive system.
Come to think of it, maybe it isn't.
Oh well. The BMW nav system works fine as it is now.
iPhone call / iMessage / music integration works fine now.
I suppose I could deal with the current level of integration.
They would have expired soon anyway, and with the technology not available yet it made sense to let it lapse.
The car drives away on proximity alert.
This isn't K.I.T.T.
Knight Rider!