Wired notes the upcoming release of technology from Tom Tom and Johnson Controls to better integrate a PAN (Personal Area Network) in your car. I’m hoping that the upcoming Tom Tom Car Connect is the first step… it’s supposedly coming out shortly and will integrate the GPS, with the car audio for spoken directions and calls on the internal audio system as well as light control (day and night modes) with when your headlights turn on.
Your car and GPS system could soon be speaking the same language, enabling it to tell you when its sick or when you should make a turn. Automotive companies Johnson Controls and Tom Tom are integrating satellite-based navigation system with vehicle communication networks.
Johnson Controls created a Bluetooth gateway so that wireless devices can communicate directly with the vehicle network. According to the Small Business Times, entertainment devices will be able to send their audio wirelessly to the car speakers.
So listening to your messages or making calls on your mobile phone won’t require cables or complicated software integration. Wireless networks will be coming to vehicles in a big way within the next few years, including being able to download movies or music to your car from your home network. [Wired : Autopia]