In linking with Google Android for a Chevy Volt mobile application, GM has taken an important step to adapt its OnStar service to the specific needs of electric vehicle drivers. Android could eventually take on a much larger role in connected vehicles. Read more »
General Motors moved this week to link its upcoming Chevrolet Volt and in-vehicle communications system, OnStar, with Google navigation tools and smartphones based on the search giant’s Android platform. This marks a key intersection in the trajectories of automakers and Internet giants and could pave the way to much more comprehensive partnerships across previously disconnected industries and systems. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Today on the Net: An analysis of what Google TV means to advertisers, Clearleap hits a milestone by topping 10 million cable subscribers and the U.K. Office of Fair Trade has decided against investigating the BBC’s Project Canvas. Read more »
Bob Lutz — the GM executive who for years denied climate change, made his name with muscle cars and eventually came to champion the Chevy Volt — said GM’s struggles stemmed partly from B-school syndrome: focusing more on making money than great cars. Read more »
Google and GM plan to connect the automaker’s in-vehicle communications system with phones running on Google’s Android operating system, GM announced Tuesday. It all starts with a beefed up app for the Chevy Volt that will use Google tech for location-based services. Read more »
Automakers from Detroit to China to Silicon Valley have plug-in vehicles slated for commercial launch between 2010 and 2012. A lively ecosystem of technology developers, equipment makers and would-be service providers for these vehicles has started to emerge in preparation for an influx of electric cars. ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
During the next few years, plug-in hybrid and all electric vehicles will be mass-produced for the first time. The promise of reducing emissions, fuel consumption, and the cost of driving will prompt fleet operators and consumers to purchase more than 800,000 of these vehicles between 2010 and 2015, according to Pike Research’s forecasts. Keeping EVs charged and ready to go will require an infrastructure of equipment for vehicle charging and new IT management system for monitoring, analyzing, and controlling vehicle charging. This report looks at the opportunities for IT companies to solve a variety of challenges for utilities, automakers, consumers and others in the EV ecosystem. Includes market segment forecasts forcustomer information management, smart charging management and data analytics. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
There’s already 19 green IPOs on deck this year. Still more greentech firms have been rumored to be eying the public markets for some time. Here’s our 10 picks for which greentech startups could be next to file this year in the U.S.: Read more »
In the few months remaining until GM fires up production of the Chevy Volt, the automaker plans to focus on software and controls — or what Vehicle Chief Engineer Andrew Farah calls the “glue” that “make this whole thing work.” Read more »
In the move from gas powered cars to hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles, our cars will become more like overgrown consumer electronics than ever before. That trend brings with it potential for a new breed of errors. Read more »
Don’t let the enthusiasm of the early adopters fool you: Electric vehicles have a long way to go before taking hold in the mainstream. That was a warning issued yesterday by Jason Wolf, VP of Business Development for electric vehicle infrastructure startup Better Place. Read more »
French-Japanese allies Renault and Nissan, and German automaker Daimler AG, have a deal in the works to cooperate on development of hybrid and electric vehicle tech, and to share platforms for small cars. How could that shape the green car market? Read more »
Ford is turning to Microsoft’s home energy management tool Hohm to enable smart charging for its electric vehicles. Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made the announcement this morning. Read more »
I worked for many years as a consultant, and spent more frustrating time in Excel spreadsheets on a Tablet PC than I care to remember. With Numbers it looks like Apple has beaten Microsoft at its own game, and on the first try with the iPad. Read more »
Today forward thinking developers are eying the iPad — tomorrow they’ll be focused on your family sedan. These so-called connected cars will ultimately offer a next-generation platform for entrepreneurs and car makers to develop auto-focused applications. Read more »
Google’s Mobile App lands on the BlackBerry Storm and Storm2 today. The voice query supports three languages and searches the web, contacts and emails. But even with apps like these, the BlackBerry platform isn’t really driving the mobile web. Read more »
Across the auto industry, companies are on the hunt for electric vehicle launchpads: cities and regions most likely to give the upcoming generation of plug-in cars the smoothest possible entry into the market, and help them move into the mainstream. Many of the factors that come under […] Read more »
Toyota’s ongoing recall and the safety concerns embroiling an automaker that climbed to the top of the global car market through a reputation for reliability, may offer an opportunity for competitors to seize market share, at least in the near term. But Toyota’s troubles, which most recently […] Read more »
Just a few months have passed since three-wheeled vehicle developer Aptera Motors announced one of its co-founders, Chris Anthony, would be “stepping aside from day-to-day activities,” and the other co-founder, Steve Fambro, would be taking an extended vacation amid rumors the pair were ousted in a boardroom […] Read more »
“Out of sight, out of mind” isn’t so much of a problem for an employee who doesn’t telecommute. But finding a secure telecommuting position is possible, as is creating job security within an existing position. Read more »
“If I had a gun, I’d shoot myself,” I scribble on the note I pass to my friend Chester. “If I had a gun, I’d shoot them,” he scribbles back. It is, without doubt, one of the single worst presentations I have ever had to sit through Read more »
Think, the Norwegian electric car maker that aims to start selling its Think City model in the U.S. next year, has been doing its homework: slicing and dicing the massive U.S. auto market into an index of cities where its mid-range two-seater is most likely to […] Read more »
The world of electric motor-making for hybrid and electric vehicles, currently dominated by a small group of suppliers, is about to get a big new addition to its ranks: General Motors. Announcing today that it plans to invest $246 million setting up a facility for building […] Read more »
2009 had a few unexpected surprises, not all of them good. One affected my work, and that was my spouse’s layoff. Though I’ve struggled with New Year planning for new ideas and work, 2010 is off to a fabulous start. My spouse has started his new […] Read more »
Recently, I’ve been pondering the role that lists play in my life — from Twitter’s “playlists of people“ to Umberto Eco’s thoughts on lists as a cultural tool for “facing infinity” to my own ideas about the use of “someday list” for lingering tasks — which should […] Read more »
