Associated Press
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — DaimlerChrysler AG is looking to take a bite out of the burgeoning on-board communications market by putting a technology called Bluetooth in its vehicles.
Bluetooth, named for a 10th-century Viking, allows various components of telematics systems to "talk" to each other using radio frequencies instead of hard wires.
That means a driver could hook any Bluetooth-equipped cell phone to the car’s audio and display system without the phone having any physical contact with the vehicle.
The user can be as far as 30 meters away from the vehicle to operate the system, said Jim Kohut, lead engineer for telematics at the Chrysler Group.
The system, still unnamed, would be hands-free, using voice-recognition technology developed by IBM.
While the automaker said it was not ready to reveal the availability of specific services, it said the new system would be markedly different from OnStar, which is owned by General Motors Corp.
OnStar services, such as roadside assistance and navigation, require a subscription fee.
Chrysler Group telematics chief Jack Witherow said users will contract for online services through their cell phone service providers. Any added fees would be folded into their phone bills.
The system will be offered as an aftermarket feature next spring and as a factory-installed option in early 2003. The automaker said prices have not yet been set.
Thursday’s announcement represents a possible breakthrough for the technology that has been discussed and widely anticipated for several years but to date had not been put into practical use.
"It was a compatibility issue," said Robert Bullis, president of Automotive Associates International of Avon, Conn. "Everybody would like to use it, but they would like you to use their product," he said. "It’s the old game of Apple versus Microsoft."
Bullis said use of Bluetooth was further hindered by a general public apathy for on-board Internet access using personal digital assistants and cell phones.
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