Battle heats up for Internet-ready car
By Charles J. Murray
EE Times
(07/20/01, 2:31 p.m. EST)
PARK RIDGE, Ill. — The OnStar Division of General Motors again raised the ante in the automotive Internet game late this week, announcing an agreement with the Walt Disney Internet Group to bring ESPN.com, Disney.com, and ABCNews.com to its subscribers. OnStar will deliver the Web content to drivers using the text-to-speech capabilities of its Virtual Advisor, a telematics service that was introduced in 2000.
The announcement is OnStar's second in a week. Previously it said it expects to be the first to offer real-time traffic and road-condition reports.
Both announcements follow on the heels of recent news that Oracle Corp. has formed an alliance with telematics company Wingcast, a joint venture of Ford Motor Co. and Qualcomm Inc. The strategic alliance is aimed at jointly developing and marketing next-generation telematics services. Wingcast plans to launch its services in 2003 models on Ford Motor Co. and Nissan vehicle lines.
The alliance is clearly aimed at unseating OnStar, which has been the leader in automotive telematics services since its inception in 1996.
"We think that the best wireless telematics technology will come from the Wingcast and Oracle coalition," said Larry Ellison, chairman and chief executive of Oracle Corp. "That's where we're placing our bet."
AI
