Wingcast and Directed Electronics to Partner
Wednesday, 09 January 2002
SAN DIEGO — Vista-based Directed Electronics and Wingcast announced a
partnership to develop a CDMA-based telematics product for the automotive
aftermarket. The deal was announced today at the Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The first product expected to come from the partnership, according to Wingcast,
is scheduled to be ready late this year. The company says it will offer automatic
vehicle location capabilities that will monitor, track and control vehicles over the
Internet. It will also offer GPS technology, Web-based remote start capabilities
and Geo-Fencing, which phones, pages or e-mails a vehicle's owner if it strays
outside owner-set geographic areas.
The term aftermarket is used to designate products that are installed after a car
is purchased at the option of the buyer.
Wingcast, a joint venture of Ford Motor Corp. and Qualcomm, is already
developing telematics systems that will come preinstalled in vehicles.
Vista-based Directed Electronics is a well-known maker of the Viper car alarm and
other aftermarket electronics.
Web site: www. directed.com
Web site: www.wingcast.com
