Hello Pandora, Goodbye CD Changer

Most applications are only as good as the data they can access, and when platforms such as MyFord Touch aren’t connected to the Internet, their usefulness is severely limited. Internet in cars is currently in its infancy, with a few manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, and Ford experimenting with it in their latest models. But in the future, most new cars will become rolling Wi-Fi hot spots, either sharing an Internet connection with a “smartphone” (called “tethering”) or with a separate, dedicated data plan.

In five years, nearly 25 percent of cars will be connected to the Internet, according to iSuppli telematics analyst Richard Robinson. That means big changes for in-car entertainment. Just how big? “What you need to be thinking of is your computer pre- and post-dialup,” Robinson says. “How useful would your laptop be without being hooked up to the Internet?”

Since a mouse and a keyboard would be difficult to use at highway speeds, the most advanced setups will tailor the Web for an in-car experience. When connected to the Internet, MyFord Touch takes advantage of its voice-recognition software to use specially designed applications that allow drivers and passengers to listen to Internet music via Pandora and keep in touch with social networks like Twitter while on the road. Pandora (shown below), which is free and allows users to configure their own music “stations,” will likely make a serious dent in satellite-radio subscriptions.

Wi-Fi’s potential, says Ford’s Buczkowski, will be limited only to the imaginations of software developers. If kids want to watch videos streamed from the Internet in the back seat (the only place it’s currently legal in all 50 states in a moving car) or a passenger wants to search for the best lunch nearby, it’s possible. 
“It’s not that we can find the one thing that fits everybody, but that it can be adjusted to whoever is in the vehicle,” he says. Mercedes now offers an optional SplitView screen ($700, shown below) in its S-class and CL-class vehicles. Using the same dashboard-mounted screen employed by the navigation and stereo, the display can project two separate images—one to the driver and a different one to the passenger. The passenger can watch a movie while the driver sees only the regular display, but the system is still prohibited in 14 states. 

Despite this, other carmakers will likely introduce similar systems in the future.