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In-car WiFi to Hit the Road Next Year
(24 Jun 2008, BWCS Staff)US car maker Chrysler will this week announce its new UConnect Web System for its cars. The company reportedly plans to introduce the WiFi on-board system into some of its vehicles from next year. Chrysler says it will effectively turn new cars into moving broadband WiFi hotspots with drivers and passengers able to access the internet from the dashboard.
The system, which is supported by Microsoft, is expected to appear first in 2009 on new versions of the company's larger Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models. Chrysler said that the WiFi connections will be supplied via normal mobile phone networks and that motorists wishing to use the service will be charged a monthly fee. A spokesman for the giant car-maker, quoted in the US press earlier in the year, said that Chrysler intends to be the first automobile company to offer in-car internet access. In fact, BMW also unveiled a similar in-car system at the Geneva Motor Show this spring, though the German company has not yet said when it will add such features.
From what the US car company has said, it appears that the router will be fitted into the in-car radio and will assist with navigation as well as providing drivers, or hopefully, their passengers, with internet access via a browser.
Some car rental agencies, such as AVIS, already offer in-car WiFi hotspot services as a premium service in some markets where business travelers can't wait to find a Starbucks coffee shop or a bookstore to stop and check company email.
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