Tag: apps

Audi introducing roadside assistant apps for iPhone, Android, Blackberry

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Audi

Audi iPhone App

Audi is rolling out a new roadside assistance app for owners equipped with an iPhone, Blackberry or Android device, and drivers with older Audis can get in on the action as well.

Once you’ve download the app from the corresponding store, you enter your VIN and some basic personal information, and get access to Audi’s roadside assistance program supplied by Allstate. Jump-starts, fuel delivery and towing are included in the service – free for new owners and requiring a fee for older models. The app also includes a dealer locator and taps into your smartphone’s GPS functionality to pinpoint your location.

The Curve and Bold are the first two Blackberrys supported by the app (download here), with the iPhone and Android versions available at the Apple App Store and Android Market, respectively. Full details in the press blast after the break.

Continue reading Audi introducing roadside assistant apps for iPhone, Android, Blackberry

Audi introducing roadside assistant apps for iPhone, Android, Blackberry originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 May 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Exclusive hands-on with BMW Apps, new ConnectedDrive

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Technology, BMW

BMW ConnectedDrive with BMW Apps

BMW Connected Apps – Click above to watch video tour

BMW has big plans for this week’s New York Auto Show, including the debut of the 2012 6 Series Coupe, lease pricing for the all-electric ActiveE and the first application of its new TwinPower turbocharged four-cylinder in the U.S. But that’s not all.

BMW gave us an early preview of the next generation ConnectedDrive system, complete with Apple Plugin integration (read: iPod out) for the iPhone and iPod Touch and it’s latest foray into the integrated app game, which ports Twitter, Facebook, Pandora and web radio directly into iDrive for a seamless, connected experience.

Follow the jump for our full impressions and a video of the system in action.

Continue reading Video: Exclusive hands-on with BMW Apps, new ConnectedDrive

Video: Exclusive hands-on with BMW Apps, new ConnectedDrive originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Senators urge phonemakers to ban DUI checkpoint apps, Blackberry first to comply

Filed under: Safety, Technology

Blackberry DUI

A group of Senators have sent letters to the largest smartphone manufacturers demanding the removal of applications that alert drivers of DUI checkpoints. And Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian company that produces the Blackberry, was the first to comply.

The letter (available after the jump) sent by Senators Harry Reid, (D-NV), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Tom Udall (D-NM) landed in the inboxes of Scott Forstall, Apple’s Senior VP of iPhone Software, as well as Eric Schmidt, current head of Google and a senior executive at RIM. And the reason behind the removal was clear.

Nearly a third of all vehicle fatalities in the U.S. involve a DUI or DWI, and several apps available through the Apple App Store, Android Market and RIM’s AppWorld alerts users of upcoming checkpoints, be it through crowd-sourced or using a pre-programmed and constantly updating database. The biggest culprit, according to the Senators, is PhantomALERT, which touts itself as “the world’s largest driver generated and verified database of speed traps, red light cameras, speed cameras, school zones, DUI checkpoints, dangerous intersections and more across North America.”

Neither Apple or Google – the crew behind the open-source Android mobile OS – have responded at this time, but with RIM already pulling the plug, there’s a good possibility – particularly given Apple’s tight control of apps – that each company could follow suit.

While the rationale behind the proposed removal is obvious, inevitably the debate about how apps play into freedom of speech and the broad brush in which other apps – like Trapster – have been caught up in the mix means a quick resolution is far off.

[Source: Senator’s offices, Detroit News, RIM]

Continue reading Senators urge phonemakers to ban DUI checkpoint apps, Blackberry first to comply

Senators urge phonemakers to ban DUI checkpoint apps, Blackberry first to comply originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Senators urge phonemakers to ban DUI checkpoint apps, Blackberry first to comply

Filed under: Safety, Technology

Blackberry DUI

A group of Senators have sent letters to the largest smartphone manufacturers demanding the removal of applications that alert drivers of DUI checkpoints. And Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian company that produces the Blackberry, was the first to comply.

The letter (available after the jump) sent by Senators Harry Reid, (D-NV), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Tom Udall (D-NM) landed in the inboxes of Scott Forstall, Apple’s Senior VP of iPhone Software, as well as Eric Schmidt, current head of Google and a senior executive at RIM. And the reason behind the removal was clear.

Nearly a third of all vehicle fatalities in the U.S. involve a DUI or DWI, and several apps available through the Apple App Store, Android Market and RIM’s AppWorld alerts users of upcoming checkpoints, be it through crowd-sourced or using a pre-programmed and constantly updating database. The biggest culprit, according to the Senators, is PhantomALERT, which touts itself as “the world’s largest driver generated and verified database of speed traps, red light cameras, speed cameras, school zones, DUI checkpoints, dangerous intersections and more across North America.”

Neither Apple or Google – the crew behind the open-source Android mobile OS – have responded at this time, but with RIM already pulling the plug, there’s a good possibility – particularly given Apple’s tight control of apps – that each company could follow suit.

While the rationale behind the proposed removal is obvious, inevitably the debate about how apps play into freedom of speech and the broad brush in which other apps – like Trapster – have been caught up in the mix means a quick resolution is far off.

[Source: Senator’s offices, Detroit News, RIM]

Continue reading Senators urge phonemakers to ban DUI checkpoint apps, Blackberry first to comply

Senators urge phonemakers to ban DUI checkpoint apps, Blackberry first to comply originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading “Senators urge phonemakers to ban DUI checkpoint apps, Blackberry first to comply”