Tag: blackberry

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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Hands-on with Jaguar’s next-gen mobile integration for Blackberry

Filed under: Technology, Jaguar

Jaguar Connect and View

Jaguar shows off next generation Blackberry interface – Click above to watch the video

Jaguar trotted out a modified version of its XJ to Blackberry World 2011, RIM’s international developer’s conference, with a prototype smartphone integration system developed in conduction with Denso, RealVNC and RIM.

The setup works much like Terminal Mode, porting the smartphone’s (in this case, a Blackberry Torch) UI directly into the eight-inch screen mounted on the dash. Rather than displaying a watered-down interface, the “Connect and View” system allows users to interact with the exact UI through the touchscreen, mirroring all the functionality of the Blackberry – from maps to apps to the music interface – along with softkeys to replace the device’s physical buttons. The system also allows Jaguar to block apps and functionality that could be distracting to the driver. The VNC protocol is transferred over USB and keeps the phone constantly charging, while audio is streamed over Bluetooth. Connect and View has been developed specifically for the Blackberry, but Jaguar claims the system is device-agnostic, so Android and Windows Phone 7 versions could be in the cards. But don’t hold your breath for iOS implementation.

Jaguar says the system could come to market as early as next year and our compatriots at Engadget got a hands-on with the system at the show. Check it out after the jump, along with more details on Connect and View and Jaguar’s latest iPhone app – “Driven Intelligence” – that’s available as a free download from the Apple App Store.

[Sources: Jaguar, Engadget]

Continue reading Hands-on with Jaguar’s next-gen mobile integration for Blackberry

Hands-on with Jaguar’s next-gen mobile integration for Blackberry originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 May 2011 16:57:00 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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