With Christmas over and New Years celebrations in full preparation, our attention is turned to 2014 and the first significant event of the new year in the shape of CES 2014.
According to new sources, Google and Audi are set to announce a partnership at CES 2014 beginning on January 7th to build a new in-car dashboard system which will bring Android into your car.
In addition, further companies are reportedly involved in the partnership to bring Android into the car, and Google are set to detail these companies further at CES 2014. However, initial reports suggest Nvidia are involved in the collaboration.
Google at CES 2014
Google is believed to use the Miracast technology in order to pair the Android devices with the in-car technology, to bring the full range of features to the car dashboard.
Miracast is a peer-to-peer wireless screencasting standard formed via Wi-Fi Directconnections in a manner similar to Bluetooth. It enables wireless or wired delivery of compressed standard or high-definition video to or from desktops, tablets, mobile phones, and other devices.
The new in-car Android technology are set to compete against iOS in the Car which was announced earlier this year at WWDC. The aim would be to allow drivers to operate their device hands-free, allowing access to music, navigation, and Apps.
“The car is becoming the ultimate mobile device,” said Thilo Koslowski, an analyst at the research firm Gartner Inc. IT +0.48% who specializes in advanced in-car electronics. “Apple and Google see that and are trying to line up allies to bring their technology into the vehicle.”
It seems car manufacturers are all for the technology to be integrated into their cars, and are queueing up to get a piece of the action. Car manufacturers are extremely interested in the obvious safety aspects associated with bringing hands-free operation to mobile devices in the car, but also the flexibility adopting a major operating system in the car will bring to in-car entertainment to pick one example.
2014 can be expected to be a year where we see a big leap forward in the in-car technology department, with both Apple already set and Google launching at CES 2014 to be both major players in the area.