Archive for the ‘Sat Nav’ Category

Remember when HBO and Cinemax used to offer free weekends, just to show non-subscribers what they were missing? Well, General Motors' OnStar has taken half a page from that playbook: this Friday, OnStar will provide free turn-by-turn navigation -- but only to current subscribers. Presumably, the goal is to get folks enrolled at OnStar's Safe & Sound level to shell out an extra $100 for the Directions & Connections plan. That may not be as tantalizing as free softcore, but when you're lost in your in-laws' hometown, which would you rather have? ...Um, don't answer that.  [Facebook via MotorAuthority]

Here at TheCarConnection.com, we see a lot of gadgets designed to enhance the driving experience. Like the Mercedes-Benz mbrace system we mentioned yesterday, most are telematics devices offering directions, traffic news, and other familiar data. But MIT's SENSEable City Lab envisions something different: an onboard robot capable of giving drivers feedback on their driving style, reminding folks to buckle up, and generally providing a more "symbiotic" relationship between vehicle and driver. Most curiously, the Affective Intelligent Driving Agent -- code-named AIDA -- also conveys expressions via its Wall-E-esque, stylized human face. MIT...

First, the good news: technologically speaking, the Aha Mobile traffic app is at the front of the pack. It pairs the iPhone's built-in geolocation capabilities with data from INRIX, Yelp, SitOrSquat, and PhotoEnforced, making Aha your one-stop-shop for data on traffic, food, bathrooms, and speed cameras -- without having to deal with itty-bitty maps. Other features allow you to communicate with nearby drivers and post to Twitter and Facebook. Also, it's totally free.

The bad news? Aha works better in some cities than others, its geolocation tools occasionally go off-track, it's a memory hog, and it's somewhat unstable. But as long as Aha is...