The latest contender in the battle for your dashboard is Sprint’s Velocity, the telecommunications company’s first comprehensive in-car infotainment and telematics architecture aimed at automakers.
Sprint is unveiling Velocity this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which is billing itself as the place for hot new automotive tech introductions. Sprint’s lined up Chrysler as its first partner, and we got our hands on the all-new UConnect system featured in the Ram pickup truck and Dodge Viper. But the telecom plans to infiltrate the rest of Chrysler’s line-up and form partnerships with other automakers.
“Sprint Velocity is a whole new platform we built specifically for the automobile industry,” Tom Nelson, director of global wholesale and solutions marketing, told Wired. “It’s a global, end-to-end solution that simplifies the ability for manufacturers and consumers to connect devices to their cars.”
That’s a key development, because only about 4 percent of vehicles worldwide have the ability to connect with mobile devices that drivers bring into their cars. Machina Research expects that to hit 90 percent by 2020. Sprint wants a big piece of that pie.
What Velocity provides to automakers is the core technology on which to build infotainment and telematic systems. That includes remote locking and unlocking, vehicle start, 911 assist and creating a rolling Wi-Fi hotspot through an embedded modem or a tethered smartphone with a data connection. Infotainment and streaming music also is part of the puzzle, along with cloud-connected voice-activated controls for everything from navigation to texting.
Additionally, automakers are increasingly interested in getting information about customers’ cars for diagnostic and repair purposes, adding a more convenient connection between the automaker, the dealer and the driver.
“In the past, automakers had to stitch together all this stuff to create a connected technology in the vehicle,” says Nelson. With Sprint Velocity, “it’s an agile, adaptable and scalable platform.”
The scalability and — more importantly — upgradeability of an embedded system is of particular significance because the consumer electronics world moves at a much faster pace than the systems developed and deployed by automakers. One day you’ve got the latest and greatest in in-car connectivity; the next, you’re stuck with an outdated system that barely recognizes your shiny new smartphone or tablet.
Nelson insists Sprint Velocity is device-agnostic, although only two mobile operating systems came up during our conversation: iOS and Android. While Apple and Google’s operating systems dominate the mobile arena, being agnostic allows consumers to bring any device they choose into the car. That’s been an issue for every automaker trying to make a play in the connected-car space.
Further, we’re not hearing anything from Sprint about apps or courting developers, although when asked, there was mention of an SDK. However, that decision will be left to Sprint’s automotive partners to decide, as both security and safety concerns are paramount.
On the plus side for developers, having a new, standardized architecture underpinning a large swath of the automotive world would alleviate some issues about which platforms to focus on. They have to build apps for fewer operating systems, saving time and money.
While this all sounds impressive, it’s important to note that Sprint isn’t the first telecom to play the embedded telematics and infotainment game. Verizon has had a decades-long partnership with General Motors for its OnStar system, and Big Red recently acquired Hughes Telematics — a major player in the in-car connectivity space — to expand its footprint inside vehicles.
“[Sprint is] eager to play a bigger role in this segment as the telcos are looking for new growth segments in an increasingly flat market for traditional mobile phone services,” said Gartner automotive and mobility analyst Thilo Koslowski.
“The money opportunity for the automotive industry lies in providing unique customer experiences regarding consuming, creating, sharing and enriching digital content in the vehicle,” says Koslowski. “This can only be successful if the automotive industry embraces collaboration with technology companies like Sprint.”
But there’s a strong line between a partnership and ceding total control to an outside company, and automakers are intent on maintaining their own branding, ecosystems and user-interface designs. Automakers have to find their own space within these growing mobile ecosystems, and nobody – massive automakers or ambitious telecos – has cracked the code. Sprint Velocity is a step in that direction, but it all hinges on widespread adoption.
Sprint, Chrysler Link Up With 'Velocity' In-Car System
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Sprint, Chrysler Link Up With 'Velocity' In-Car System
