Wi-Fi Internet access break free to become a commonplace automotive feature. That’s the hope of Autonet Mobile, a company that supplies in-car Wi-Fi routers that let passengers use laptops and other mobile devices in their vehicles.
By 2016, consumers will consider such Internet connectivity as important as traditional features such as safety and fuel economy, said Thilo Koslowski, vice president of the Automotive Manufacturing Industry Advisory Service at market researcher Gartner, Inc.
Autonet Mobile sells its $499 routers through Chrysler and Cadillac dealers as manufacturer-endorsed, dealer-installed options for those cars, branded as Uconnect Web and Cadillac Wi-Fi, respectively. Its routers can also be added to any car after a vehicle is purchased.
In addition to buying the router, a 20-minute installation to place it in the trunk of a vehicle should cost another $35-$50 depending on the shop, Autonet Mobile says. The monthly 3G data service costs $29, with a $35 activation fee.
The drivers can benefit from Wi-Fi access as a way of receiving Internet radio, which can be streamed to the car through devices such as Apple’s iPod touch.
Drivers can also use Internet-based MapQuest to route them to their destinations, and business users can access the Web to do chores like sending sales orders after visiting customers.
But the real plus of having a Wi-Fi router in the car is for passengers who can access the Internet to watch YouTube videos, connect to social networks, instant-message friends and play games using any Wi-Fi-enabled device. Netbooks and the iPod touch are some of the most popular mobile devices Autonet Mobile customers are using, but the Sony PSP and Nintendo GameBoy portable game systems and even the Nintendo Wii game console are popular devices.it’s possible to have mobile Internet access in the car and everywhere else either through a mobile phone with data service or using a laptop that has a cellular modem card and Internet service. But Autonet Mobile says that data doesn’t stream as smoothly over those services as it does using the company's system which is optimized to maintain continuous contact as service is handed off from one cell tower to another.
Data speeds are similar to those of other 3G cellular devices, running between 800 kilobits and 1.2 megabits per second. Among Autonet Mobile customers, the company says it is seeing 2.7 average users per car. That sounds higher than the typical number of occupants in the average car, but it may be that drivers who have Wi-Fi in their cars are carpool drivers or families with children.
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