The Google Android operating system will not just be for phones for much longer. The Swedish car company Saab has just released an Android operation system for its new 2011 concept car, the Saab IQon, which was demoed at the 2011 Geneva motor show in Geneva, Switzerland.
This Android- base in- dash "infotainment" system will be Wi- Fi enabled and will have an eight inch touch screen. he IQon will have a pre-intstalled modem and will be able to power up as soon as the car turns on. Drivers will be able to have access to thousands of Android apps at the touch of a finger. These apps will include the typical e- mail, navigation, games, music streaming, and entertainment and well as a few extra features designed specifically for the car. Real time weather and traffic update apps are already available for Android, but will be perfect for this platform. Apps to detect external air temperature and control internal air temperature will be likely, as will apps that keep track of the angle of the steering wheel, engine speed, compass direction, barometric pressure, and even the sun's position as well as the other usual information typically on the dashboard of a car. It will allow developers to access the driver data from five hundred different vehicle sensors in order to create useful apps for drivers.
However, any app will require the approval of Saab's app store in order to ensure that each app is safe, secure, and free of malware so that hackers and developers with bad intentions can't harm anyone. Although Google would like this to be an open platform, Saab insists on reviewing each app before making it publicly available for safety reasons, because apps could be made that show the wrong information or mess up the car's internal computer. The apps will be sold in a Saab IQon store designed specifically for the IQon. Anyone will be able to make and submit an app for the IQon store as long as it passes Saab's review and is safe. Saab intends to provide programmers with a vehicle application programming interface (API) to be able to do this.
Not only will this new Android platform in a car be useful and entertaining to the passengers, but it will be helpful to dealerships. It has built- in remote communication to and from Saab dealerships, which will make carrying out diagnostic tests and uploading vehicle data much easier for the dealerships.
Reports say that IQon is being tested on a beta fleet of cars and will be launched and available to the public sometime in 2012. It is likely to be a new trend among many cars, not just Saab, although Saab is the first car to have the Android operating system. It is also unique because, unlike other infotainment systems now on the market, the IQon can be refined further by other third- party developers. IQon will have the connectivity and apps enjoyed with smartphones in addition to new car-specific apps.
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