General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has made a statement that in 2015 almost all GM vehicle models will be fitted with 4G mobile internet access. According to Dan Akerson, CEO of General Motors, the newest car and truck models represent the highest level of engineering and technological innovation in the past 10 years.
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is planning to include its OnStar unit and 4G LTE mobile broadband hardware, which will provide even better service to drivers. According to General Motors, on an average a user is busy with his smartphone or tablet for more than 2.5 hours, which turns out to be 15 hours per week on average as a passenger or driver of the car.
“Marry the two and you have a megatrend that we intend to harness for competitive advantage,” Akerson told the Chief Executives’ Club of Boston.
Will Help Reduce Distracted Driving
Akerson said that drivers and passengers want flawless connectivity during accidents or traffic jams. Further, they also want to keep their kids busy and occupied and prevent the car from any break down.
Akerson further hopes that the technology that they are trying to build into the vehicles will reduce distracted driving. He said that when a driver texts while he drives it is the scariest thing. However, installing the technology in the right way can actually solve lots of problems and drivers can concentrate on the road.
Recent studies, however, contradict Akerson’s point, and state that keeping an eye on the road does not necessarily make driving safe.
A Long Way to Go
The 2015 versions of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) vehicles, which will be fitted with the 4G mobile internet access, will be sold in the United States and Canada beginning in mid-2014 followed by the sales expanding globally.
Analyst Itay Michaeli at Citi anticipated that OnStar contributes $1.5 billion in annual revenue for General Motors. The cost of the unit ranges between $5 billion and $7 billion.
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has a long way to when it comes to alluring numerous code writers to make apps for their vehicles. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Android have followed a similar strategy and are well positioned today. Akerson hopes that the General Motors App shop will be very popular one day.
BMW Not To Support iOS
In separate news, German Automaker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (FRA:BMW) (ETR:BMW) did not feature itself on the list of those Automobile makers who will support the latest iOS of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in their vehicle. The reason given is that the interiors and the architectural features of the car need alteration to support latest iOS.
