智能汽车？不就是大号智能手机长四个轮子嘛

“我用一辆车把一支智能手机包了起来。”据说电动车厂Tesla首席执行官Elon Musk曾在私底下对酷爱汽车、且拥有两台Tesla Model S 的Imagination高层Amit Rohatgi说过这样的话。而当笔者在今年国际消费性电子展(CES)期间听过数场专题演说、参加过几场记者会、访问了几个产业高层之后，了解到Musk并不是唯一有以上想法的人；把一辆车变成智能手机(或者是把智能手机变成车子)的概念，正以时速90英哩的速度往实现之路迈进。 不过我得承认，将连网汽车称做是“有轮子的智能手机”总让我觉得有点无趣，可能是那让我似曾相识。而从今年CES所传出的相关消息，开始有点像是智能手机问世初期，在世界移动通讯大会(MWC)期间会看到的报导，包括与电信业者新签的合约、杀手级服务与应用程序开发，以及车用信息娱乐系统所采用的单芯片，以及哪种操作系统才是最佳平台等永无休止的论战。 在今年的CES，有充分的证据可以显示智能手机与汽车的结合，展前之夜Audi总裁Rupert Stadler的专题演说就是一个最佳范例；这家德国车厂邀请了电信业者AT&T Mobility首席执行官Ralph de la Vega一同上台，宣布AT&T将在美国为Audi新型A3提供4G LTE服务。除了AT&T首席执行官，Stadleru的嘉宾还有Nvidia首席执行官黄仁勋；他表示：“如果我们正在经历移动运算革命，汽车将会是我们最先进的移动计算机。” 黄仁勋从口袋里拿出了Nvidia的模块化信息娱乐系统开发板(modular infotainment board，MIB)，该模块已经进驻Audi的车用资通讯娱乐系统；他以这个为开头聊起Nvidia最新推出的Tegra K1 “超级芯片”，表示：“我等不及想看到Audi如何应用Tegra K1。”

Nvidia总裁黄仁勋担任Audi专题演说嘉宾
Source：EE Times/Junko Yoshida

Delphi展示云端汽车连网系统
Source：EE Times/Junko Yoshida8qZesmc

本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 本文下一页：汽车厂商比以往更积极讨好软件开发商

相关阅读：
• CES 2014：连网汽车将带来的冲击和商机
• CES2014开展！看各大厂商发布新品及新策略
• 五花八门创新产品在2014年CES亮相！8qZesmc

{pagination} 除 了与电信业者的合作，汽车厂商也比以往更积极讨好软件开发商──如Ford Motor就宣布，将召开第一场汽车应用程序开发者大会。应用程序商店对于开发应用程序密集车辆的汽车业者来说越来越重要，如GM宣布将透过其 MyLink 资通讯娱乐系统提供AppShop应用程序在线商店，该服务将会是汽车主控屏幕上的一个常驻图示，让用户能下载各种应用程序，并客制化汽车的主控屏幕。 任 何一款选配MyLink 与AppShop 的Chevrolet汽车，将自动支持4G LTE；GM表示，将会有更多应用程序进驻汽车，但现在只有iHeartRadio、Priceline.com、The Weather Channel、 NPR、Slacker Radio、TuneIn Radio、Cityseeker、Eventseeker、Glympse与 Kaliki等几种应用程序。 在CES众多汽车相关消息中，Google是一大焦点，该公司宣布将以产业联盟的形式，推广 Android平台车用资通讯系统；该联盟名为“Open Automotive Alliance (OAA)”，成员包括Audi、GM、Hyundai与Honda四家车厂，还有芯片业者Nvidia。Google似乎是想把在手机市场的成功模式复 制到汽车市场──OAA与另一个产业联盟Open Handset Alliance非常类似，Google以后者成功推动了Android在移动装置领域的商业化。 无疑的，连网汽车对移动应用程序供货商来说是一大福音；而除了Nvidia之外，手机芯片大厂Qualcomm也准备进军连网汽车市场。Qualcomm在CES开展前夕宣布推出 汽车等级Snapdragon处理器，打算利用已经在车用蜂窝调制解调器市场建立的知名度，抢下汽车业者的车用资通讯娱乐业务商机。 在 听到这么多炒热连网汽车的消息，你如果还想问：“我为何需要让汽车上网？”这里有个很实际的答案：“你能透过无线链接更新车内的软件。” Imagination营销策略副总裁Rohatgi曾分享过他的一个经验，表示他在驾驶他的Tesla时，仪表板曾突然闪现“电池系统警报”的消息；他 当时对这个信息一头雾水，要把车子开回车厂检修也很麻烦，幸好后来他透过电话与Tesla客服部取得联系，他们透过无线连网更新车内软件解决了问题，而且 Rohatgi还是在开车，也不用把车开到维修厂。 Rohatgi问道：“你是否拥有过一辆能‘与时俱进’的车子？”藉由无 线更新软件，他的Tesla能取得新功能，以及从前没有的应用程序。而在此同时，Delphi的Winter在拉斯韦加斯透过该公司的云端汽车连网系统发 现，他儿子的汽车正在科罗拉多州，往滑雪场行驶──身为家长，这应该能说服你换辆连网汽车吧？ 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Judith Cheng 参考英文原文：Take a Smartphone & Wrap a Car Around It，by Junko Yoshida

相关阅读：
• CES 2014：连网汽车将带来的冲击和商机
• CES2014开展！看各大厂商发布新品及新策略
• 五花八门创新产品在2014年CES亮相！8qZesmc

{pagination} Take a Smartphone & Wrap a Car Around It Junko Yoshida, Chief International Correspondent LAS VEGAS — “I took a smartphone and wrapped a car around it.” That’s what Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, reportedly said in a private conversation with Amit Rohatgi, an executive at Imagination Technologies who loves cars and owns two Tesla’s Model S. As I sit in keynotes, attend press briefings, and meet executives at this year’s International CES, I realize Tesla’s Musk is no longer the only gearhead thinking that way. The perception of a car turning into a smartphone (or a smartphone turning into a car) is a prophecy fulfilling itself at 90 miles an hour. I’d have to admit, though, that calling a connected car “a smartphone on wheels” always makes me a little weary. Possibly because I've been here before. News coming out of CES this year has begun to look a lot like the bulletins that used to come out at the Mobile World Congress in the early days of smartphones. Such stories range from new contracts with mobile service operators, killer service and apps development, details of a “brain” (SoC) that empowers infotainment systems, and a never-ending debate on which operating system is best positioned to dominate the “infotainment” platform. At this year’s CES, evidence of smartphones subsuming cars are plenty. Look no further than the keynote speech by Audi’s Chairman Rupert Stadler Monday night. The German carmaker brought AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega on stage, who announced that the carrier will provide 4G LTE connectivity in the new Audi A3 in the United States. Along with AT&T Mobility’s CEO, Audi’s Stadler also trotted out Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. Onstage, Huang said, “If we’re in the middle of the mobile computing revolution, then the car is the most advanced mobile computer we have.” He took from his pocket the company’s modular infotainment board (MIB) module that powers Audio’s infotainment systems. That gave Huang a perfect segue way to talk up the company’s newly announced Tegra K1 “super” chip. He noted, “I can’t wait to see what Audi does with Tegra K1.” Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang on stage during Audi's keynote. (Source: EE Times/Junko Yoshida) Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang on stage during Audi's keynote. (Source: EE Times/Junko Yoshida) You plug me, I'll plug you, and we'll both drive off together. CES this year also brought more announcements on partnership agreements between car companies and mobile operators. General Motors said that beginning this summer 10 Chevrolet vehicles will have AT&T 4G LTE cellular connections as an option through the OnStar platform. GM also said that the majority of 2015 vehicles in the Chevy lineup will have the connection installed at launch. 4G LTE-equipped cars, essentially mobile hotspots, will allow for faster data transfers from the cloud, letting passengers connect multiple devices simultaneously. GM, however, did not announce pricing for the requisite data packages. Delphi, meanwhile, recently launched in partnership with Verizon Wireless 4G LTE connectivity “add-ons” to vehicles. Through Delphi’s cloud-based automotive connectivity system, users can remotely control, monitor and track their vehicles in real-time through a smartphone, said Kathy Winter, vice president of software and services at Delphi. Delphi shows off its cloud-based automotive connectivity system -- added to Fiat. (Source: EE Times/Junko Yoshida) Delphi shows off its cloud-based automotive connectivity system -- added to Fiat. (Source: EE Times/Junko Yoshida) Car OEMs are cozying up with software developers more than ever before. Ford Motor Co., courting smartphone app developers, is launching what it claims as the industry first developer conference for automotive apps. Apps stores are also becoming crucial for car OEMs working on app-intensive cars. GM announced that it would offer an AppShop through its MyLink infotainment system. The AppShop will be an icon on the homescreen that allows users to download available apps and then customize the car's homescreen. Any Chevrolet optioned with MyLink and AppShop will automatically come with 4G LTE capability. GM says more apps are coming, but for now initial apps include iHeartRadio, Priceline.com, The Weather Channel, NPR, Slacker Radio, TuneIn Radio, Cityseeker, Eventseeker, Glympse, and Kaliki. Among a host of automotive announcements at CES, one of the highlights was Google, which, as we predicted last month, announced a partnership aimed at bringing Android-powered infotainment systems to the car OEMs’ vehicle lineup. The industry alliance, called “The Open Automotive Alliance (OAA)” includes four of the top 10 automakers -- Audi, General Motors, Hyundai, and Honda -- and a chip vendor Nvidia. Using mobile playbook Google, which has taken a page out of its mobile playbook, is applying it to the automotive market. OAA closely resembles another industry alliance, called the Open Handset Alliance, which Google has been leading to drive commercial development of Android for mobile devices. Undoubtedly, the connected car is a boon to mobile chip vendors. Aside from Nvidia, the cellular chip giant Qualcomm is moving into a connected car market big time. Qualcomm unveiled early Monday morning an auto-grade Snapdragon SoC. The company is leveraging its already strong presence in the in-car cellular modem market to advance automakers' telematics business. The mobile chip giant is also joining the brewing in-vehicle infotainment platform battle by introducing Snapdragon automotive solutions. After having heard all the hype around connected cars, if you are still asking, “Why do I need to have my car connected to the rest of the world?,” here’s an answer: over the air software updates for your car. Imagination’s vice president of strategic marketing Rohatgi talked of his own experience when Tesla’s dash suddenly flashed a message of “battery system warning,” while he was driving. Rohatgi had no idea what the message meant and was annoyed by the potential chore of bringing his vehicle into a shop to have it interpreted. Lo and behold, his car got a phone call, while he was still driving. Tesla’s service department was tracking Rohatgi’s car. Rohatgi got help from a service person who walked him through the problem over the phone. Eventually it was solved with an over-the-air software update -- with Rohatgi still rolling along. Rohatgi never had to bring the car into the shop. Rohatgi asked, “Have you ever owned a car that could be ‘improved’ over time?” With over the air software updates, his Tesla gets new features and apps that he didn’t have before. Meanwhile, with Delphi’s cloud-based automotive connectivity system, Delphi’s Kathy Winter, found -- using her phone in Las Vegas -- her son’s car in Colorado, heading for the ski slopes. If I were a mother, this would be enough to sell me on the power of connected cars.