Automotive Mobile Audio Video

Motorola announced today that it was creating a new business group to more intensely focus resources on the growing worldwide opportunity in the emerging automotive communications industry, and to ensure that customers are easily able to access the full scope of Motorola's capabilities. The new group -- Telematics Communications Group (TCG) -- will bring together several product businesses and development efforts currently occurring across the corporation. They include the businesses developing telematics hardware and software, the wireless phones that are "built in" to vehicles, Global Positioning System (GPS) products and infotainment software and servers. Marios Zenios, corporate vice president, has been named general manager of TCG, and it will be part of Motorola's Automotive, Component, Computer and Energy Sector (ACCES).

Joe Guglielmi, senior vice president and president, ACCES, said the decision to create this new group-level effort is tied to the growth Motorola has seen in its automotive communications, or telematics, related business and growing interest from consumers and automotive manufacturers in these products.

"Consumers have been particularly interested in the initial safety features, such as emergency calling and roadside assistance," said Guglielmi. "These products enable a driver to contact a service center at the push of a button and they enable the service center to pinpoint the location of the vehicle via Global Positioning System (GPS) technology." In addition to emergency calling and roadside assistance, the early products have also included such features as navigation information and remote door unlock service.

According to Guglielmi, "As products continue to evolve they are expected to begin offering a much wider variety of entertainment and information services, Internet access and automatic vehicle diagnostics. In fact, the potential benefits these products may offer the mobile public are limited only by imagination and the ability of companies like Motorola to translate imagination and technology into viable products." Industry insiders predict that products will offer services ranging from an audio reading of stock reports and email to recommending restaurants and reserving theater tickets to displaying movies for the kids in the back seat.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:14 AM