By Andrew Liszewski
So it turns out some corporations can play nice with Facebook… The rumors broke last week but today General Motors and OnStar officially revealed that In addition to an updated logo and brand re-launch, the service would be gaining some new functionality with the roll-out of its 9th generation of hardware. One of the new features that will probably be most popular with today’s social media addicted consumer is the ability to record Facebook audio updates through a vehicle’s OnStar system, or have their most recent news feed messages read back to them, all without having to take their eyes off the road. OnStar subscribers will soon be able to hear their SMS or txt messages read back to them as well, with the ability to respond with one of four pre-determined replies.
The 9th generation hardware also facilitates some handy new features like natural voice recognition, a Bluetooth accessible phonebook, advanced traffic and weather data based on your location and the ability to finally remotely reflash computer modules in the vehicle, allowing for over-the-air software updates. That last one is pretty important in my mind since it makes it easier to roll-out new updates and new functionality to consumers without them having to take their vehicle into a dealership. And last but certainly not least was the announcement that the Volt’s slick iPhone/Android app will be made available for pretty much every OnStar-equipped vehicle in GM’s lineup providing a lot more remote functionality than a traditional keyfob.
[ OnStar ]
