We mentioned Vinli before as one of the hot new car adapters that not only gives users ODB II port info, but also turns cars into 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspots. On top of that, it works in conjunction with a suite of smartphone apps that connects drivers to a network of services for both maintenance and utility. These things are certainly handy, but shouldn’t those hands be on the wheel instead of on a phone?
Today at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show, Vinli announced Carport, a cloud-based system that packs all these features seamlessly into the dashboard of your vehicle.
The main difference between Carport and the Vinli adapter is that Carport will be installed by auto manufacturers and work within the dashboard infotainment system. From here, drivers can have access to the same app suite that Vinli offers on the phone, but in a more integrated, streamlined manner.
Carport has a few neat tricks built in even without loading up on third party apps. Carport Home Connect links your car up with smart home products like the Nest thermostat and Samsung SmartThings devices. Leaving and arriving then initializes functions like turning heat up or switching on security cameras.
Carport Beagle will let households with multiple cars keep track of each other, not only by mapping thier location, but also with alerts that inform cautious parents that their pride and joy went over a pre-set speed limit, for example. The location services also connect to a roadside assistance network that can be on call with the press of a button in case users encounter any automotive mishaps.
To prevent those, Carport has My Service Shop that keeps tabs of maintenance milestones on a personalized timeline, giving drivers a visible graphic of when they last changed the car’s oil, rotated tires, or swapped a battery. There’s even a mileage ticker that counts down to the next service interval to help avoid overshooting it.
It all sounds pretty handy, but it’s still too early to know which auto manufacturers will carry Vinli in their vehicles or how it works in the real world. Either way, adding the car into a network of smart devices further supplants the car as more than a means of conveyance, but one of the most versatile mobile devices in our lives today.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.