Your car is part of your home. Whether it’s parked in your garage, the street, or the driveway, or simply getting you from place to place, it’s something that you count on almost as often as the roof over your head. Now, Vivint wants to protect it like it’s part of your home, too. The security company is introducing the new Vivint Car Guard, a first-of-its-kind service that allows users to keep tabs on their vehicle when they aren’t behind the wheel.
Integrated directly into the existing Vivint Smart Home app, Car Guard is able to send you mobile notifications about your car. All you have to do is plug the tiny device into your vehicle’s onboard diagnostics port (OBD-II), which is found under the dashboard of most cars. Once installed, the Car Guard tracks everything that you could possibly want to know about your car. It’s one of the most useful car accessories on the market.
Car Guard can tell you if your vehicle has been bumped, if it’s being towed, or if someone breaks in and attempts to steal it. You won’t be able to see it, though; you’ll need a dash cam for that. It’s perfect for folks who leave their car parked outside at night or leave their vehicle in public places like parking lots or on the street during the workday. It will also give you car diagnostic information so you’ll be alert to any issues that may be plaguing your ride.
Because Car Guard integrates directly into the Vivint Smart Home system, you can use the service in tandem with existing Vivint services. That means you can customize how your house and car react when triggered by an alert. For instance, if your car senses a disturbance in the middle of the night, you can set that issue to trigger your outdoor lights to turn on and your camera to start recording. It offers an extra layer of protection for both your car and your home.
“Consumers want to protect their two most valuable assets – their home and their car,” Jeff Lyman, chief product officer at Vivint Smart Home, said in a statement. “Connecting the car and home unlocks enhanced protection and convenience that weren’t possible before.”
Vivint Car Guard will be available as a stand-alone service or as a part of an existing Vivint home security system package. The device itself will cost $199, and service will cost an additional $10 per month.
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.