|
November 1, 2016
It’s Time for an IoT Security Standard
October 25, 2016
The Indefatigable PC
October 21, 2016
Tesla Hardware Upgrade to Enable More Autonomous Cars
October 18, 2016
Can IT Survive?
October 14, 2016
Sony PlayStation VR Brings Virtual Reality to the Masses
October 11, 2016
Galaxy Note 7: The Death of a Smartphone
October 4, 2016
Service Providers Still Act Like Utilities
September 30, 2016
Google Updates Their Cloud Offerings
September 27, 2016
The Andromeda Strain
September 13, 2016
Apple's Missed Audio Opportunity
September 9, 2016
Traditional IT Companies Announce Major Changes: Dell, HP Enterprise, Intel
September 6, 2016
Rethinking Smart Home Gateways
August 30, 2016
Ridesharing Impact Dramatically Overstated
August 23, 2016
Consumer Interest in Auto Tech? Slower Than You Think
August 19, 2016
Intel Focuses on Automotive
August 16, 2016
The Utility of Cloud Computing
August 12, 2016
Intel Purchases AI Chip Vendor
August 9, 2016
The Digital Identity Dilemma
August 2, 2016
IoT Strategies Going Vertical
July 29, 2016
Yahoo-Verizon Deal
July 26, 2016
Creating New Worlds
July 19, 2016
The State of Smart Homes
July 15, 2016
US PC Market Shows Improvement
July 12, 2016
Pokemon Go is an AR Watershed
July 5, 2016
Car Wars: The Battle for Automotive Tech
July 1, 2016
Microsoft Announces Windows 10 Anniversary Update
June 28, 2016
Digital Audio Progress Highlights Tech’s More Human Future
June 24, 2016
HP Inc. Offers Thinnest Notebook
June 21, 2016
IoT Faces Challenges with Scale
June 17, 2016
Snapchat Opens Up New Options for Marketers
June 14, 2016
Apple Drives Apps into Services
June 7, 2016
The Evolution of Cloud Computing
May 31, 2016
Voice-Based Computing with Digital Assistants
May 24, 2016
Turning Makers into Manufacturers
May 20, 2016
Google Brings Android Apps to Chrome
May 17, 2016
Virtual Reality Brings New Life…to Desktops?
May 10, 2016
The Biggest Question for IoT…Who Pays?
May 3, 2016
Learning About Deep Learning
April 26, 2016
The End of Hardware?
April 19, 2016
Enterprise IoT Drives Indirect Savings
April 12, 2016
TidBits About Bots
April 5, 2016
VR in the Cloud
March 29, 2016
IOT Will Drive Tech Outside of IT
March 22, 2016
Apple Moves to Middle Age
March 15, 2016
The Invisible Platform
March 8, 2016
Bringing Makers to Business
March 1, 2016
IOT Coming Into Focus
February 23, 2016
The Devices Formerly Known as Smartphones
February 16, 2016
Can Web Music Survive?
February 9, 2016
The Growing Choices in Wireless Connectivity
February 2, 2016
What if Twitter Died?
January 26, 2016
Smart Home Safety Evolution: Physical to Digital
January 19, 2016
The Promise and Confusion of USB Type-C
January 12, 2016
The Hottest Computing Device? Cars
January 5, 2016
Top Tech Predictions for 2016, Part 2
December 30, 2015
Top Tech Predictions for 2016, Part 1
|
|
|
|
November 8, 2016
By Bob O'Donnell
Everyone, it seems, is excited about the opportunity offered by smart and connected cars. Auto companies, tech companies, component makers, Wall Street, the tech press, and enthusiasts of all types get frothy at the mouth whenever the subject comes up.
The problem is, most are only really excited about a small percentage of the overall automobile market: new cars. In fact, most of the attention is being placed on an arguably even smaller and unquestionably less certain portion of the market: future car purchases from model year 2020 and beyond.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m excited about the capabilities that future cars will have as well. However, there seems to be a much larger opportunity to bring smarter technology to the hundreds of millions of existing cars.
Thankfully, I’m not the only one who feels this way. In fact, quite a few companies have announced products and services designed to make our existing cars a bit smarter and technically better equipped. Google, T-Mobile, and several lesser-known startups are beginning to offer products and services designed to bring more intelligence to today’s car owners.
While there hasn’t been as much focus on this add-on area, I believe it’s poised for some real growth, particularly because of actual consumer demand. Based on recent research completed by TECHnalysis Research and others, several of the capabilities that consumers want in their cars are relatively straightforward. Better infotainment systems and in-car WiFi, for example, are two of the most desired auto features, and they can be provided relatively easily via add-on products.
On the other hand, while fully autonomous driving may be sexy for some, the truth is, most consumers don’t want that yet. As a result, there isn’t going to be a huge demand for what would undoubtedly be difficult to do in an add-on fashion (though that isn’t stopping some high-profile startups from trying to create them anyway…but that’s a story for a different day).
In the case of Google, the company’s new Android Auto app puts any Lollipop (Android 5.0)-equipped or later Android phone into an auto-friendly mode that replicates the new in-car Android Auto interface. The screen becomes simplified, type and logos get bigger, options become more limited (though more focused), and end users start to get a feel for what an integrated Android Auto experience would be like—but in their current car.
The quality of the real-world experience will take some time to fully evaluate, but the idea is so simple and so clever that you have to wonder when Apple will offer their own variation for CarPlay (and maybe why they didn’t do it first…).
T-Mobile partnered with Chinese hardware maker ZTE and auto tech software company Mojio to provide an in-car WiFi experience called SyncUP DRIVE that leverages an OBD-II port dongle device that you plug into your car (most cars built since 1996). While several other carriers offer OBD-II dongles for no cost (you do have to pay for a data plan in all cases), the new T-Mo offering combines the WiFi hotspot feature with automotive diagnostics in a single device thanks to the Mojio-developed app.
Several startups I’ve come across also have other types of in-car tech add-ons in the works, many of which are focused on safety-applications. I’m expecting to see many compute-enabled cameras, radar, and perhaps even lidar-equipped advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) add-ons at next year’s CES show, some of which will likely bring basic levels of autonomy to existing cars. The challenge is, the more advanced versions of these solutions need to be built for specific car models, which will obviously limit their potential market impact.
Car tech is clearly an exciting field and it’s no surprise to anyone that it’s becoming an increasingly important purchase factor, particularly for new cars. However, it may surprise some to know that the in-car tech experiences still lag the primary car purchase motivators of price, car type, looks, performance, etc. In that light, giving consumers the ability to add-on these capabilities without having to purchase a whole new car, seems to make a lot of sense—especially given the roughly decade-long lifetime for the average car.
Obviously, add-ons can’t possibly provide the same level of capabilities that a grounds-up design can bring, but many consumers would be very happy to bring some of the key capabilities that new cars offer into existing models. It’s going to be an exciting field to watch.
Here's a link to the column: https://techpinions.com/the-best-automotive-tech-opportunity-make-existing-cars-smarter/47900
Bob O’Donnell is the president and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, LLC a market research firm that provides strategic consulting and market research services to the technology industry and professional financial community. You can follow him on Twitter @bobodtech.
Podcasts
Leveraging more than 10 years of award-winning, professional radio experience, TECHnalysis Research participates in a video-based podcast called Everything Technology.
LEARN MORE |
|
Research Offerings
TECHnalysis Research offers a wide range of research deliverables that you can read about here.
READ MORE |
|