Wi-Fi Technology and More
Having a Wi-Fi hotspot in your car sounds high tech, but it won’t be long before cars have their own Internet addresses. Plus, individual components — speedometer, brakes, temperature gauge — will even have individual addresses that allow them to transmit and receive data. Plus technologies that provide drivers with safe and easy access to text messages, e-mail and Web-based entertainment are just down the road.

Several automakers are already jumping into this technology market, but if you can’t wait for them to add Internet access to your ride, there is already an alternative. Autonet Mobile’s portable Wi-Fi router plugs into a cigarette lighter and connects to the same high-speed cellular-phone networks used by wireless PC cards to create a rolling Wi-Fi hotspot in your car’s cockpit.

Available This Fall
According to Autonet, the router is optimized to smooth the handoffs between various wireless networks as the car travels. The product isn’t designed for the driver to surf the Web, but rather to allow passengers to check e-mail, instant message, watch videos or anything else that can be done on a computer connected to a high-speed network.

Autonet’s mobile router will be available through auto dealers this fall and will carry a suggested retail price of $399, with an additional $30 to $50 per month access fee. Avis Rent A Car has already begun offering Autonet Mobile routers for $10.95 per day at its airport locations in San Francisco, San Jose, Newark and LaGuardia; Los Angeles, Miami and Dallas-Ft. Worth will add the service in July.

Autonet says customers who sign up for the Avis Connect service won’t need cellular data cards or software to connect their wireless devices to the router.

Take Caution on the Information Super Highway
With the Internet and mobile phones becoming an essential part of everyday life, many people expect to be connected 24/7 — even when behind the wheel. A lot of drivers already assume their cell phone is an essential auto accessory and check e-mail and send text messages while on the road.

As a result, a handful of states have made it illegal to use a handheld phone while driving. Earlier, the state of Washington passed the first law in the country banning data-addicted drivers from text messaging. Avis customers who use Autonet will also be reminded at the time of rental that the service is not to be used by the driver while operating the vehicle and is intended for use only by passengers while the car is in motion.

The Sky’s the Limit
Already, nearly everything you can do on a laptop, PDA, or smart phone can be done in your car. How soon you see those become mainstream features capabilities is a function of how soon consumers start demanding them. And there’s even more around the corner with developments such as a speech engine that can read and speak your e-mail. What’s next is really what consumers are willing to pay for.

In Sync
In the next few years, technology from both the automakers and the aftermarket will allow cars, drivers and passengers to be connected like never before. Manufacturers are working overtime to capture what they feel will be a lucrative and demanding market.

Ford and Microsoft unveiled what many industry analysts believe could be the initial benchmark in bringing safe and convenient connectivity into the car with the introduction of Sync last year.

Create a Playlist on the Fly
Available in a dozen 2008 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, Sync provides a way to use a mobile phone and portable music player (or a combination of the two) completely hands-free. Sync links most music and communication devices to a vehicle via a wireless Bluetooth or wired USB connection so that the devices can be controlled with a combination of voice commands and steering-wheel switches.

By speaking a few simple commands you can call up specific songs, artists, genres and playlists from a portable music player. You can even create a playlist on the fly using a “play similar” feature that culls music of a certain type.

Let Your Car Read Your Email
One of the most innovative features is Sync’s ability to playback text messages received on a mobile phone in voice form and allow the driver to reply with a series of 12 scripted responses, such as “Can’t Talk Right Now.” Because Sync is largely software-driven, it can be easily upgraded without changing hardware. Car owners can even update the system online.

Unlike cutting-edge technology that typically debuts on high-end cars — and at a high-end price — Sync will be available on entry-level Fords like the Focus. The price of the system has not yet been announced. Future applications for Sync could include retrieving and reading e-mail and a host of other Internet-related functions.