Aftermarket Insider - January/February 2010 - (Page 26)

MARKET RESEARCH lATeST AnD greATeST Telematics Trendline: Following the growth of Telematics By DER E k kA uFM AN , c 3 NE T W oR k, I Nc. Telematics Trendline is a series of monthly articles by Derek Kaufman, C3 Network, Inc., designed to inform AAIA members about the trends in telematics applications for both the retail automotive and commercial trucking industries. For the full December article, or for more of the series, visit www.aftermarket.org. Google Skymap We’re sure you have seen the cool ads being run by Google and the folks selling the Android phone. They are gearing up to give our beloved iPhone a run for the money and we have to say – the Droid is cool. Like Apple, they are going after apps that will make the phone so much more than a voice communication device. Have you seen Google Skymap for the Droid? Now you can simply point your phone toward the night sky and it will map the constellations above you. Using the phone’s GPS, compass, accelerometer and date and time settings, Skymap accurately maps the night sky relative to your location on earth. Want to search for a specific planet or star? Use the search box and Skymap will direct you to their location. Check out the YouTube demo at http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=p6znyx0gjb4 or go to http://www.google.com/sky/skymap. html to visit the Google site. Oh, and one more thing — go to www.googlegooglegooglegoogle. com (that’s 4 Googles) and see what happens. Now you can search for lots more things simultaneously! Sony Ericsson Find It Sony Ericsson needs to make their cell phones relevant. They are up against the iPhone, Nokia and now the Droid – not a great place to be if you don’t have the apps to compete. Enter the folks from Dare Digital. Dare creates applications on a contract basis. Go to www.daredigital.com to see the kinds of work they do. Then go to http://www.ddawards. com/2009/awards/sony_ericsson/findit/ to view the “Find It” application. “Find It” needs a new name – there are too many other “Find Its” out there that are essentially search routines, but this “Find It” is a very useful app that can deliver the real value of time and confidence for its user. “Find It” allows you to tag your current location then save that point as a GPS coordinate for future use in returning to that location. Let’s say you park your car at 52 and Broadway in Manhattan and then take subways, buses and carriage 26 | AFTERMARKET INSIDER | JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2010 http://www.aftermarket.org/Publications/Telematics-Trendline.aspx

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aftermarket Insider - January/February 2010

Aftermarket Insider - January/February 2010
Contents
President's Message
Association News
Branching Out with our Green Message
Government Affairs
Technology Update
Market Research
Member Profile
Toolbox: Co-workers
International Focus
It's All at AAPEX
Company Profile
Market Research

Aftermarket Insider - January/February 2010