Delphi used the SAE 2010 World Congress event in Detroit this week to unveil D-Connect, its answer to Nokia’s terminal mode smartphone connectivity solution. D-Connect addresses an array of in-vehicle connectivity challenges – including automotive-oriented application stores - while defining a radical new vision of center stack architecture. The system architecture is described as being built around an Intel or ARM processor with a Linux kernel, common Linux packages, Genivi, ported device applications and, finally, an HMI layer. Availability of D-Connect is likely dependent on OEM adoption. For the U.S. market, its significance is its representation of Delphi’s vision of universal smartphone connectivity and arrives as the company emerges from Chapter 11. The D-Connect vision simultaneously provides center stack connectivity for any smartphone – reproducing the on-device display in its entirety on a large touchscreen display mounted in portrait mode – with separate interfaces for when the vehicle is static or in motion. When the vehicle is not moving, the display allows access to all the apps displayed on the device and allows the device to be manipulated and the apps to be accessed directly from the large display via touch or voice interface. The system was shown with a physical connection, though Delphi says the system will support Bluetooth, USB or Wi-Fi connectivity. The D-Connect vision includes Delphi’s announced intention to provide app store support. Delphi says it will certify applications to determine which will be accessible when the vehicle is in motion. When in motion, the separate HMI display will appear with large on-screen icons including “Voice Search,” “Navigation,” “View Maps,” and “Contacts.” The system appears to be positioned as an alternative to Nokia’s terminal mode, shown most recently at CeBit and at the Geneva Motor Show. Nokia’s solution similarly provides for vehicle HMI control of smartphone functions and is being developed by Nokia in conjunction with Tier Ones such as Harman, Magneti Marelli and Continental along with some OEMs. Both the Delphi and Nokia solutions are still in concept mode. The significance of the Delphi solution is magnified by its proposed use of a large portrait display in the center stack, its ability to be operating system and connectivity agnostic, its in-motion interface with app certification and its use of the Genivi operating system in conjunction with separate Linux packages. The use of Genivi and Linux is unique and represents the first demonstration of a complete solution based on the newly proposed automotive operating system. It also allows Delphi to define a new path to the much discussed in-car application store. As far as the app store is concerned, Delphi sees application downloads working strictly via the device and functioning through device connectivity – not through a direct download into the car. Delphi uses the Genivi operating system and other Linux-based applications, to interface to downloaded apps, but prefers to keep the applications themselves outside the center stack software environment. Delphi’s approach contrasts with Continental’s AutolinQ system, which brings Android into the center stack. D-Connect will connect with Android phones and applications but does not bring that code on-board.  To further build the D-Connect brand, Delphi has also chosen to name the actual phone application D-Connect.

I have been using TomTom’s XXL 540S World Traveler for the past two months in multiple locations in the U.S. as well as in the U.K., Germany and France and I can safely say this is a dangerous device. It is dangerous because it effectively leverages historic speed profile data to deliver accurate routing and travel time without live traffic data. The XXL 540S is dangerous because the effectiveness of its routing, without accessing live traffic data of any kind, turns the growing traffic data industry on its head. The historic speed profile data calculates routes based on historic speed measurements for every time of day and for every road segment, from large highways to small local roads, and includes TomTom’s IQ Routes technology. In comparison to on-board systems with enhanced traffic data, the routing and time of travel on the TomTom was comparable. I am sure I am not the only user of navigation devices and technologies who has been frustrated with the traffic information experience. I have had both positive and negative outcomes and, in spite of the negatives, I am still a believer in the power and necessity of traffic information. I recently steered clear of purchasing an opening price point PND for the very reason that it lacked traffic information. But sometimes, one is willing to accept sacrifices to achieve a greater good. In this case, that greater good is a single device for automotive navigation in North America and Europe. The sacrifice of traffic data is a small price to pay especially considering what the cost of adding traffic information for both geographies would likely represent in added subscription fees covering multiple suppliers. (Hint: The first traffic supplier with a universal solution will gain a huge advantage.) For anyone seeking a single device for vehicle navigation in North America and Europe with built-in traffic camera data and 7M POIs, the XXL 540S is ideal. (The device was even able to locate a runner’s specialty store buried in a mall in Sindelfingen, Germany, as well as functioning in a pedestrian mode trying to locate the next nearest towns in the French countryside outside Geneva.) On the downside, a shortcoming of the device is its rigid programming. It is not possible to use it as one would Google maps to pick a starting point and destination unrelated to a current location, for example. A more flexible solution will be necessary as user expectations change. If PNDs like the XXL 540S cannot offer functional equivalence to other navigation solutions, consumers will be disappointed. Switching between maps is also less than intuitive. But I can understand TomTom’s disinclination to add yet another layer to its busy user interface. When entering a destination for a new geography, the user eventually has the option to change the map. The device stores prior routes separately for each different map, which is a nice touch. In addition, the integration of user evaluations so widely available in competing connected solutions certainly pose a threat to disconnected PNDs like the TomTom device. But as a single function device, the XXL 540S delivers in spite of the missing traffic info and connectivity.. For the XXL 540S World Traveler the combination of on-board data and the access to software updates perfectly substitutes for a more robust offering of regionalized live traffic information. More importantly, the device points the way toward future product development at TomTom and other PND makers. The pocketable device (yes, even with a five-inch display) is convenient enough for world travel and amazingly, the user will make no sacrifices in POI content or even map updates – additional POIs can be added via the Home application. The device connects to the TomTom Home software application for map updates and other enhancements. Flash has clearly displaced the HDD as the preferred storage medium for PNDs and the XXL 540S has 4GB of storage. At $299.99 retail (a little pricy) the device also includes TomTom’s “Help Me!” button and lane guidance. The TomTom even showed a roundabout where the on-board system against which it was being compared only showed a standard intersection. Of course, with the map update capability, the TomTom should always have superior map data. Even as PND makers experiment with larger screens, as in the case of the XXL 540S, the devices themselves will get smaller and prices will continue to fall. Connectivity and more creative deployment of location-aware applications will be critical to the future success of the segment. Additional Insights: http://bit.ly/cMw4f1 Solid Q4 for PNDs, but ‘Free’ Navigation is Shaking Up Monetization (AMCS) – Canali http://bit.ly/a8WqRJ - A Role for PNDs…If They Get Connected - Blight http://bit.ly/c5f65I - Automotive and Portable Navigation Market Forecast 2008-2016 (AMCS) - Blight

In the new Roman Polanski movie “Ghost Writer” there is a scene which perfectly captures the cultural divide between the U.S. and Europe over in-vehicle human machine interfaces. The lead character, played by Ewan MacGregor, enters a BMW X5 and is verbally greeted by the ConnectedDrive system. The system has stored the last route driven by the vehicle and proceeds to attempt to navigate to that destination. The MacGregor character tries futilely to terminate the navigation by touching the screen.* Aye, there’s the rub, or maybe I should say, there’s the smudge. European HMI mavens are almost universally opposed to the touchscreen, although some cracks in the wall of resistance to touch interfaces have appeared in recent years – most notably at Volkswagen. BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz, however, remain in the haptic camp and announcements at the recent Geneva Motor Show reinforced their stance. Audi introduced gesture recognition enhancements to its HMI, Mercedes showed a gesture recognition interface enhanced with a camera and BMW showed a toggle interface for managing its new Mini iPhone integration. Following Geneva, Audi provided an elaborate defense – or maybe I should say explanation - of its MMI approach at the Nuance Automotive Usability Forum (http://bit.ly/c6omG2). In its consumer studies, Audi found “track deviation” during testing to be most severe for touchscreen interfaces, followed closely by “turn push knob” devices. Touchpad technology, normally situated at the front of the console under the driver’s right hand, had minimal deviation. Additionally, Audi found that “eyes off the road time” was at least twice as much for the “turn push knob” type of interface for actions including “input of destination” and “dial a number.” Audi performed a further analysis of driver assessments of interfaces before and after using them and found a positive assessment of touschscreen and negative assessment of touchpad prior to driving that was completely reversed, after driving, to negative for touchscreen and positive for touchpad. Conclusions from Audi’s global study included: “high potential of innovation for touchpad” (Germany); “simplicity in operation and handwriting recognition is convincing” (USA); and “high customer friendliness especially while driving through optimal position” (China). Audi’s conclusion: The input by touchpad surprises by its error robustness and exceeds clearly the expectations of our customers. Of course, as these conclusions were being expressed at Nuance’s voice-centric event, Audi proceeded to describe the ultimate automotive interface as a multimodal solution with robust speech recognition. It appears that everyone can agree about the importance of voice, but prying Americans away from their touchscreens will be a challenge. *A note on the BMW X5 appearance in "Ghost Story". The character who last drove the car the Ewan MacGregor character was driving is presumed to have made it to his destination and was on his way home when he met his demise. Therefore, the destination should not have automatically activated when the car was started. Trying to figure out how to terminate unwanted navigation assistance is one of the great conundrums facing the industry and drivers. So MacGregor’s hopeless poking of the navi screen represents a moment many people can identify with. And to think, all he had to do was press the “voice” button on the steering wheel, wait for the “beep,” and say: “Stop guidance.” Additional insights: Automotive Bluetooth: Profile Strategy Key to Infotainment Success - http://bit.ly/9NwxfC CES 2010: The Arrival of Converged Automotive Multimedia Products - http://bit.ly/baUnoV

Nokia, BMW and Daimler highlighted mobile phone integration in their Geneva Motor Show announcements this month. But each company took a different path with its own merits and shortcomings. The most flexible solution was shown by Daimler, but the BMW and Nokia solutions will influence future integration decisions.

 

The solutions – two iPhone-based and one Nokia specific - reflect the three fundamental paths to integration. Nokia’s terminal mode emphasizes leveraging the vehicle human machine interface via a bi-directional data exchange that transfers the device display into the vehicle head unit; hands control of the device over to the vehicle HMI; and makes use of vehicle CAN data for contextual feedback to the driver.

 

The BMW Mini iPhone integration puts iPhone applications, most notably Internet radio from RadioTimes, behind a large-screen embedded interface. Availability of this new connected solution is unclear, although the implication is that additional functions will ultimately be enabled and the vehicle HMI – in particular, a multidirectional, finger-sized toggle – will allow the driver to interact with phone-based applications without touching the phone.

 

The Daimler solution, offered for its Smart cars, is the closest to market – due this summer with a $400 price tag – and represents the most elaborate offering. It is also a third path to integration, providing a dash mounted iPhone holder with a suite of automotive applications – the first such suite developed by an OEM. Daimler has even gone so far as to customize the on-device interface with larger fonts and buttons.

 

Among the big differences between the Daimler integration solution and the competing offerings is that the driver mainly makes use of the on-device interface. Included in the application suite in the Smart iPhone application are hands-free calling, access to the on-device music library and Internet radio, Bing Internet search, a car finder function, and navigation with a “smart touch” feature. The cradle acts as a control unit, charger and microphone with stereo integration for muting during calls.

 

An additional enhancement due later in the year is a Smart drive kit camera, for fitting on the windscreen. The device will be able to transmit pictures of the area in front of the car to the smart drive kit via Wi-Fi and will thereby provide traffic sign recognition functionality including speed limits – a feature offered on a handful of portable navigation devices.

 

The smart drive app for the iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store at a one-off price of €9.99 for the basic version. The navigation upgrade with up-to-date maps costs €49.99 per year. Daimler says its researchers are currently putting the final touches to the smart drive kit camera functions.

 

The Daimler solution for its Smart car line-up is particularly appropriate since Smart cars in Europe are quite often sold without a head unit. In this case, the customer’s iPhone indeed becomes the vehicle’s on-board car radio, hands-free phone, navigation and driver assist system.

 

In contrast, the BMW Mini offering requires an embedded solution which will limit its scalability and upgradability, although the display real estate is substantial and the use of the vehicle’s HMI elements is preferable. The Daimler unit requires the driver to use the iPhone screen as the main interface. All three of these solutions will benefit from voice interfaces.

 

Like the BMW solution, Nokia’s Terminal Mode is intended to hand off HMI responsibility for smartphone functionality to the car. While the solution is promising, and Nokia is working with partners including Alpine, Magneti Marelli and Harman Becker, it is proprietary. As a proprietary solution, Nokia will face challenges to achieve market adoption despite working closely with the Consumer Electronics for Automotive (CE4A) coalition of German car makers.

 

Concept vehicles using the Nokia technology were shown at Geneva by Fiat and Valmet Automotive. In fact, the solution shown by Fiat, mounting a Nokia phone on a dash board as a navigation device connected to the Blue&Me system was significant given Fiat’s existing relationship with TomTom for a Blue&Me integrated PND.

 

Nokia’s terminal mode is promising, especially given its anticipated ability to obtain CANbus data for integration with different applications, but as a proprietary solution it is likely to be geographically challenged (ie. Eurocentric). A good example of an equally elegant solution with limited distribution is Novero’s proprietary Bluetooth interface developed for Ford. This solution is at risk of being marginalized once Ford finally decides to bring Sync to Europe.

 

Nokia has the right idea in pushing hard at smartphone integration, but the company would do well to enable standards-based technologies already deployed rather than seeking proprietary solutions. Even in the best of scenarios, the deployment of a proprietary Bluetooth profile on handsets and in cars is a years-long proposition. Daimler’s solution arrives in a matter of months with upgrades and enhancements to come before the end of the year, no doubt. Mini won’t be far behind.

European service providers have given up waiting for the European Union’s eCall initiatives and mandates to deliver emergency roadside assistance across Europe. A growing number of private service providers are turning to existing technology in SMS-based alternatives to deliver eCall solutions without using the official eCall in-band modem technology. (They are, however, including the minimum data set portion of the standard.)

 

Volvo, Peugeot and BMW remain the only three OEMs with European eCall solutions implemented, using SMS technology. But third parties including insurance companies, automobile clubs and call center providers are stepping forward with solutions that will work with existing technologies. The latest launches include Allianz’s pay-as-you-drive offering, Allianz OrtungsServices GmbH’s LifeService offered in conjunction with AvD, TCS’s announcement of eCall service in Switzerland in connection with PSA, and ATX’s so-called “self-dispatch” solution.

 

These new systems are designed to provide eCall and bCall support throughout Europe and in the driver’s own language. But the language barrier is only one challenge to providing a pan-European eCall solution. The other challenge is the choice of connection technology. While the European Commission nominated in-band modem technology – sending data over the voice channel - as the standard for official eCall coverage, no mechanism was put in place for upgrading hundreds of public service answering points (PSAPs). The PSAPs must be equipped with the in-band modem technology to connect properly.

 

Qualcomm has stepped forward, as the winner of the in-band modem competition, to license its technology at no charge. But no action has been taken at the PSAP level, hence the emergence of private initiatives.

 

There is a bit of an irony in the focus on eCall. The volume of eCalls that are seen by the current providers number at most in the hundreds per year. This tiny number of incidents calls into question the value of the eCall mandate itself as a lifesaving technology, but this obscures the much more impressive number of roadside assistance calls, which number in the millions. (No one, including this analyst, is questioning the value of eCall services.)

 

The private service providers clearly recognize the value of the combination of these two services to their customers, hence the new offers. Lurking behind these initiatives is a battle for control of the automotive call center market in Europe. This multimillion Euro opportunity will grow in importance as more OEMs launch telematics services.

 

By some estimates, ARC Europe, European equivalent of the American Automobile Association, is the dominant provider of automotive call center support with more than a third of the market, followed by Mondial Assistance, Europe Assist and AXA. The Allianz PAYD offer is made in cooperation with Mondial, its wholly-owned subsidiary.

 

Allianz’s PAYD solution includes a module which provides a portfolio of services including eCall, bCall, stolen vehicle recovery, theft notification, and a hands-free Bluetooth interface. The range of solutions included with the device provide a more comprehensive offering reflecting the priorities of an automobile insurer including, most interestingly, a hands-free phone interface to reduce distracted driving.

 

From sister company Allianz OrtungsServices GmbH, comes the infrastructure for LifeService112, most recently added by Automobilclub von Deutschland (AvD). AvD, though older, is smaller than the widely known Allgemeine Deutsche Automobil-Club (ADAD), which is part of ARC Europe. With the new service, launched last week, AvD says it will be the first German automobile club to offer members GPS mobile phone localization for emergencies.

 

The new offer is made possible by the LifeService platform from Allianz. LifeService112 provides the technical platform for mobile phone localization for more than 90% of Germany’s public safety answering points. It is also compatible with both SMS and in-band modem technology.

 

Accident victims have previously been located via mobile phone cells with the accuracy depending on the number of radio masts. By contrast, GPS technology – independent from the network and available worldwide – can better pinpoint a victim’s location. Special software for the mobile telephone will make precise GPS tracking possible. Allianz OrtungsServices GmbH’s goal is to enable all European rescue coordination centers to access the LifeService112 system. In an emergency, the public safety answering point can locate every mobile phone by way of either radio cells or GPS. Allianz is seeking additional partnerships for the eCall/bCall service including, but not limited to, auto makers.

PSA has signed an agreement with Touring Club of Switzerland (TCS), announced at last week’s Geneva Motor Show to provide eCall and bCAll services for Peugeot and Citroen models sold in Switzerland beginning this month. In the event of an accident, an eCall SMS (with location data) is sent to TCS to process and contact the relevant PSAP. The system is a two-button solution allowing the driver or passenger to activate an eCall or bCall voice connection manually or automatically anywhere in Europe. TCS worked with Alabus AG to implement the solution and the hardware came from Magneti Marelli. The TCS call center will be able to respond in the driver’s language.

ATX, which has lost its European telematics service relationship with BMW, is making what may be the most radical proposal of what it calls a self-dispatching approach to managing eCalls from vehicles. The company’s announcement says its system will work with SMS or in-band modem technology and will make use of multilingual text-to-speech technology and Internet resources all of which may help to define an entirely new approach to telematics and call center support in Europe.

 

TomTom was once the darling of the portable navigation market, charging onto the scene with innovative marketing and product offerings and buoyed by strong market growth driven by Europe’s world-leading embrace of navigation devices. The latest earnings results from both TomTom and chief rival Garmin, however, paint a picture of a hot hardware market segment hitting a plateau.

 

Is it game over for TomTom? How did the company peak so soon? Where has the growth in the PND segment gone? It is my contention that one reason for the current decline in prospects derives from the company’s shift to a closed platform back in 2005 more aligned with rival Garmin.

 

TomTom captured the imagination of consumers and industry observers in the early days of the PND market with innovative solutions that included one of the first major crowd sourcing exercises in the form of its TomTom Live services which included map updates provided by users. The power of the TomTom Live platform was such that TomTom was able to build a more than million-strong user community whose enthusiasm was reflected in both the millions of map updates and corrections they contributed along with the navigation voices they recorded and shared.

 

It’s hard to overstate the power of the kind of customer connection TomTom achieved with the TomTom Live service. In effect, TomTom solved the challenge of map updating years before any other organization in any other segment had come up with an answer - with the exception of server-based solutions. In the most recent earnings call, the company says it intends to offer map updates on a 48-hour cycle, instead of the industry-standard quarterly updates – once again, setting an industry standard.

 

TomTom continued to build momentum – let’s call it “mojo” - by capitalizing on the critical importance of traffic and routing applications adding its HD Traffic and IQ Routes enhancements. The company led the way in connected PNDs claiming 900,000 units sold in the past fiscal year and laying claim to 400,000 combined paying or on-trial-period subscribers, admittedly below company objectives.

 

But something fell apart in the past year. Evidence of the performance shortfall included the inability to successfully convince a sufficient number of consumers to pay 10 Euro/month for traffic data, even if it was demonstrably superior to competing traffic data. But the one-two punch of flattening sales and declining ASPs in 2009 have combined to deflate TomTom’s (and Garmin’s) prospects forcing the company to turn more aggressively toward non-PND sources of revenue including embedded and smartphone-based solutions.

 

Both Garmin and TomTom reported tepid financial results two weeks ago and offered cautious forecasts for flat PND sales in 2010. Both Garmin and TomTom attempted to dismiss to some extent the impact of smartphone-based navigation solutions. TomTom, in particular, claimed the three different navigation platforms – embedded automotive, smartphone and PND – are not “mutually exclusive” and “somehow strengthen each other.”

 

Both Garmin and TomTom are targeting mobile applications with TomTom making its traffic solution available for the iPhone along with an iPhone mounting kit for in-vehicle use – a wise strategy of embracing rather than confronting competition. Both companies are also pursuing automotive opportunities with TomTom’s most recent design wins coming at Renault and Fiat. Interestingly, Fiat showed new TomTom solutions at the Geneva Motor Show while also showing a mobile phone mount concept from Magneti Marelli for Nokia navigation phones.

 

Very much overlooked in TomTom’s run up to its dominant position in the European PND market was the company’s offering of a software developer kit. But the company abandoned the open platform approach in 2005, while driving innovation almost entirely internally along with some targeted acquisitions.

 

TomTom was first in developing a connected user community willing to correct map data and POIs and share favorite routes and voices. These users also demonstrated that there was a market for content that could be downloaded to TomTom devices. Sound familiar? This is exactly the model adopted by most major handset makers in the past year following the wildly successful Apple iPhone.

 

The big difference between these handset makers and TomTom is that smartphones are based on open platforms for which independent software developers can create new applications. It probably isn’t too late for TomTom to change its approach to the market, opening up its platform to third-party content and application developers. This could well be the key to turning around the bleak numbers reported in the most recent quarter.

 

A growing range of new applications from third-party suppliers can add functionality and value to a TomTom device over time, in contrast to the usual perceived decline in value over time of a typical consumer electronic product. Apple, Google and others are demonstrating daily that there is mojo in open platforms. It’s not too late for TomTom to dial in.