AT&T is maintaining its wheeling and working this week, signing an agreement with Ford to produce the built-in wireless connectivity for its upcoming Focus Electric hatchback. The deal’s pretty simple, really. Ford has prepare a comprehensive MyFord Mobile application to compliment its EV, in an effort to let you keep track of and schedule charging, while also serving up status notifications, range information, and nearby recharging stations’ locations, the latter facility being supplied with the assistance of MapQuest . All that data exchange will desire a nice dumb pipe to hold it between the point of interest and your smartphone and AT&T is obligingly fulfilling that role — and don’t worry in case your phone doesn’t support the app (works with Android, BlackBerry and iOS), Ford’s got an internet interface too. Full PR after the break.
Ford Teams With AT&T to Wirelessly Connect New Ford Focus Electric- Ford Electric Vehicle Owners Could have Ability to Remotely Monitor, Engage and Control Vehicle Settings via Information Collected over the AT&T Wireless Network
- Ford Motor Company to make use of AT&T wireless network to attach new Ford Focus Electric
- Wireless connection enables vehicle owners to govern vehicle settings when clear of the auto – all portion of a strategic option to make Ford electric car ownership simple, easy and engaging
- MyFord Mobile, Ford’s exclusive app powered by MapQuest data, shall be accessible through a smartphone or secure website
- Embedded wireless connection and dedicated app includes the power for the landlord to observe and control vehicle charge settings, plan single- or multiple-stop journeys, locate charging stations, pre-heat or cool the car
DALLAS and DEARBORN, Mich., March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Ford Motor Company and AT&T* today announced an agreement to wirelessly connect the Ford Focus Electric, Ford’s first all-electric passenger car. Announced in January on the 2011 International CES, the hot Focus Electric enters production on the Michigan Assembly Plant in late 2011.
In the course of the new MyFord Mobile smartphone app, using the embedded AT&T wireless connection, Ford Focus Electric vehicle owners can have the facility to send and receive data about their car providing command and control of car settings while faraway from it.
“Ford has been on the forefront of developing market leading telematics and infotainment services for its vehicles and we’re thrilled to be part of this exciting and demanding next step with the approaching Focus Electric,” said Glenn Lurie, president of emerging devices, resale and partnerships, AT&T. “Connecting consumers on to their electric vehicles during this new and innovative way goes to drive innovative and exciting levels of interaction.”
MyFord Mobile technology provides Focus Electric owners in North America with an impressive tool to stick connected, monitor and control their vehicle. Through a smartphone app or secure website, MyFord Mobile invites Focus Electric owners to devise trips, monitor the vehicle’s state of charge, receive various alerts for vehicle charging, in addition to provides several other features designed to simplify the electrical vehicle ownership experience.
“With a wireless connection, we’re putting battery charge and vehicle range information, including an interactive, data-driven trip planning app, directly on the fingertips of our customers,” said Ed Pleet, product and business manager for Ford Connected Services. “This technology will keep drivers connected to vital information, enhancing their electric car ownership experience. The AT&T network is a vital element of this equation and we’re pleased to have AT&T on board.”
MyFord Mobile will connect throughout the AT&T network, allowing the auto to speak off-board through standard wireless technology. From a web-based connected cellphone or computer, owners can:
Find current and projected state of charge information including estimated range and the volume of charge time necessary for added distances
Program vehicle charging with utility input, allowing the auto to start out charging immediately or when electricity prices are lowest with the worth charging feature, powered by Microsoft
Features powered by MapQuest available at the MyFord smartphone app:
Locate charging stations and get the destination sent to the vehicle
Know if the vehicle can reach a particular charge station from its current location with the present charge level
Create a journey with multiple stops, and determine the possibility that the automobile has adequate charge for the total journey
Find the auto by making a route from a cellphone to the vehicle
Receive alerts if the vehicle isn’t charging when it’s scheduled to, or if charging stops unexpectedly because of an influence outage, plug removal or other event
Receive alerts during recharge when the vehicle has reached a specific preset charge level or has the facility to arrive a selected destination
Engage remote vehicle preconditioning, using grid power to heat or cool the vehicle interior
Remotely lock/unlock doors
Use the built-in GPS system to find the car
Download performance and system data
Fun ways of understanding your driver behavior, with ratings from ‘Zen’ to ‘Zippy’
Receive information personalized to the driving force, counting on which key the motive force usedHow the system works
At launch, the MyFord Mobile app shall be available for many major smartphones, together with a mobile web application for compatibility with any phone supporting HTML-5 browser-based access, or feature phones with WAP 2.0-supported browsers. The feature is also accessible via a safe Ford website.
Owners will use the smartphone to speak with a cloud-based highly secure server, which stores information provided by the embedded wireless module in Focus Electric. Using a cloud-based architecture ensures users could have up-to-the-minute access to information during the AT&T wireless network
*AT&T services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and never by AT&T Inc.
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