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Chrysler Offers In-Car Wi-Fi On August 25
400-800kbps for $449 and $29 a month...
Chrysler recently detailed their plans to offer in-car EVDO Wi-Fi as an option in all of the company's 2009 models. According to Chrysler, the system will be an extension of their existing UConnect service and operate under the brand "UConnect Web". The 3G Wi-Fi router offers speeds between 400kbps and 800kbps at 100 feet, will cost $449 plus a $50 installation fee, a monthly cost of $29, and a one time activation fee of $25. The in-car EVDO Wi-Fi router is provided by AutoNet Mobile, and the service should be available starting August 25.
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baineschile
2600 ways to live
Premium Member
join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI

baineschile

Premium Member

WiFi In the Auto

BAD IDEA!!! People shouldnt be even more encouraged to be distracted from driving. Cell phones, ipods, and goold ol CDs are bad enough.

Its a good idea in theory, but maybe there will be a kill switch that the wifi wont work if the car is in drive (park only.)

AreSee
join:2000-09-20
Atlanta, GA

AreSee

Member

Re: WiFi In the Auto

It's a good idea period. Putting a kill switch on it would defeat the purpose.

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese

Premium Member

Re: WiFi In the Auto

said by AreSee:

It's a good idea period. Putting a kill switch on it would defeat the purpose.
Is it really a good idea? People have enough shit to distract them already, do they really need another? HELL NO!

NOVA_Guy
ObamaCare Kills Americans
Premium Member
join:2002-03-05

NOVA_Guy

Premium Member

Re: WiFi In the Auto

said by Cheese:
said by AreSee:

It's a good idea period. Putting a kill switch on it would defeat the purpose.
Is it really a good idea? People have enough shit to distract them already, do they really need another? HELL NO!
I would assume that this service would be more for the use of passengers travelling in the car than for the driver. I shudder to think of how someone could drive down a highway and surf the web or read email on their laptop at the same time.

I think it has the potential of being a good idea, depending upon who uses it and how it is used. That being said, I have some serious doubts as to whether this will really take off. Why would someone pay these fees to only have the service when around/in their vehicle? Getting a USB modem and a service plan from ATT, Verizon, or Sprint seems a much more practical solution.

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08

Premium Member

Re: WiFi In the Auto

LOL. I would like to see some 1 driving in their dodge, chrysler or jeep and also using a laptop. laptops are not as small as cell phones so I dont see this is a problem. Its mostly people that text and dont keep their eyes on the road that causes wrecks and deaths. The wifi in car would be good for like passengers mostly.

roc5955
Premium Member
join:2005-11-26
Rosendale, NY

roc5955

Premium Member

Re: WiFi In the Auto

You wanna see people driving with laptops?
Look in any police car. They ALL have laptops.
What kills me about this is the cop who's playing solitaire at the stoplight!
They can get the brackets to hold their laptops in their cars so that the driver can see them almost anywhere.
Pretty soon they will have to outlaw this, along with driver operated cell phones.
EPS4
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

EPS4 to Cheese

Member

to Cheese
But what about other people in the car?

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese

Premium Member

Ok, how about this, someone mentioned a kill switch, how about a device that detects if only the driver is in the car, maybe a pressure sensor, and if it only detects the driver, it doesn't turn on, if it detects a passenger or multiple passengers, it turns on, this sound better?

AreSee
join:2000-09-20
Atlanta, GA

AreSee

Member

Re: WiFi In the Auto

Sure, as long as I can easily disable it.

oh yeah so sure to Cheese

Anon

to Cheese
yeah, what about a kill switch for meddling with the radio, for killing the cig lighter, smoke detector to shut down the engine if you're smoking while driving - yeah shut down EVERYTHING if only the driver is in the car, that will work.

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese

Premium Member

Re: WiFi In the Auto

said by oh yeah so sure :

yeah, what about a kill switch for meddling with the radio, for killing the cig lighter, smoke detector to shut down the engine if you're smoking while driving - yeah shut down EVERYTHING if only the driver is in the car, that will work.
Rogue90
Premium Member
join:2008-01-23
West Milford, NJ

Rogue90 to baineschile

Premium Member

to baineschile
Hopefully they're not banking the same level of quality of service on anything coming from ATT... Anyone know?

Link8
join:2001-12-16
Davis, CA

Link8

Member

Re: WiFi In the Auto

I'm hoping the mygig units start to get tied into this; Imagine internet radio on your car radio!!!

tommy13v
Premium Member
join:2002-02-15
Niskayuna NY

tommy13v

Premium Member

Is it $29/month or is it $58

From the article it mentions a monthly fee of $29 and also "The customer also pays $29/month in service charges."

So how much is it?
ncbill
Premium Member
join:2007-01-23
Winston Salem, NC

ncbill

Premium Member

Re: Is it $29/month or is it $58

It is $29/month if you buy the equipment directly from Autonet itself.

"Installation" is merely mounting it and connecting it to 12V power - bet you could do that yourself.

The big question is how much is the monthly cap?

At one time I saw something that suggested only 1GB/month is allowed (instead of the standard 5GB/month), but then again, the fee is half that of a standard cellular data plan.
said by tommy13v:

From the article it mentions a monthly fee of $29 and also "The customer also pays $29/month in service charges."

So how much is it?
trekologer
join:2005-10-20
Bridgewater, NJ

trekologer

Member

Caps?

Is there a usage limit? If not, I could see this showing up outside of cars. $29 month isn't bad that bad, especially in the areas where broadband availibility is limited. Heck, I'd consider getting one of these as a backup.
Rick5
Premium Member
join:2001-02-06

Rick5

Premium Member

Looks like it's higher priced than Karl noted..

From the story..
"In addition to the $499 fee is a $35 to $50 installation fee, a $35 activation fee and a$29 monthly subscription fee. The customer also pays $29/month in service charges."

I read that as being two 29 per month charges.

karlmarx
join:2006-09-18
Moscow, ID

karlmarx

Member

Re: Looks like it's higher priced than Karl noted..

Well, do the math. If it's an average of 500kb/sec, and it's truly unlimited, AND it has a 100' range, why the hell get a satellite internet? I mean, you can get 5GB/day for $60.00/month. That's much better than you can get from a satellite, HELL, that's much better than you can get from a capped Comcrap! Sign up, get an extension cord for you car, and plug it into your house, and get MORE bandwidth for LESS money than either comcast or satellite can provide!
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT

tired_runner

Premium Member

Re: Looks like it's higher priced than Karl noted..

Or you could just get an AC/DC home power supply and plug the gadget right into it.

I hope Chrysler accounts for bandwidth hogs. From the looks of it everyone's already making plans.
gower23528
join:2005-06-08
Weston, WV

gower23528

Member

cool

this is intresting

insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

insomniac84

Member

Well played.

A 50 dollar installation fee and a 25 dollar activation fee. That's thinking outside the box.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Well played.

said by insomniac84:

A 50 dollar installation fee and a 25 dollar activation fee. That's thinking outside the box.
Why's that? ... because everything should be free? Even if it was "free" don't you realize that there are expenses and with those expenses, if they're provided free, you're going to pay for it elsewhere. I suppose a $50 a month service charge to make up for it, with a 2 year service agreement would be a better option? I bet they'd love to have that extra $504.00 fro you over the $75.00

ReVeLaTeD
Premium Member
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA

ReVeLaTeD

Premium Member

Re: Well played.

said by fiberguy2:

said by insomniac84:

A 50 dollar installation fee and a 25 dollar activation fee. That's thinking outside the box.
Why's that? ... because everything should be free? Even if it was "free" don't you realize that there are expenses and with those expenses, if they're provided free, you're going to pay for it elsewhere. I suppose a $50 a month service charge to make up for it, with a 2 year service agreement would be a better option? I bet they'd love to have that extra $504.00 fro you over the $75.00
I think the thought process is, the logic behind separating them is the definition of "nickel and dime". You wouldn't do one without the other, so why not just charge $60 as a start up fee? (Yes, I'm proposing a discount, it doesn't cost the dealer that much to install a bracket.)
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Well played.

I'd say that most likely, as someone else said, one goes to the dealer, the other to the provider. The other reason could be that it may be possible to buy the parts/equipment directly and either do it yourself or have someone else do it for you. I think that sometimes people take two prices as nickle and dime rather than itemized prices..

ReVeLaTeD
Premium Member
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA

ReVeLaTeD

Premium Member

Re: Well played.

said by fiberguy2:

I'd say that most likely, as someone else said, one goes to the dealer, the other to the provider. The other reason could be that it may be possible to buy the parts/equipment directly and either do it yourself or have someone else do it for you. I think that sometimes people take two prices as nickle and dime rather than itemized prices..
Itemized pricing usually has to do with things that are unrelated or not directly requirements of each other. You wouldn't install without activating and you wouldn't activate without installing. So why not just combine it and discount it, and then in disclaimer, state what it is comprised of?
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Well played.

I just described a reason WHY it was probably itemized and separate. When you buy an XM Satellite radio, you pay for the hardware, the activation, and if you want it installed, you pay for that too.

I think you're being a little nit-picky. Nothing is being done wrong here. Rather, this is more your "desire" and "preference".. I don't care if it's combined or separate. HOWEVER, if it WERE combined, and you wanted to install it yourself, I'm sure you'd not see a discount.

More and more people/sellers are being required to itemize their pricing. I can give you an example that lives right here on this site.. Congress required, in the telecom act of 96, that everything be itemized on the bill. ie: Converter rental, which included a remote, has to have the items separated on the bill. Phone had to do the same thing. There is also a law, truth in something, I'd have to look it up, where you have to be clear about what you are charging someone for, and it can't simply be disclaimed.

And, in this case, it sounds to me that they are not directly related. You're paying someone to install the device, and you are paying a provider to activate and begin a subscription.

ReVeLaTeD
Premium Member
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA

ReVeLaTeD

Premium Member

Re: Well played.

said by fiberguy2:

I just described a reason WHY it was probably itemized and separate. When you buy an XM Satellite radio, you pay for the hardware, the activation, and if you want it installed, you pay for that too.

I think you're being a little nit-picky. Nothing is being done wrong here. Rather, this is more your "desire" and "preference".. I don't care if it's combined or separate. HOWEVER, if it WERE combined, and you wanted to install it yourself, I'm sure you'd not see a discount.

More and more people/sellers are being required to itemize their pricing. I can give you an example that lives right here on this site.. Congress required, in the telecom act of 96, that everything be itemized on the bill. ie: Converter rental, which included a remote, has to have the items separated on the bill. Phone had to do the same thing. There is also a law, truth in something, I'd have to look it up, where you have to be clear about what you are charging someone for, and it can't simply be disclaimed.

And, in this case, it sounds to me that they are not directly related. You're paying someone to install the device, and you are paying a provider to activate and begin a subscription.
I've noticed you're hostile in just about every board I see you in.

First, this is not my "desire". Stop putting words in my mouth.

Second, the law about "Truth in LENDING" does not apply to the install of wireless access, as there is no LENDING being done here.

Third, they are directly related. Would you buy something and then never activate it? Would you activate SIRIUS before buying the hardware?

In both cases your answer is NO.
wev567
join:2006-02-25
Pittsburgh, PA

wev567 to insomniac84

Member

to insomniac84
$50 probably to the dealer for equip install and $25 to signal provider.
NewMariner
join:2005-06-24

NewMariner

Member

I wandered when the Day would come!

I have long thought that the car would be the next place the internet would pop up. Just think while your en route, your gps unit is giving you directions, then a screen in the car is giving websites of the sites local to that destination, hotels, attractions and the like.

Not to mention that eventually someone will make some software that will track this car in the event it is stolen much like onstar...
Kord
join:2006-10-27

Kord

Member

Monthly Fee

How the heck are they going to sell EVDO for $29 / month when it averages $50 / month with all providers?
pabster
join:2001-12-09
Waterloo, IA

pabster

Member

Re: Monthly Fee

Perhaps subsidized by the large up-front costs?
Kord
join:2006-10-27

Kord

Member

Re: Monthly Fee

I didnt see the service charge, never mind
Goldman
join:2002-06-21
Maumelle, AR

1 recommendation

Goldman

Member

EVDO routers

Good EVDO routers are around $100 bucks. You buy one, plug it into your 12v power point in your car, plug in your EVDO card, and you're on the internet for a fraction of the startup costs.

This is a complete waste of money.

•••••••••
ebubman
join:2002-01-17
Mechanicsburg, PA

ebubman

Member

interesting concept

for those of us who drive the boss around to shop then wait in the car, this would be an interesting albeit pricey option. currently i do the at&t 3g gig which works well but on a small screen.
thecptrgod
join:2008-04-03
Madison, WI

1 edit

thecptrgod

Member

Um.... yeah... not impressed...

I have a friend who has been doing this with a "cantenna" and a WRT-54G, and for less money than what Chrysler wants.

-Adam

asdfdfdfdfdfdf
@Level3.net

asdfdfdfdfdfdf

Anon

I don't get it...

Why would people want an additional monthly charge for an evdo service that tethers you to your automobile?
A large rolling base station in 2009 seems like too little too late.
What am I missing? Why wouldn't I just set up a standard evdo contract with verizon or sprint? Wouldn't this give me more freedom and flexibility for a single monthly fee? What is the advantage of evdo to the car and a wifi access point from the car?

Siko
Premium Member
join:2006-11-27
Mechanicsburg, PA

Siko

Premium Member

.

If your in traffic, just grab out your computer and see how long the delay is.

Smith6612
MVM
join:2008-02-01
North Tonawanda, NY
·Charter
Ubee EU2251
Ubiquiti UAP-IW-HD
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-AC-HD

Smith6612

MVM

RVs....

Honestly I'd think it would be a lot better to put built-in Wi-Fi inside of RVs than cars. Well yes, there may not be as many RVs as cars/vans out there, people in RVs traditionally have devices or laptops that use the internet on a regular basis. In some campgrounds, you can't get any Wi-Fi, and in some you either have to piggyback off of someone's connection or you have to pay.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

details plz

Whats the cap?

What provides backhaul? EVDO, Satellite, or HSDPA?

Sprint, Verizon, WildBlue, Immarsat, HughesNet, AT&T, T-Mobile?
AstroBoy
join:2008-08-08
Parkville, MD

1 recommendation

AstroBoy

Member

Traffic hazzard

New challenge for WAR drives!

People will try to drive within 100' of the moving hot-spot!

Mom! Drive faster, the signal is getting weak!

Pashune
Caps stifle innovation
Premium Member
join:2006-04-14
Gautier, MS

Pashune

Premium Member

Re: Traffic hazzard

said by AstroBoy:

New challenge for WAR drives!

People will try to drive within 100' of the moving hot-spot!

Mom! Drive faster, the signal is getting weak!
LOL

DevilsHaven
@rogers.com

DevilsHaven

Anon

many uses i see

good idea, can give live navigation with maps and pictures like google for its Chrysler customers, traffic information

maybe even a free VOD for vehicle owners when they are on the go and have nothing to do, perhaps even unlimited voip, or even video calls, allot of uses as long as drivers use some common scenes, also can make satellite radio useless as u can have free internet radio

hope they don't start doing some useless restrictions against simple things like voip and radio(so they can protect serious)

29$ seems steep, but if they will have reasonable caps, and reasonable over cap cost its a great option

offcorse we know this companies are never so nice, so where is the catch 22

Thinkaboutit
@comcast.net

Thinkaboutit

Anon

think

U ALL MISS the point. Wi-Fi in the car is for audio bubba. Think and you will learn.............. I can tune in to my tunes at home or tune into any webstation on the planet. If I were FM/AM I would be having shivers right about now......
id_deleted
join:2003-05-01
Salt Lake City, UT

4 edits

id_deleted

Member

Its way overpriced.

You can get the same thing for less than $200, and it works with just about any cellular provider.
Most cellular providers have a data card deal where the card is either free or extremely inexpensive.

I use an EVDO data card in my carpc, it was included free with my cell plan contract.
Having internet in your ride really becomes quite useful if you have a carpc with the right software.
The software I use is actually an artificial intelligence. It checks my email and "reads" the messages to me,
has voice announced traffic status and local weather reports all based on real-time internet data.
I can have it look up information on the internet simply by requesting it via voice command.
The AI software communicates with the AI on the HTPC at home over the net, so the HTPC knows when I
pull into the garage. The HTPC's home automation control has everything adjusted before I walk in the door.

I would not get too excited about internet radio though, the low bitrates they use do not provide the quality
that you would expect, and when amplified with even a half decent car audio system it sounds like excrement.
The carpc software streams my rather large mp3 and flac collection at high bitrates over its WiFi connection,
much better sound than any internet radio station. I have a little PDA with WiFi that I use to listen to the stream
when I am not inside the car.
netnerd6
join:2007-04-14
Oakland, CA

netnerd6

Member

soon they will offer phone serv ice for car!!

what is wrong with using your cellphone provider for internet? get a wireless laptop card or use your cellphone!
when are they going to offer cellphone service for car?? i cant wait!
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