WIFI in your car

Planes and trains adding wifi is no longer a story, but automobiles are still in an early phase of the OFF=ON cycle. For a move towards digitizing cars, keep an eye on Ford’s SYNC and GM’s Onstar, while true en-route online access is made possible by Autonet Mobile. The latter turns cars into wifi hotspots, allowing multiple people to connect their computers to the internet. Autonet runs over both 3G and 2.5G cellular data networks and is capable of receiving WiMax signals. Users simply plug a router into their car's cigarette lighter, start their wifi device(s) and surf the net. Autonet Mobile claims to be effective on more than 95 percent of roads in the US.

Avis was Autonet's first corporate customer, rebranding the service as Avis Connect, currently available at 13 locations across the US for USD 10.95 per day. Autonet recently also entered into a partnership with Chrysler to create Chrysler UConnect, which is offered in all 2009 models and will also work with earlier Chrysler models.