Chrysler stays connected

Chrysler UConnect is an in-vehicle communication system that lets drivers talk on their Bluetooth-enabled wireless phones. The system incorporates technology created by Mopar, the automobile parts and services arm of Chrysler, and is available in select Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles. UConnect enables high-speed data transfer by combining and cellular connectivity within vehicles, essentially creating a "hot spot" to deliver the Internet directly to the automobile. Without using their hands, drivers can browse Web sites, access e-mail, listen to music, partake in online gaming, view photos and activate GPS systems due to an integrated voice recognition system that's programmed to recognize more than 100,000 words.

Microsoft's ViFi

technicians along with researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Washington are developing a new approach to tapping existing mobile technologies from moving vehicles. This vehicle Wi-Fi, or , as researchers call it, is "a protocol that minimizes disruptions in Wi-Fi connectivity to support interactive applications from moving vehicles." ViFi works to eliminate the difficult handoffs and service hiccups associated with Wi-Fi by providing anchor and auxiliary connections to base stations to help traveling motorists maintain connectivity in their vehicles. If a connection is dropped by the anchor, an auxiliary connection will take over, based on a high-tech probabilistic algorithm developed by the researchers.

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