Before buying a car, you should understand how various forms of vehicle internet connectivity work, like embedded, “brought in,” and hybrid, and how long the free-trial data plan comes with a car. Because when the free trial period is over, it can put you in a tricky situation.
4G Connectivity for Embedded Systems
Almost 20 years ago, General Motors OnStar invented a concept in which your car connects using the same mobile network for mobile phones. But, unfortunately, they were charging a monthly fee for an always-on connection, and other automakers followed them.
In 2014, General Motors and Audi introduced 4G connectivity to create a Wi-Fi hotspot in cars. Audi uses a faster connection to download data for the car navigation systems Google Earth and Google Street View mapping modes, and Mercedes-Benz and BMW still use 3G modems for the same features in some cars.
The price of this system connection can be different, and somewhere they are higher and somewhere they are lower.
Brought-in Connection
Systems rarely rely on a driver’s smartphone to ensure connection. For example, the Toyotas Entune system is one such “brought-in” or tethered system, and it connects to drivers’ smartphones only via Bluetooth or USB. With these systems, you should know that they depend on a device’s data plan, and there is the possibility that you will need to pay for the smartphone’s wireless porter.
One downside of the brought-in approach is that you can’t connect to the car remotely through a smartphone app without a modem built into the vehicle.
Hybrid Connection
A hybrid connection joins a smartphone’s mobile connection and build-in car mobile modem. With this connection, central systems get managed with an embedded modem which is in the car. In contrast, a brought-in smartphone will work with other services like Internet radio or local search.
Yelp local search app and electronic features work on Sprint’s 4G network, which runs on an embedded modem. In addition, you will have a Wi-Fi connection so you can connect to the Internet and play games from Google Play or other online games.
If you have this connection type, be sure that you try out some of the more demanding games before you do anything competitive to see if the bandwidth is good enough. For example, online slots can be tasking, and they are a good way of proving if your connection is strong enough (you can try it out here – online casino Canada).
Research and Try Before Buying
Nothing takes the joy out of a new car faster than an app that is not functional, and that doesn’t work as you would like. It will be geeky to research embedded, brought-in, and hybrid connectivity when you are buying your car, but it will pay off because you will understand what go-to features and apps will function when you are on the road, and you will know what you are paying. So be sure to do some research for your car’s connectivity options because it will save you a lot of time and money down the line.
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