We were already stoked about the Chevy Volt, but now GM tells us about even more cellphone linkage on the way. If you're running the OnStar app, you'll be able to enter or speak a location into your cellphone, and then the car's GPS will be ready to show you how to get there as soon as you start the car. Since GM's OnStar system knows where your car is located, you'll be able to easily find your car in even the most gigantic of parking lots.
GM says this particular whiz-bang stuff won't be available when the Volt launches, but it's planned for version 2.0 of the Volt mobile app that will feature lots of interaction with Google Maps. GM's talking about demoing these new features first on Google Android, but adds, "What we're talking about today is only the beginning." We're hoping these features will be available on all smartphone platforms when version 2.0 is launched. We asked GM reps about that, and their reply: "The Google specific parts of the app will run only on Android as of right now. GM is currently evaluating the feasibility to translate to other systems including the iPhone."
In addition to these features announced today, there were lots of groundbreaking capabilities announced at CES 2010 for the Chevy Volt OnStar app on Android, BlackBerry and iPhone apps. Our faves included the ability to designate when to charge the battery, display miles per gallon, and even remotely start the vehicle if you want to, say, pre-cool the AC on a hot day.
