driving

Driving Home a Better Future in the Connected Car

Ina Fried in News on April 30 at 5:00 am PT

The future of the car was a hot topic at last week’s MLOVE conference in Monterey.

U.S. Agency Proposes Total Ban on Talking and Texting While Driving

Ina Fried in Mobile on December 13, 2011 at 12:08 pm PT

The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for a nationwide ban on drivers’ use of portable electronics, with the exception of those that aid with driving itself.

Voices

Phone Carriers Tout Tool to Stop Texting and Driving

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on March 25, 2011 at 12:00 am PT

If your teenagers have a car and a cellphone, chances are they’ve made a call or texted behind the wheel. Distracted driving is a big worry for many parents, but one start-up is betting that its technology will help alleviate some of those concerns. California-based Location Labs is selling a tool that detects when the phone is in a moving car and limits the owner’s ability to make calls and texts.

Don’t Read This While Driving: T-Mobile Launches Safe Driving App

Ina Fried in Mobile on January 19, 2011 at 8:10 am PT

The carrier plans to offer a service called DriveSmart Plus that detects when a phone is in a moving car and disables most calling and texting functions.

Voices

Virtual Driving Just Got More Real

Juro Osawa, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 8, 2010 at 10:23 am PT

Picture the road you always drive on. It has two lanes, one for each direction. Now, imagine the same road expanded to four lanes. Is it much better or will the doubled capacity only double traffic? Does it shorten your commuting time? Those are difficult questions to answer, but they may become easier if new technology from Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd is successful.

Google Buys Phonetic Arts to Make Machines Sound Human

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 3, 2010 at 2:06 pm PT

Google is beefing up its voice services with today’s acquisition of Cambridge, England-based Phonetic Arts. Google’s view is that voice will be critical going forward to making mobile devices with small screens and keyboards more useful.

"Fearless Leader" Bartz Out of Foxhole, Reaching Out and Remaining Calm (Until Tomorrow, That Is!)

Kara Swisher in News on October 18, 2010 at 9:30 am PT

Thus spake Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz in her weekly note to Yahoos on Friday, signing off as the Internet giant’s “fearless leader”: “There sure are a lot of folks writing about us. There are some pretty incredible stories out there. I’m not letting it distract me, and you shouldn’t either.” Did she just call BoomTown incredible? Thanks!

Ford Launches Voice Control of Apps in Car: No More Phone-Fiddling While Driving?

Kara Swisher in News on April 20, 2010 at 4:15 am PT

Ford, which has been trying to fast-forward its automobiles in the digital space, announced today that its 2011 Fiesta model will be the first vehicle in which smartphone apps can be voice-controlled via its in-car synching software. One issue: Initially, Ford’s SYNC AppLink, downloadable as an upgrade, will work only with Google Android and Research in Motion BlackBerry devices. Still, anything that stops dodos from fiddling with a smartphone while driving can’t be bad.

These Apps Help Users of iPhones Find Their Way

Walt Mossberg in Personal Technology on September 9, 2009 at 6:20 pm PT

None of the iPhone apps with GPS navigation that Walt Mossberg tested is perfect, but each adds a new dimension to the iPhone.