The auto industry constantly develops new technologies, but this time they are pushing digital convergence at the heart of innovation.   Introducing connectivity and graphics capabilities to the dashboard can make the driver feel more in control of the vehicle. Intelligent, connected processors have the potential to revolutionize not just how efficiently we commute but also the whole experience of driving a car. Possibilities range from synchronizing your music and video library automatically as you pull into your driveway at night to augmented reality dashboards and displays.  Ford already has deployed an active park assist system in its Fiesta range of vehicles while...

They’ve been stringing cable for months now throughout Kansas City on both the Kansas and Missouri sides in what have been dubbed “fiberhoods.” It’s all part of an extensive pilot program to gauge Google’s latest—and some would say surprising—foray into the high-speed Internet and television world. It’s called Google Fiber. It’s an Internet service that’s five times faster than the roughly two megabits-per-second speeds that most Americans currently have in their homes. And it could change the way we communicate for the better. “There is a lot of excitement for Google Fiber,” says Jenna Wandres, a spokesperson for...

Smartphones and tablets have surged in popularity as cellular carriers continue to develop their fastest 4G networks to date, contributing to a mammoth increase in cell networks’ data traffic. And there’s no end in sight. Indeed, the proliferation of even more connected devices is expected to keep straining cell networks’ data capacities over the next 10 years and beyond. To accommodate this growth, researchers at wireless industry suppliers and leading universities have been working on the next generation of wireless network technologies beyond 4G, including new cellular network architectures ...

Like the Greco-Roman sea god Poseidon, “connected car” developers come brandishing a three-pronged spear. One prong (and the most popular) is a fully tethered solution in which the network-connected smartphone is paired up with the car’s dashboard system to allow consumers to listen to online music and access Web information among other things. More than 90 million vehicles will feature technology to integrate smartphones by 2016, according to a study by Juniper Research, a wireless technology research firm based in Hampshire, U.K.   This number is rather remarkable given that automakers use proprietary protocols for in-vehicle electronics, so it is difficult for...