ydooby

Unlock doors and start engine with just your NFC-enabled smart phone? Good one Hyundai!!
http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and...e_your_car_key

Your phone will become your car key
By Karla Pincott

Hyundai has unveiled a smartphone system to replace car keys.

Demonstrated on a concept version of Hyundai’s popular i30 in Germany, the smartphone integration technology will be available to car buyers in two years.

Rather than using Bluetooth, the system uses wireless Near Field Communication (NFC), allowing you to lock and unlock the car by waving your phone over a small tag on the car window.

Inside the car, you place the phone on a pad in the centre console that wirelessly charges it while the content is synced and streamed to the car’s infotainment system and touchscreen.

The system can also store in-car preferences, including radio stations, seating positions and even mirror adjustment – with multiple profiles able to be saved for different drivers.

Hyundai said development the system was part of the carmaker’s aim of producing technology for the mainstream consumer. "The Connectivity Concept showcases Hyundai’s philosophy of making tomorrow’s technology accessible to a wide range of customers,” Hyundai Motor Europe chief operating officer Allan Rushforth said in a statement.

“With this technology, Hyundai is able to harness the all-in-one functionality of existing smartphone technology and integrating it into everyday driving in a seamless fashion."

Hyundai plans to offer the smartphone system on cars in 2015, and says it is also working on improved reversing cameras and lane departure alert systems with similar technology.

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

Very cool tech but if your phone is lost then youre out of a means to call for help(being as tho no one remembers phone numbers anymore) and get in your car. But the person who finds said phone will be on happy camper. I hope there are very good security measures in place when this tech hits the market.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

sounds interesting. I'll wait till it catches on before jumping on this bandwagon

ydooby

No difference to someone finding your lost traditional car keys (smart or not).

Lots of sensitive pieces of personal information are stored on a smartphone nowadays so if you lose your smartphone you're gonna be worried about a lot more than just the car anyway (including your money, since your NFC-enabled phone is likely to double as a payment device already). It's the risk you have to take by actively using a modern smartphone.

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

This is very true also! Thats why wouldnt be a big fan of it right off the top without some extreme security features. As cellphones have gotten smarter, we've gotten dumber. We lost the abilty,or want to remember phone numbers, addresses, the abilty to navigate without a device telling us how, and soon the importance of carrying keys all for the sake of psuedo-conveinence and being tech savvy. The biggest sad part about it all is that im probably the biggest culprit.

spwolf

I would not trust my cell phone with my keys, nor with my credit card (nfc payments). Considering how poor battery life is these days, not to mention reliability...

gengar

The difference though is that the smart keys never have to leave wherever you're storing them (wallet, purse, etc.). Smartphones are used all the time so they're constantly coming in/out of your wallet/purse/whatever hence why (certain) people always seem to be misplacing/losing them, and are prime targets for theft often because people are careless with them.


Battery life would be my number one concern. Certainly wouldn't want to be unable to use my car because I forgot to charge my phone one day.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

If they do his i will never be able to do anything because my phone is always dead. Why does the Iphone have such ****ty battery life

<VENOM>

Nice but this would just be a factory 1st, cause I have a bunch of friends who have smart start from Viper and depending on which unit you have installed it will start your car from your home or office, unlock your doors, operate your windows

Lets Drive

iTrader: (3)

This would be my primary concern, as well. Until cell phone batteries can last days on a single charge, with regular-to-heavy use, I don't see this getting far.

At least with most payment services I've seen, they require an additional password for entry, followed by a period of time for use, before you're locked out, again (so it's actually safer than a normal credit card). I'd assume anything which would control access to the car, would also require similar security, so that losing your phone wouldn't mean automatic access to your vehicle.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

nice, but i still like my low-tech number pad on my ford! it's really great.

Outrage

"I updated the firmware on my mobile phone and now I can't unlock my car!"

bruce van

When the Zombie Apocalypse is here, you'll be glad you had a set of old fashioned car keys. Ain't no way you'll be able to charge your phone.

I'd trust a good smartkey any day. You can pass it around to your friends and family and not worry about them reading your emails.

I'm a big tech guy, but I'll pass on this. I wouldn't want to put all of my dependency on my phone.

spwolf

indeed... i am big tech guy and you can get smart card keys these days that are perfectly fine... until they improve battery and reliability of smartphones.

its cool tech and all, and it would be further cool to customize your car settings based on nfc... but you need key.

Even if phone fails once in a year, it would be huge pain in the ***.

amphipri0n

Still need a smartkey for valet parking, unless you want to hand off your phone