CES: How Volkswagen is keeping up with your mobile world

It should come as no surprise that Americans are becoming more dependent on their smart phones. That is not merely perception, it is reality and statistics back it up. According to Flurry Analytics (owned by Yahoo), people spend an average of two hours and fifty seven minutes a day on their smartphone or tablet. That number has increased by more than sixty percent over the last two years. If you were to add the number of hours per day over the course of an entire year, the average American spends 45.6 days on their smart device. In fact, the third quarter of 2014 marked the first time that people spent more time on their smart devices than they did watching television.

Source: Flurry Analytics

Rather than shy away from the growing role smart devices play in our day to day lives, Volkswagen took to the stage at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to announce new technologies that will be integrated in their vehicles that will not only embrace this trend, but more importantly will make using them safer.

Presenting at CES, Dr. Volkmar Tanneberger, the head of Volkswagen’s electronic development division, reminded everyone that his company has led the way when it comes to embracing technology that facilitates safer use of smartphone technology. He said, “We have been using touch screen since the beginning, because it represents the most intuitive way to operate in car technology.” Two different members of Volkswagen’s Golf family were used to demonstrate during the presentation.

Volkswagen said in a news release, “It has now been eight years, to the month, since Apple® introduced its first generation iPhone in San Francisco. Smartphones have irreversibly changed our everyday lives, from the ways we communicate to how we access information. It has long been normal practice to have phones automatically connected to a car’s hands-free telephone system via Bluetooth and to have smartphones stream media libraries into car infotainment and sound systems. But now, Volkswagen is taking a significant step forward. “

In that same release they said, “Later this year, VW will introduce the second generation “modular infotainment platform” (MIB II) in the United States. Along with the new infotainment system, MirrorLink™ will also be made available for the first time, integrating the apps and operating layout of numerous smartphones (including Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony) into cars.”

Tannenberger made the same case in his presentation saying, “This technology seamlessly integrates everyday devices like smart phones, smart watches, tablets, and the like with the vehicle.”

More importantly, he talked about these advancements, not from a convenience perspective, but from a safety perspective. Tanneberger said, “In combination with our proximity sensors from our new info-tainment system, driver distraction will reduce even further.”

Tanneberger also stressed that Volkswagen is not playing favorites with any particular phone or operating system. As described in the release, “When MirrorLink™ is introduced, two other interfaces will also be launched under the App-Connect label: CarPlay™ (Apple®) and Android Auto™ (Google®). Simultaneously, VW will also launch CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ in the European market.”

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