The End is Near; What a Shame

It’s just a shame that the Mayans, those ancient seers, say the world is going to end in 2012. With development lead time and all, that’s just about when the auto industry will be introducing the first connected car.

Then again, maybe, like counting numbers, the Mayans just got tired of putting dates on calendars and 2012 is nothing more than the end of mind, not the end of time.

If the world doesn’t end — and I’m taking bets that it won’t — 2012 could be a big year in the entertainment business because it could mark the start of truly mobile entertainment. In case you haven’t heard, Alcatel-Lucent, Atlantic Records, ANX Software Systems and, most importantly, Toyota all got together recently to show off what they called the next generation connected car.

Since Americans spend about 500 million hours a week in their cars, these guys figure that service providers are missing an audience opportunity so they’ve connected the car to a 4G LTE network that makes a Toyota a BlackBerry on wheels. Anything you can do on a smartphone you can do in this car; provided you’ve installed the right equipment and that’s where the whole 2012 thing comes in because it takes carmakers at least that long to install something new.

And it gets even better than that. Because cars are bigger than cell phones—for now, anyway—they can have bigger antennas. Bigger antennas provide more reliable throughput from LTE towers and more consistent performance. You could watch a video-on-demand movie—unless of course you’re driving and therefore it wouldn’t be a good idea—while in a car soaring down the interstate and fed by a mobile provider. Of course since Atlantic Records is involved you can be sure that there would be some pretty powerful music apps as well.

So what’s all this mean? Get away from the fact that if the economy doesn’t improve by then the folks will be converting the family sedans into living quarters, and you see a new market opportunity for enhanced TV and interactivity. If you have the connection and you have the network — and it doesn’t have to be LTE, WiMAX will do just as well, you cable guys — you have a new way to deliver a wealth of applications to a really captive audience.

Why stop at movies? Why not provide more than the usual navigation information; not just that Ma’s Diner is 1.3 miles ahead but what the daily lunch special is; not just that Running Bear Golf Club is around the next corner but it’s having a two-for-one special and the course is open for play without a starting time. Make the driving experience informational and entertaining.

A connected car might, at first glance, seem about as likely as time ending in 2012 but on second and third glance, on deeper inspection, it looks like an opportunity to expand connected TV out of the home and into the place where people really live and interact: the car.

I just hope I get the chance to take one for a spin. Damn those Mayans!