Last year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), General Motors announced its plans to add 4G LTE connectivity to most of its vehicles by the 2016 model year. One of the most interesting features that will utilize this 4G LTE connectivity is GM’s new is GM’s OnStar Driver Assurance system. The OnStar Driver Assurance system actually predicts when certain engine parts might fail and warns drivers so they can get them replaced before any problems occur. Consider this a major improvement over the “check engine” light that really just tells you something is wrong and “to get your car to a mechanic”.

The way this new Driver Assurance system works is that sensors in the vehicle track how certain parts are performing. That data is then uploaded to OnStar’s servers over the 4G LTE network and run it through software that assess the parts’ conditions. If it appears there’s a problem with an individual component or system, drivers can get notified via text message, email, in-vehicle alerts, or through the OnStar smartphone app.

Initially, the Driver Assurance technology will focus on the battery, starter motor, and fuel pump. These are all components that have a fixed lifetime of operation and are all critical to starting a vehicle and keeping it running reliably.

The way that the Driver Assurance system works is that owners enroll their vehicle in the program. GM expects to roll out the capability to some versions of the 2016 Chevrolet Corvette, Equinox, Silverado, Suburban, and Tahoe, followed by others lines during the 2016 model year.

Soon the Driver Assurance system will be upgraded to email monthly alerts to owners on other basic things like tire pressure, oil life and other routine diagnostics. Several other improvements are also coming to GM vehicles on the backbone of 4G LTE system. One new cloud-based feature, called “At Your Service”, for example, connects drivers with relevant merchants based on where they’re headed. These include priceline.com, Dunkin’ Donuts, Parkopedia, and Audiobooks, among others.

Source: Reedman-Toll Chevrolet

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For the best idea of what this thing is, check out the video below. While “hellopurr” may not be the most creative use, I’m sure the creatives of the world can come up with some pretty cool stuff. This thing alone makes me wish I had an Android phone. I love the iPhone, and the iPhone 4 has been really good to me unlike many others, but the way this opens up the Android platform is really cool. Sure, a lot of the applications that get made will be really, really crappy. But there will be good ones, and who’s to say the good ones can’t get picked up by more prominent developers and given full support?

On the whole, I think this is a great play by Google and will certainly give them even more cred with the nerd world. Nicely done.

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The daily recommendations come courtesy of community nominations. You get just one nomination per day, and since the site ties in with Gravatar, the hope is that users will just log in with an email, keeping developers from going in to spam their own apps with votes.

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Apple’s attempts to remedy the situation have been half-assed so far. There was the “revamp” featured with iTunes 9.0, which was nothing more than a reorganization of utter chaos. Apple also implemented Genius features for apps to help you locate new apps based on the ones you already have. For me, the service has been terrible. I’ve not found anything through App Genius that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Cupertino is launching a new app discovery service called “Apps For Everything,” a website that highlights apps in categories like cooking and music. It’s a decent idea, but the fact that the site is run by Apple almost certainly dooms it for failure. Apple usually showcases apps that do a good job of showing off the iPhone or have that special quality only Apple can see. In my experience, those apps aren’t things I use daily. Typically they’re flash-in-the-pan style apps that work on a young platform but will diminish in use as the App Store continues to grow.

For the App Store to continue to be a success, Apple needs to dramatically improve organization or turn that organization over to the consumers. Give us access to a database of all the apps including ratings. Let a couple enterprising web developers put together a community to encourage exposure. And for god’s sake, give iTunes the complete overhaul it needs.

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