General Motors is negotiating with Internet search behemoth and new smartphone marketer Google to develop in-car telematics to compete with Ford and Microsoft�s Sync/MyFord systems, sources say. One says Google would sell its Android operating system for in-car use. The operating system supports Google�s Android smartphone, the new competitor to Apple�s iPhone.
Like Sync, Google�s Android would allow GM customers to pair their vehicles with almost any brand of smartphone. While Android would offer GM serious competition for Ford�s popular Sync, which was recently expanded into a set of services now called MyFord, MyMercury, and MyLincoln, the Google hookup wouldn�t be an entirely parallel competitor with the Microsoft system. For example, Android could allow GM vehicle owners to open, start and/or adjust their cars and trucks, something Microsoft hasn�t done for Ford.
Google would allow better two-way communication between a smartphone and the car. Google�s operating system also would render useless GM-owned OnStar�s turn-by-turn navigation system, because Android would use its own GPS map navigation. This could be a sticking point in negotiations between Google and GM.
How soon could it happen? We�re unlikely to get confirmation from either GM or Google earlier than 2011.
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