A car you can operate with a smartphone
Smartphones have seamlessly integrated themselves into people’s everyday lives. We use them to do everything from communicating to humans to communicating to other robots. And just like Batman communicates with his Batmobile, soon the everyday person will be able to communicate to their automobile.
Nissan beat all the other car companies in the technological conquest, having the Leaf fitted with an electronic system that allows a smartphone to communicate to the car electronic systems.
Manipulating the air conditioning is just the beginning; users will be able to find out the duration of charge times and how much battery is left in the Leaf. The two phones that are currently able to perform these functions with the Leaf are the iPhone and the HTC Desire, however several other phones will have these abilities in the near future.
An application would allow phone users to receive messages when their car has been completely charged, or with updates on how much has been charged. They can request what temperatures they would like their cars to be set to, allowing the users to step into an accommodating cockpit.
The Nissan Leaf, which won’t be available at your local Nissan Indianapolis dealerships until December 2010, is an impressive hybrid vehicle which offers an all-electric range of 100 miles.
Leaf stands for Leading, Environmentally Friendly, Affordable, Family car and the Leaf is exactly that. The five door hatchback produces no tail pipe pollution, lessening the dependence on oil and the cost of ownership decreases because of the lack of gasoline needed. The Leaf will also have a synced up application in collaboration with the navigation system guiding drivers to nearby charge spots. This will, however, require the car to keep a low level of battery running at all times.
The Leaf, which will soon be sold at your Indianapolis used car dealers, is powered by a lithium ion battery which is capable of powering the car to reach speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. The Leaf is very affordable in terms of fuel costs as a full battery charge is less than four dollars whereas a full tank of gas could run someone anywhere from $30-$50.
Nissan’s collaboration with smartphones is a positive sign that technology will make owning an electric vehicle more convenient than it has been in the past.