Archive for December, 2011
Anti-Theft Technology
Posted on December 25, 2011 | Satellite Radio.
While much has been done over the years to fight back against auto theft, it still remains a concern in many areas throughout America. While this crime has actually declined over the last few years, the biggest problem is the amount of money lost by victims. To illustrate, the FBI reports that auto thefts cost victims approximately $6.4 billion in 2008.
Urban areas in particular tend to have a higher rate of theft. Thieves have a wider selection of cars to choose from in these parts, and can blend in more as opposed to being out in rural areas. However, car owners today have more anti-theft technology available to them than ever before. Not only is this technology better equipped to prevent thefts, but recovery their vehicles should they get victimized.
The latest in anti-theft technology is the use of GPS that will monitor and track your vehicle should it be stolen. This makes it much easier for the authorities to locate and recover stolen vehicles. And in the event that the thief cuts the battery cable, information can still be gathered from the system.
OnStar by GM has made some advances in the recovery process. They now have a vehicle slowdown service that utilizes GPS. With it, not only can they locate a stolen vehicle, but stop it in its tracks. It starts with the owner reporting the theft to the police. Then the police contact OnStar to find the location of the car.
When they are closing in on the stolen car, OnStar can debilitate the accelerator to eventually stop it. Also, should the car be turned off, OnStar can prevent it from starting again by blocking the ignition.
LoJack has a system that reportedly has a 90% success rate for stolen vehicle recovery. They install radio transceivers into the vehicle as well as motion detectors. Should the car be moved while activated, an alert will be sent to the owner via text, email, or phone. Because the owner is notified immediately, it can save a lot of time. The police will then be contacted quicker and begin searching as soon as possible. Law enforcement in over half the states have LoJack tracking computers in their vehicles.
While this whole operation more often than not will probably be successful, professional thieves are beginning to catch on. They are figuring out how to disable these systems so they can’t track the location. Some will even try to hide a vehicle in an underground garage, where GPS won’t be able to track it.
Parrot Hands-Free Kit
Posted on December 24, 2011 | Car Electronics.
A Parrot hands-free kit is a Bluetooth-capable kit that can be installed in your vehicle to allow for hands-free telephone communication while driving. Because of the number of car accidents caused each year due to distracted driving involving mobile phones; it is now against the law in the United Kingdom to use your mobile phone whilst driving.
However, the benefit of this kit is that it is literally installed into your vehicle and automatically connects with your mobile phone upon starting the engine. It connects via Bluetooth capabilities in a way that avoids messing with a headset or a long, overly obnoxious, microphone wire hanging from an earpiece that you usually end up having to hold with one hand anyways so that the other party can hear you when you talk. I never understood how that could be considered hands-free when you’re using the same number of hands you would be using if you were holding the phone itself.
As I was browsing the web and checking my options, I noticed that the Parrot hands-free kit comes in a wide variety of different models. For the average, everyday user, there’s just a plain old run-of-the-mill standard kit made solely for telephone calls. It is compact and I really like the small design because I imagine it would probably compliment just about any vehicle interior. Of course, let’s not forget the fact that it has a voice recognition feature to truly make your phone a hands-free device. You speak a name and tell it to call and, Voila!, instant phone call. It doesn’t get much simpler than that now does it?
Another option I’m pretty impressed with in regards to the different models is the Parrot hands-free kits that are compatible with iPods and iPhones (although they will work with any MP3 player, SDMMC or USB device as well). The main difference with these models, obviously, would be the music. Select the music you want to hear and it’s played through your vehicle’s speaker system for maximum quality.
Another great feature about this system is that upon receiving phone calls, it will drown out background and interior vehicle noise, including the music, this gives you optimal phone call quality. Not to mention that the phone calls also play over the vehicle’s speaker system. I’m thinking I could definitely find a use for one of these kits!