Viper’s car control system for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android is getting a little more accessible, and tacking on some new features today. Firstly, they’re knocking $100 off the price of the SmartStart car add-on to $199, meaning you’re looking at $399 rather than $499 for the whole shebang. You still have to pay $30/year for the car system’s wireless usage, which kind of sucks but isn’t crazy. Secondly, Viper is announcing a new Motor Club for customers, which will provide all kinds of roadside assistance through the smartphone app. Flat tires, locking yourself out, and dead batteries are bound to happen every once in awhile, so it’s good to have a lifeline to reach out to in those cases. The Viper Motor Club launches before the end of the year.
Viper SmartStart will continue to let you pop your trunk, sound the alarm, receive alarm alerts, and start your car all from your phone, whereever you happen to be. Since Viper launched, many car manufacturers like Ford, BMW, Chevrolet, and Mercedes-Benz have all started integrating smartphones with their cars in a number of ways. Chevrolet is so far the only one going as far as remote car starting, but there are obvious security implications that might have other car makers shy away.
Overall SmartStart is a neat (if slightly expensive) service for the real car nuts out there. I would imagine that the next step would be to offer some kind of media tie-in, for, say, streaming music to the car stereo via Bluetooth. How about some live GPS tracking? Download links to the free applications are below, but they won’t do you much good without a Viper subscription and the in-car system. Find out where you can buy said system over here.
Download for Android ($29.99/year) [Market Link]
Download for iPhone ($29.99/year) [iTunes Link]
Download for BlackBerry ($29.99/year) [App World Link]