Daimler’s Smart Drive kit for the iPhone will be launched in the second quarter of 2010, the company announced. The kit is a hardware-software combo made to bring “all the features needed on the road.” This includes your music library, access to contacts, Internet radio, phone functions, and maps with POI data coming from Microsoft Bing. In addition, there’s the “Assist” feature that automatically marks parking spot when undocked (a la Garmin Nuvifone) and can also provide GPS coordinates to the Smart hotline in case, God forbid, something happens.
But that’s not all – Daimler is also working on an optional camera that would sing along the Smart Drive kit to detect speed limit signs and eventually warn you about it…
The hard part is the price. The hardware costs 240 EUR (about $326) whereas the accompanying application could be yours for 9.99 EUR (~$14). Moreover, there is the optional subscription of 50 EUR (~$68) for European and U.S. maps and live traffic data. In other words, Daimler wants about $400 of your hard earned money, and that’s just a start. They also want that in addition to Smart, you also buy yourself a Mercedes, but that’s another story. 😉
[Via: Engadget]