OnStar alternative for any car: Carshield; teens on notice

Posted January 23, 2008 at 03:21 PM by JG Mason

Section: Gadgets / Other, Transportation

I got sucked into a demo at CES.  It was innocent enough, Editor Adam Berger wanted to play with the steering wheel on the table and being his assigned wingman, I got stuck listening to the pitch.  I went from feeling stuck to genuinely interested in about 15 seconds.  This is a really neat concept that combines GPS, car monitoring and email/SMS. 

Let’s say your wife breaks down on the way to work.  If you had one of these units plugged in, you’d know where she was and what kind of problem the car is having, probably well before she does.  The device plugs into the cars computer port and can report speed, location, low tire pressure, and all the other things your car knows.  It can even unlock doors remotely.

Another scenario is your teen finally gets permission to take the car.  You can program this device to let you know if the car goes over 65 mph or goes out of a location zone.  Notifications can come in via email or SMS.  Sweet, teens are getting away with nothing these days.

At $140 per year, the cost isn’t ridiculous especially if you are a nervous parent.  Coming this June to consumers and in March to car dealerships.

Company site [CarShield] *warning: company website is horrible; let’s hope this first look will improve by launch