A vehicle tracking law created an instant market, but the government’s heavy-handedness could turn Brazilians against telematics. Rajesh Chhabara reports

In this week’s Brief: Juniper Networks, Fluensee, Garmon, Chartaride, Evigia, Nokia, Twitter, Envision Motor Company, Home Touch

Leaders and innovators from the web, digital, automotive and wireless industries will come together for the 10th annual Telematics Detroit Conference, Exhibition & Awards, at the Rock Financial Showplace , Novi, MI, June 8 – 9, 2010. Just announced, the program will provide expert level business intelligence and strategy alignment to set the course of telematics for the new decade!

Industry leaders and automotive enthusiasts gathered for the start of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mich., which runs until January 24.

 

The Fleet telematics industry has entered a growth period with 2010 stacking up statistics for rapid expansion. The economic slowdown has nurtured doubts of dwindling demand for telematics systems within the commercial vehicle sector, but rapidly growing demand to reduce costs among fleet operators and retail consumers knocked those questions straight out of the park.  

China is warming up to telematics, promising a hot market ahead.

Software giant Google has unveiled a visual search application for smartphones called Google Goggles. When users with the new mobile application take a picture, Google launches a search for information associated with that image, whether it is a bottle of wine at a vineyard, the façade of a restaurant in Manhattan, or a street sign in the backwoods of West Virginia. Once the search is complete, users receive a list of links on their smartphones just as they would on their computer after a conventional Google word search.

Telematics Update picks the 10 technologies with the greatest potential impact for 2010.

Fleet managers and users of telematics services now can easily access location data for on-board diagnostic (OBD-II) ports on thousands of vehicles, thanks to a comprehensive database service from InstallerNet.

PSA Peugeot Citroën has signed a contract with Sierra Wireless covering remote monitoring and upgrade services for long-term maintenance of in-car telematics systems.