There is mobile technology, and there there is mobile technology. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is apparently soon to embark to the open road, much like the self-driving Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) car. What we’re hearing now though, takes the idea of mobile technology into a different realm. Imagine your Apple iPhone on four radial tires. Say hello to the iBeetle by Volkswagen. No, we are not making this up. Volkswagen is apparently unveiling its new iPhone-integrated Beetle automobile this weekend at the Shanghai Auto Show in China, and was is being revealed about this vehicle has definitely caught our eye.
Maybe to say that Volkswagen and the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone will be integrated just might be too light a term. Married might be better. Consummate? A little edgy, but might be just as accurate. The word is this car will have exterior design features that are reminiscent of an iPhone – for example, alloy wheels, chrome covers, paint colors in white, black or silver and either coupe or convertible models – and will have many features that can be used with an Apple iPhone and the iOS (right now, the car is integrated only into iPhone 5).
Here is a quick little rundown of the features that are expected in this new iBeetle, which may hit showrooms next year:
* An Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone docking station on top of the dashboard. This will allow many of the features of the iPhone to be used in the iBeetle, such as GPS location, playing music, and hands-free phone calling, among other things.
* A Volkswagen Apple iPhone app that can allow the car and the smartphone to be deeply integrated. The app can be accessed wirelessly or through the dock. ONce that linkage happens, several of these other features come into play.
* Access to Spoitfy to stream music through the car.
* A feature that can report engine temperature, acceleration as well as serving as a compass and/or a timer (no word on if it’ll be like the Apple iPhone’s “figure eight” method to obtain signal).
* Record and share drive time and amount of fuel used for a specific trip (like the daily commute or a family vacation).
* Have Facebook and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone messages read aloud as you drive.
* Send the GPS location of the car to others (no word on if it’s Apple Maps-based), and take pictures inside the car and share them with friends on social networks.
* Plus, you could also earn “rewards” when you finish “certain tasks.” No word about what this program entails and what the “rewards” are, but still .. who wouldn’t want to get rewarded for surviving several hours in a car, with Apple gear all around them?
What do you think about the concept of an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone-integrated iBeetle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.
