The Mobile Marketing Blog - TellMyCell

FordPass App Promises 'Mobility Solutions' That Go Beyond Cars

Ford is entering the mobile technology ring with the launch of a new app. The company announced the FordPass mobile app in January of this year at the North American International Auto Show. The app is designed to help people get “from here to there,” whether by Ford vehicle, public transportation, ride-sharing or rent-a-bike service, or another car. There’s even a parking assistance feature. 

 

A ‘Marketplace for Mobility Solutions’

The idea behind the FordPass app is to provide consumers with “a marketplace for mobility solutions.” Spokespeople for the renowned vehicle brand note that while the core business concerns selling vehicles, the whole industry is shifting to serve consumers’ general mobility needs. This includes consumers who don’t always require a vehicle to go from “here to there.” 

Vehicle sharing is increasingly commonplace, a fact that Ford recognizes. The company is subsequently crafting a “whole ecosystem” that extends beyond standard vehicle buying and current customers to include non-Ford owners. 

 

What the App Does

FordPass revolves around the ‘My Vehicles’ feature that lets drivers add their cars and trucks and review basic model details, such as when the vehicle was purchased, current fuel level, color, and how many miles it has. Product recalls are also included if necessary. This may be accomplished by scanning a vehicle’s barcode. 

In addition to providing useful vehicle information, the mobile app functions as an extra key capable of remotely locking and unlocking the vehicle and starting the engine. However, this feature is only usable on cars with modern functionalities, such as the 2017 Ford Escape. The feature is indicative of things to come, as key access is one of the biggest issues currently surrounding car-sharing. 

Other app features include parking assistance, which allows drivers to take photos of where they parked and save related maps. The app offers a number of features, but Ford is hoping to create one app to rule them all rather than sticking drivers with multiple car apps. 

 

Loyalty Program

Ford wants not only to maintain its existing client base, but also to attract new customers through a loyalty program. The program will launch later this year in the U.S. and is set to be the brand’s first-ever “global loyalty scheme.” Points are accrued by buying a Ford vehicle, scheduling a car share or parking space through the app, and filling up on gas at a partnered BP garage, among other things. These points are redeemed to provide free oil changes, free winter check with new windshield wipers, and essentially anything else available through FordPass. 

The vehicle brand is (obviously) hoping for great success with the mobile app, as it aims to be the “Apple of the mobility world.” 

 

New York Taxis Have Gone Mobile

If you’ve ever felt that the fare payment technologies in New York taxis were a little behind the times, you’re not alone. Clunky, confusing and with a digital display that looks like it hasn’t been updated since 1985, few will mourn the demise of the old fare meters (even though they are kinda cool looking). The entire system is loaded in favor of potentially unscrupulous cab drivers, with very little recourse for passengers who suspect they’re being scammed.

Happily, that demise is now under way. The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission is rolling out a pilot program that will bring the iconic cabs into the Uber Age by installing GPS-based fare meters in 1,000 vehicles.  

For residents and tourists alike, the introduction of the pilot is a welcome move. Currently, the 13,500 taxi cabs roaming the streets of the Big Apple rely on an unwieldy combination of devices that track the number of times a wheel turns, and how long the cars stay in idle. Ultimately, it is hoped that all NYC cabs will be fitted with GPS and mobile payment systems contained on a single smartphone or tablet, replacing the assortment of outmoded technologies currently installed.

The move is long overdue, as New York cabs - and indeed, city taxis around the world - come to terms with the exploding popularity of Lyft, Uber, and other app-based ride-hailing services, which typically allow users to dictate their own routes (thereby eliminating the nefarious practice of longhauling) and, crucially, rate drivers based on the quality of the experience. These services have given the taxi industry a shake up - and it’s finally beginning to wake up. 

Bidding farewell to the taximeters and credit card readers will be easy for most New Yorkers, but even more pleasing to some is the removal of the much-loathed Taxi TV. The 12-hour ad loops first appeared in 2007; in 2011, it was second only to extortionate fares when passengers were asked to rate the worst elements of using a cab. 

 

How to Make Road Trips Easier With a Smartphone

 

Driving is stressful at the best of times - but remember how much harder it was before the vast array of apps, satnavs, online traffic data and other tools now at our disposal became available?

These days, mobile devices help us overcome - or at least mitigate the worst effects of - everything from inconsiderate fellow road users to traffic jams. Let’s take a look at a few key ways in which smartphones have made planning and executing road trips easier:

 

Crowdsourcing Information

Of all the sat nav apps on the market, Waze has proven the most popular with the general public. Why? Because it rightly uses the general public - you know, the folks actually sharing the road - to generate more accurate data on current conditions. Designed around its community of users, who can report traffic jams, construction, accidents and other hazards, Waze is constantly updated with new information to help you find the quickest route home.

 

Google is Still Your Most Loyal Friend

Among the plethora of independent apps, Google’s own offerings remains incredibly useful tools for getting from A to B. There’s Maps, of course - still the standard bearer for satellite mapping, and a perfectly serviceable sat nav to boot - but there’s also the Google Now app (on both Android and iOS) which allows you to input all the locations you need to drive between during the day. The app will warn you ahead of time when you need to set off, and let you know if there’s any traffic up ahead. 

 

Traffic Apps

There are countless tools to warn you about impending delays. One of the best is Beat the Traffic, which includes weather updates as well as the usual traffic and construction data. The self-explanatory USA Traffic Cameras lets you view hundreds of live traffic cameras. Using geo-location technology, the apps shows you live images of traffic conditions in 58 American cities. 

 

Video

Dashcams are increasingly built into new cars as standard, but if you don’t have one, CamOnRoad is here to help. The app silently records everything that happens while you drive, potentially invaluable if you have an accident and need evidence for insurance purposes. Also comes with video navigation.

 

Speed Trap Alerts

Cameras are often placed in areas where drivers, for whatever reason, tend to go over the speed limit. Apps like TomTom come with a speed camera warning function that gives road users a fair warning so they can double check they’re driving within the law.

 

How to Hack a Corvette with SMS

 

New research has shown that it’s entirely possible to hack a Corvette...with an SMS message. Four security researchers from the University of California San Diego recently presented a paper at the USENIX WOOT 2015 conference in Washington showing how they hacked a Corvette using mobile Telematic Control Units (TCUs). The units are more frequently referred to as tracking/insurance dongles. Researchers showed how these dongles, which are used by Uber and car insurance companies such as Metromile, are easily reversible and controllable via SMS.  

Such devices are connected to vehicles through the ODB-II port. This gives a person access to the vehicle’s CAN bus, which allows interaction with assorted features, such as brakes and windshield wipers. 

“We acquired some of these things, reverse engineered them, and along the way found that they had a whole bunch of security deficiencies,” said Stefan Savage, the computer security professor and project leader at University of California at San Diego. He noted that dongles “provide multiple ways to remotely…control just about anything on the vehicle they were connected to.”

 

What the Research Says 

Researchers discovered different methods of obtaining TCU details from online sources, such as the dongle’s correlating phone number and IP address. Once the Corvette’s number was found, researchers used special SMS messages to connect to the CAN bus. They then used the vehicle’s firmware vulnerabilities to control both the brakes and windshield wipers. And while these were the only two features tested, researchers could have easily accessed a slew of others, including door locks, transmission, dashboard data, etc.  

Unfortunately, TCUs are capable of receiving SMS messages while vehicles are in operation, resulting in serious risks to both drivers and passengers. The University of California security researchers subsequently recommended a number of actions, including improved key and password management, SMS authentication, and the disabling of WAN administration. 

"Metromile was concrete in its plans to disable all SMS access on its branded devices, consistent with our recommendation," said the researchers. 

The Corvette isn’t the only vehicle to be hacked successfully. Last month, researchers demonstrated how easily they could hack Jeeps featuring uConnect software. This means a staggering 471,000 US Jeeps are in danger of being controlled through IP addresses. Following the Jeep revelation, security researcher Samy Kamkar announced how a $100 gadget could be manipulated to control GM vehicle functions. 

Technological advancements may have helped vehicles and their drivers in regards to safety, however as with any advancement the opportunity to exploit vulnerabilities is present. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has created a group to analyze the “security and privacy of Web-related technology” utilized by the automotive industry.

 

The Lamborghini of Smartphones... by Lamborghini

 

Lamborghini has expanded its role in the world of tech with...a new smartphone? Believe it or not, the legendary luxury car company has created the Tonino Lamborghini Tauri 88, a smartphone with the premium materials, excellent specifications and Italian design synonymous with the Lamborghini brand. 

Steel and Leather

The Lamborghini smartphone is comprised of steel and leather, with choices including gold, black and plain, and blue, black, orange and brown, respectively. This mix of leather and steel is meant to pay homage to the luxury brand’s automobile origins. Designed in Italy (naturally), the leather includes beautiful stitching and the iconic raging bull logo, which was inspired by the Taurus constellation.

 

Tech Stuff

The phone’s technical specifications include a 5" screen with 1080p resolution, 64GB of built-in expandable storage, a Snapdragon 801 chipset with 3GB of RAM, and a 3,400mAh battery featuring some 35 hours of 3G talk time. The back of the Tauri features a 20MP camera, while the front includes an 8MP camera. In other words, the possibility for selfies is endless—there’s even the opportunity of posting on Instagram using the hashtag #TheLavishSelfie.

 

The Price

Lamborghini is planning to manufacture a mere 1,947 phones as a tribute to Antonio "Tonino" Lamborghini, the son of Lamborghini’s founder, who was born in 1947. Each phone costs $6,000, making it just a tad more expensive than other smartphone options.

 

Is It Worth It?

The Tauri is indeed a luxurious smartphone with a number of fantastic features in addition to the overall design. Yet as with most luxury brands, owning the phone is more about the name than anything else. Whether the phone will live up to its technological promises is yet to be seen, but at $6K a pop, it had better do all that and more. Indeed, Lamborghini is leading the way in terms of luxury smartphones, which used to be more about brand and appearance than what features the phone actually had. 

Sales begin late December 2014, just in time for last minute Christmas shopping. Gifting the Tonino Lamborghini Tauri 88 is one heck of a “last minute” gift, and one that many would be thrilled to take with them into the New Year.

Will the Tonino Lamborghini Tauri 88 appeal to consumers on both aesthetic and technological levels? Is it truly worth the hefty price tag? Time (and the holiday season) will tell.

SMS and Tourism: A Perfect Fit

 

Text messaging is a low-cost way of providing customers with information, sending alerts, mobile coupons, and other incentives. Consumers generally have their phones on and with them at all times, making text messaging an invaluable option for reaching customers, especially compared to email and other traditional channels. It therefore follows that SMS easily encourages repeat bookings and otherwise drives consumer loyalty, something the travel, tourism and hospitality industries certainly benefits from...

 

Airlines

Airlines such as Southwest Airlines utilize SMS as a method of cutting airport wait time and inbound passenger calls. Alerting passengers to flight delays, gate changes and cancellations via SMS are all part of Southwest mobile strategy. Other airlines take advantage of SMS for sweepstake-related reasons. Hawaiian Airlines created an SMS sweepstakes not only to build their mobile database, but also to promote its television sponsorship of the San Diego Padres baseball team. The campaign included a mobile call-to-action during every Padres game in the month of May for a chance to win roundtrip tickets to Hawaii. This encouraged Padres game viewership and offers consumers the chance to double-opt-in and receive targeted messages from the airline in the future.

 

Hotels and Resorts 

The hospitality industry turns to SMS as a method of improving customer service. Mobilizing existing loyalty programs and sending mobile coupons and alerts about on-site amenities, dining and entertainment options help hotels and resorts boost revenue and encourage customers to book again. For example, the MGM Mirage partnered with Acuity Mobile and interactive marketing services firm Acxiom Corp. to create mobile marketing programs for guests staying at MGM properties in Detroit and Las Vegas. The program allowed guests to opt in for access to special offers, contests, alerts and quizzes. 

The Hard Rock brand promoted its restaurants, hotels, shops and events via Air2Web’s mobile marketing service CampaignPRO to attract and maintain a customer base. The Eldorado Hotel targeted guests through SMS with instant special offers to area restaurants and nightclubs. As a hotel mainly patronized by the 35-65-year-old demographic, the Eldorado’s strategy to provide guests with hotel offers, dining deals and entertainment alerts proved an effective method for reaching guests in their 20s.

 

Tourism Organizations

Government agencies and tourism organizations are taking advantage of SMS marketing as well. CTM Media Group created the City-In-The-Pocket mobile marketing program to deliver targeted messages to New York City clients. The Pennsylvania Tourism Office used mobile marketing efforts to promote their most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. Some 15,000 consumers signed up before February 2 (Groundhog Day) to receive alerts about the animal’s winter weather prediction.

Creative SMS short codes have proven the best means for helping brands and organizations establish essential two-way communications with customers, actual and potential alike. SMS technology is certainly proving to be a perfect fit for the travel and hospitality industry.

 

 

 

 

 

Volkswagen Challenge Distracted Driving to Devastating Effect

In Hong Kong, car manufacturer Volkswagen teamed up with a local movie theater to produce a public service announcement warning against the dangers of texting and driving.

The spot played to a packed theater, and used location-based broadcasting to hit the audience with a one-two punch: a text message sent to every member of the crowd followed by a sudden shock emerging from the silver screen. Watch the video to get the full impact:

There’s no doubting the smarts behind the campaign – although a cynic may doubt the veracity of the footage. For one thing, the geo-fencing technology used to issue a mass text usually requires recipients to opt-in. Were they asked to opt in to a contact list when they booked tickets? If so, were they not primed for some sort of interactive multimedia experience before sitting down? And what about cinema-goers who did not subscribe, or those who followed standard movie protocol and switched their phones off? It looks like everyone in the audience not only receives the text, but immediately reads it?

In fairness, this nitpicking misses the point. Real or staged, the clip brutally demonstrates the risks associated with texting and driving, and you have to applaud VW for sponsoring the campaign – after all, not many manufacturers are willing to show the fatal potential of their product, even in support of a good cause.

The video has rightly gone viral, and should be viewed by anyone who still doesn’t take distracted driving seriously - just as long as they don’t attempt to watch it from behind the wheel.

‘Text-to-Tow’ Alerts Introduced in Moscow

The applications of mass text alerts are many and varied. Some of the most remote, deprived communities on earth are getting better access to healthcare. Hostage negotiators are dealing with desperate people in a new way. Even emergency services are starting to respond to 911 calls sent via text.

Add to this impressive array of uses the recent initiative implemented by local authorities in Moscow. Drivers will soon be able to receive advance notice that their vehicle is about to be towed.

As of June, drivers who register for the service will receive a text alert 15 to 20 minutes before their car is moved, allowing them to move it themselves and thus avoid the astronomical towing and storage fees. A parking fine of 3000 rubles ($88) will still apply, according the report in Kommersant.

The initiative was set up by Moscow’s IT department in response to the introduction last year of multiple paid parking zones in the city. Anyone in violation of the restrictions faces a towing charge of between 3000 and 7000 rubles, in addition to the parking fine.

According to the city, more than 300 tow trucks are moving between 500 and 600 vehicles every day. Under the text scheme, traffic police simply check license plates against a database, before sending an SMS to any illegally parked driver who is signed up. The city hopes to save up to $2.6 million per month with the text alert system.

Moscow is leading the way when it comes to supporting its traffic police with technology. In 2012, the city began sending a network of cars with satellite positioning systems and dashboard cameras out to search the streets for parking violation which are then photographed. The fines are then mailed to drivers.

It’s not surprising that citizens would prefer to do things differently. And so far, 3.8 million of them have signed up for the unified alert system (which, in addition to traffic violations, also warns subscribers about community concerns like hot water availability).

As with so many of these ventures, it’s hard to tell whether it’s a flash in the pan, a regional solution to a specific problem – or something more. Could Moscow be the world’s guinea pig for reducing congestions, bad parking habits, and unwelcome fines? Is there a driver in the world that wouldn’t like access to a service that politely texts them so they have a chance to move their car before someone moves it for them? We think this one’s got legs, but only time will tell…

Apple CarPlay: Is it Safe?

Earlier this month, Apple unveiled CarPlay, which allows drivers to operate their in-dash display using their iPhone. A number of manufacturers - including Volvo, Mercedez and Ferarri - have already integrated the technology into their latest models.

Mobile marketing strategists are understandably excited about the possibilities for communicating data to consumers. Some uses are immediately obvious: linking auto diagnostic information to the web could guide drivers to the nearest repair shop in the event of a technical failure, for instance.

In the midst of all the buzz, safety groups have expressed concern that the bells and whistles of the technology may be a distraction to drivers. In an interview with CNN, David Teater, senior director at the nonprofit National Safety Council, said he was ‘very, very concerned’ by the technology. He described the rise of infotainment dashboards created by car manufacturers and tools developed by the electronics industry as ‘an arms race to see how we can enable drivers to do stuff other than driving.’

Phone use has been identified as the main factor in the majority of distracted driving incidents. Naturally, Apple claims to be making us safer by allowing almost every function to be performed with Siri voice commands. But a number of studies dispute the notion that hands-free phone usage is safer. Research conducted at Texas A & M Transportation Institute found driver reaction times doubled if they were texting – irrespective of whether it was hands-free or manual. A University of Utah study came to similar conclusions.

A few states have tried to tackle the problem by introducing phone bans, but such legislation is notoriously hard to enforce. Carmakers and tech companies suggest more technology is needed to improve safety, not less. Systems have already been developed to automatically brake cars or pull them back into the right lane. ‘Vehicle-to-vehicle’ technology promises to cut accident rates by allowing drivers to communicate with each other.

Another argument coming from pro-tech corners is that advances like CarPlay actually wallow passengers to help drivers concentrate on the road. Where second parties are in the vehicle, all navigation and other duties can fall to them. This, perhaps, could be where the potential lies for mobile marketing strategies.

Whichever side you’re on, and whatever the law in your state is, be safe on the roads: don’t text while driving.

Smartphone Apps Will Change The Way You Drive

Apps have already changed the way we user our mobile phones. Up next? The way we drive:

Smartphone apps connected to electric vehicles will let us track charging levels and control certain vehicle functions. And when it comes to the in-car experience, our cars will be able to communicate with our mobile devices effectively thanks to built-in software and apps.

VentureBeat has put together a list of five apps already out there. Our favorite?

Nissan’s Leaf iPhone App: Nissan is gearing up to unleash the Leaf— the first mass-produced, all-electric car — in a handful of states in the US this December, and the company is also releasing an iPhone application alongside it. The application will let Leaf owners remotely view the battery life left on their car, as well as the time required and approximate cost to recharge it.

Owners will also be able to remotely detect the internal temperature of their Leaf, as well as turn on heat or air-conditioning. The functionality is no different from a typical remote starter, but the added temperature reading information could help you decide if it’s worth spending the extra juice to pre-heat, or pre-cool, your Leaf.

Check out the entire list of apps now.