If programming your GPS, talking on your mobile phone, and messaging on your BlackBerry while driving isn’t enough multitasking for you, take note: Chrysler plans to announce today that they are making wireless Internet access an option on all 2009 models. This will allow anyone in the car to surf the Web, check their e-mail, and shop online using their laptops, just as they would do at work or at home. Chrysler says that the service is intended to be used only by passengers while the car is in motion, but they acknowledge that there is no way to prevent a driver from using it.
I’m all for interconnectivity, but if Internet access on the go is really so crucial, why don’t we have the free city-wide wireless networks that so many municipal administrations promised us years ago? How about Wi-Fi where business travelers truly need it, namely buses, trains, and airplanes? The ability to surf the web would be a nice way to forget the smelly guy next to you on the subway.
It’s clear then, that turning cars into mobile hotspots is a strategy to sell more cars. But is it really a good use of this technology? Although Chrysler is “relying on the responsibility of the consumer” to use it appropriately, I don’t have high hopes. Just as drivers talk on their mobile phones and send text messages on their BlackBerries while driving, so too will they check their stocks and read the news on their laptops. I used to worry about the drivers I’d see putting on makeup while driving, but now I’ll have to look out for drivers checking their e-mail and watching YouTube. Wi-Fi on wheels? No, thank you.
