Hot on the heels of Audi’s announcement to use T-Mobile for its future wireless data needs, Ford has partnered with AT&T to provide connectivity to the 2012 Focus Electric.
Nearly every EV or plug-in hybrid coming to market will offer some combination of embedded wireless data and an accompanying smartphone app, and as we saw at CES with our exclusive hands-on of MyFord Mobile, FoMoCo will be offering a similar solution for its all-electric Focus hatchback.
The partnership Ma Bell and the Blue Oval involves an embedded wireless connection in the EV that allows drivers with the MyFord Mobile app to keep track of charging, set specific times of the day to juice up (late at night when electrons are cheap) and receive a variety of notifications, ranging from battery status to maintenance reminders.
MapQuest has been tapped to provide charging station locations, range alerts, trip planning and vehicle location, and the MyFord Mobile app also includes the ability to remotely lock and unlocks doors, heat and cool the interior and download performance and system data. And if your phone doesn’t have the app, you can use any HTML5-based or WAP 2.0-supported browser to keep tabs on your EV.
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