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Toyota USA goes all chatty

Toyota USA has announced a bundle of new electronics for the Lexus and other Toyota models, including the ability for the company to send you voice mail based on your location and interests: no subscription required. The new package is designed to compete with GM's OnStar service, with much of the same functionality. Both …

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Dale

Where do you want to go today?

Sounds like the first thing to be switched off if I were ever to buy one. A bit like the growing collection of crap I have to switch off every time I reinstall Windows.

Richard
Stop

Title

After screaming "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" a few times at it, I think attention in the form of some wire snippers may be required. Or remove the optical storage banks while in zero G. "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do."

Ian Michael Gumby
Flame

Oh come on! Its a money maker....

They'll sell you a subscription service to not send you these voicemails. Now that's the money maker!

Brett Brennan
Coat

It could be a good thing...

You know, adding a simple "ON-OFF" to the feature and a short menu of topics (like "restaurants", "gas stations", "malls", "car features", etc.) would turn this from a useful but intrusive feature into a "must have". My cell phone comes with a navigation feature that lets me find "things" based on location: I find this to be the second most useful application on the phone (after voice calls, ahead of SMS).

This could be a win-win for Toyota: the revenue stream from providing product placement for advertisers could be enhanced by improved targeting (you get to charge a whole lot more for adverts that actually generate a sale than the usual AM radio kind of "spam") and you convert an (annoyed) customer into a sales force with the "Hey, Bubba, watch this!" effect.

Someday someone will figure out this simple formula to use location-based services effectively. Until then we'll have to put up with sorting one more set of voice mails each morning before we have had our coffee...

Charles Manning

After a few days of this...

"You seem to have parked on the Golden Gate Bridge, a well known suicide hotspot. Would you like me to connect a funeral director to arrange a pick up?"

Herby

Another use...

"Your lease payment is due. Would you like directions to the bank"

"Your lease payment is overdue. Please wait for our collection agent at your location"

"Your lease payment is way overdue, executing self destruct sequence"

The list goes on...

pctechxp

could be useful

if it just reported if you had an accident when you may not be able to but the sales stuff needs to go

Shame we don't a similar telematics system in the UK.

Anonymous Coward
Thumb Down

Oh heck!

God help us if they see fit to break in over the in-car CD player with these 'service announcements' - I can see myself going back to the bicycle in *very* short order....and getting run down by someone rushing to the 50% sale on at PC World they've just heard about.

Bad idea - but be honest: you could see it coming...couldn't you?

druck
Thumb Down

Spy in the car

Does it also come with the ability to listen in to conversations in the car as OnStar is reputed to do?

peter garner

could be useful (2)

"You seem to be having an accident - shall I direct you to your nearest BUPA hospital?"

Colin Millar
Thumb Up

Calm down dears

Its only Toyotas - who cares what they do to Toyotas

Bob

Oh hells

I bought a Toyota and raised hell when they tried to get me to sign a waiver to allow them to sell my personal information to "third parties." Eventually they agreed to let that slip, but then when I tried to register to view the loan details online, one of the terms of service was that they'd be allowed to sell my online habits as well.

I shudder at the thought of the spam I'd be getting from my damn car.

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