It’s starting to become more and more obvious that car manufacturers are looking for ways to integrate our smartphones/tablets into their cars. Probably a couple of years ago, the closest thing to integration our phones got with our car was an aux cable connected to the audio jack on our handsets, but now it looks like integration just got a whole lot deeper. Mercedes-Benz showed off one such concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show that they’re calling the “iPhone Interface Plus”.When the driver/passenger gets into the car, they can slot the iPhone into a hidden compartment in the glove box. From there, the user will be able to scroll through various social networking and email functions from a display in the middle of the dashboard of the car. The menu can be navigated via a rotary pushbutton and users will be able to access Facebook, Twitter, and even their emails. It appears that there’s no keyboard from which you will be able to type from as the video suggests pre-written messages to choose from, although since this is a concept, we’re guessing it will probably be different if it were to be made a reality.
Naturally GPS would be one such feature built into the interface, and as for business users, they will be able to check their emails while on the go, which will be read aloud to them as they drive, allowing them to concentrate on the road. Check out the video below for the demonstration (and feast your eyes on the concept vehicle while you’re at it!).
Filed in . Read more about Germany, iPhone and Mercedes Benz.