Visa, Pizza Hut and Accenture are to collaborate on a proof-of-concept connected car that will be used to test commerce possibilities when drivers are out and about.

The concept will bring together several technologies, including Visa Checkout, mobile connectivity, Bluetooth and iBeacon, so that staff will be alerted when a customer has arrived to collect their pizza.

Takeaway food might be the initial focus of the tests, but the trio of companies have visions of their technology being adopted for everyday...

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Mobile software management company Redbend continues its advance on the connected car industry with the launch of over-the-air software management platform Redbend 10.

Fresh from being acquired by Connecticut-headquartered Harman, Redbend has announced its latest package that lets manufacturers apply software and firmware updates using

According to a recent research conducted by HARMAN, road noise is the top noise distraction for drivers. An astonishing 55% of respondents in the survey cited this ‘droning’ sound, caused by road noise transmitted through the vehicle structure, as the number one complaint in an environment where they want to enjoy their music.

HARMAN’s survey, conducted in late 2014, also confirmed that car remains the most popular place to listen to music. Of particular interest is the rise among younger...

Technology has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years, especially when it comes to in-car gadgets.

Here is a look at some of the eye-catching infotainment systems to get excited about:

Hyundai Display Audio system

If you are a music fan, the very thought of a car being devoid of a CD player may sound like a nightmare. Do not panic though, as Hyundai has a nifty solution should they decide to leave a CD player out of some of their future vehicles.

The South Korean manufacturer’s Display Audio...

Flash storage manufacturer SanDisk has announced a number of new solutions designed specifically for connected cars and automotive infotainment systems.

The automotive-grade NAND flash memory has been optimised to help bring about more reliable in-car applications, such as 3D mapping, navigation-based augmented reality, driver-assist technology and data event recorders.

SanDisk is offering an SD card and iNAND embedded flash drive product in a range of capacities rising to 64GB. Both are said to enable faster...

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Automated vehicles are just one aspect of the driving experience Google is investigating, with news emerging that the company has won a patent where gestures can manipulate in-car controls.

The idea is to help drivers remain focused on the road because as in-car technology increases, so does the amount of controls required to use it. Even speech-to-text solutions can cause their fair share of...

Software management firm Red Bend Software has been acquired by audio and visual infotainment group Harman International for a fee of $170 million.

The deal seems like a good fit for Harman, which was perhaps missing a connectivity string to its bow and Dinesh C. Paliwal, chairman, president, and CEO of Harman confirmed it was a strategic purchase.

“This acquisition of Red Bend, a true pioneer in OTA and virtualisation technologies for cyber security, adds a critical component to our automotive systems...

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Connected car company Mojio has announced that its open platform for vehicles is now available to the world beyond Canada’s borders thanks to a partnership with AT&T.

Mojio has made a name for itself by breathing new life into the cars that manufacturers forgot when releasing new models and their shiny connectivity gadgets, giving them features such as parking...

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Looking at the recent news from some of the world’s biggest auto manufacturers, it is clear to see just how much progress has been made and how the connected car is revolutionising the in-car experience. At CES in January 2015, GM announced AtYourService, a suite of new OnStar services aimed at allowing retailers and other merchants to promote deals directly to drivers. These promotions include hotel...

As the doors closed at the Las Vegas Convention Centre and its countless exhibitors tidied away their wares, it is clear that the connected car is at the forefront of the most compelling developments in the technology industry.

Technology firms have earmarked automotive as a sizable growth area and are investing heavily in developing products for car manufacturers to implement in one or all of their models.

Nuance, a company best known for its voice-transcribing software for desktop PCs, is a prime example of this strategy...