By Abhishek Visveswaran, SBD ITS and Telematics Specialist 

The challenge to in-car navigation and entertainment systems from mobile phones has been growing steadily over the last decade. With the introduction of smartphone apps in recent years, this threat has intensified. As the capability of phones continues to increase, it is becoming inevitable that some form of app support and/or smartphone integration in the car will be necessary.

The key question for vehicle manufacturers is to decide how much access to the in-car HMI they are willing to share with smartphones and whether they want to develop their own app stores and in-car platforms.

SBD has released a new report which provides an overview of the technical solutions that are available to vehicle manufacturers to allow their customers to safely access apps in the car, either through an embedded platform or a connected smartphone.

The secondary aim of the report is to detangle the often confused reporting of automotive apps and in so doing to provide an accessible description of the related software structures and the associated implications on product and business strategies.