Audi fast off the mark with 4G 29 | 08 | 2013
AUDI HAS BECOME the first car manufacturer to have a 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) internet connectivity-equipped production car available in Scotland.
As O2 and Vodaphone launch their 4G services in London today, Audi has debuted the high-speed service in its new Audi S3 Sportback. There will be full A3 family integration from November.
The integration of 4G/LTE marks a very important step in the evolution of the Audi connect system, which networks the car with the driver and the internet, and in the future could also provide an interface with the infrastructure and with other vehicles.
4G/LTE considerably broadens the scope of what is possible with in-car ‘infotainment’. It enables the transfer of large amounts of data, such as music and films in HD quality, via the Internet.
Related: Audi A3 saloon prices and spec
The LTE standard is also expected to provide a strong boost to the seamless use of media stored on a server on the internet (data in the cloud).
To use LTE, MMI Navigation Plus with Audi connect is required — available as part of the Technology Package for the S3 Sportback — and a suitable SIM card with a data flat rate simply needs to be inserted into the appropriate slot in the glovebox.
When passengers connect their mobile devices to the WLAN hotspot integrated into the car, they can surf the web independently of one another. For example, one passenger can participate in a video conference while another watches a video.
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Jim McGill