T-Mobile and Audi are taking in-car infotainment to the next level with a new data plan that offers more options and reduced prices.
Connected Audi drivers can find real-time news, weather, and fuel prices, as well as gain access to Google Earth and Google Voice Local Search via secure Wi-Fi. Plans start at $15 per month, and allow for connection of up to eight devices.
“Customers want to have the wireless experience they want when they want it — at home, at work, or in their car,” T-Mobile M2M Director Rusty Lhamon said in a statement.
New and existing owners of connected vehicles can shell out $450 for 30 months of service — $15 per month, plus a six-month free trial at purchase. Those who don’t want to be held to a 2.5-year contract can pay $30 per month for a month-to-month service plan. A one-year plan is $27 per month, while a two-year contract will set you back $25 per month.
“Audi and T-Mobile worked closely to develop the new pricing plan based on extensive research and feedback from both dealers and customers,” Anupam Malhotra, senior manager of Audi’s connected vehicle division, said in a statement. “The T-Mobile-powered Audi connect service delivers unmatched connectivity to our customers at a rate that will turn their Audi into the ultimate mobile device.”
The new prices are intended to “help move us toward the goal of one million connected Audi vehicles on the road worldwide by 2015,” Malhotra said.
Audi said it was the first carmaker to launch an in-vehicle Wi-Fi connectivity service in 2011, which also includes real-time Sirius XM Traffic updates for subscribers, the Audi MMI Navigation system, and the myAudi Destination feature for Google Earth.
Interested customers can sign up for the service at an Audi dealership or online.
The car company teamed up with Texas Instruments in December to build its next-generation infotainment platform, the MIB High system, which combines a multimedia applications unit with a highly integrated radio and car control unit. It debuted last year in the Audi A3.
