Most of them have already flooded the market with free apps focusing on areas such as customer relationship management (CRM) and breakdown assistance, while others have created value-added apps such as remote start/stop. But, new developments such as the Nokia MirrorLink, using which Alpine has already created an aftermarket head unit, are also opening up new revenue opportunities for VMs to enable smartphone apps inside the car in a complete remote terminal fashion with controls using vehicle human machine interface (HMI). This, in turn, is creating a massive interest in HMI elements as both revenue generator as well as brand differentiator. Concepts such as Chevrolet MyLink, GMC Intellilink are examples of this HMI response by automakers.
Interest from handset makers such as HTC, Samsung, LG and Sony in the Nokia MirrorLink standard underscores its potential of becoming an industry standard, allowing VMs to standardise and make revenues out of apps.
Link : http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/press-release.pag?docid=252936144&ctxixpLink=FcmCtx1&ctxixpLabel=FcmCtx2
