ATX Expands Vehicle Connectivity to Smartphones

DALLAS, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- ATX Group, a leading provider of customized connected vehicle (telematics) services to global automobile manufacturers, today launched a downloadable application that extends access to connected vehicle services beyond the dashboard and Web portals to vehicle owners' smartphones.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090303/ATXLOGO)

ATX's new  iRoute™ application is now available for download at no charge to hundreds of thousands of Mercedes-Benz owners in the U.S. who subscribe to ATX's Connected Vehicle Services™ and own vehicles equipped with embedded Tele Aid telematics hardware.

The announcement comes just weeks after the introduction of the Mazda Roadside Assistance iPhone application that was developed by ATX affiliate, Cross Country Automotive Services (Cross Country), the largest provider of integrated vehicle and driver programs in North America.  ATX and Cross Country work jointly to leverage each company's specialized expertise or technologies to provide enhanced safety and convenience to drivers.

"Smartphones offer additional convenience to vehicle owners to experience connected vehicle and roadside assistance services that our companies provide," said Tom Metzger, ATX senior vice president of Sales and Account Management. "By maintaining a collaborative center of excellence in user interface and handset application development, we look to continually enhance the user experience with our services and accelerate our delivery time to market."  

By tapping on the iRoute  icon on their iPhone, drivers are quickly linked to ATX to perform point of interest (POI) searches that can then be sent to their vehicle's navigation system (i.e. business address, closest dealership, gas station locations) to remotely unlock the doors of  their vehicle, or to call for roadside assistance.

The iRoute application allows owners to search and retain POI's on their iPhone.  This data can then be sent to the owner's vehicle (for vehicles equipped with download capability).  The smartphone app will allow an owner to prepare for travel or searches well in advance of getting into the vehicle or while in the vehicle.

To obtain iRoute, ATX subscribers simply download it from the iTunes App Store to their iPhone and complete the registration with just a few key data points. The new app is compatible with iPhone 3G and 3GS.

No modifications are required to the subscriber's vehicle or account. The application is designed with an intuitive user interface and the same high level of security and authentication that ATX implements with all of its services to automakers, ensuring there is no risk to the in-vehicle electronics operating vehicle performance and safety systems.

ATX first introduced remote access to vehicle functions in 2006 with its DIVA (Driver Interactive Vehicle Application) applications. See attached link: http://www.atxg.com/media_center/press_releases/2006/06-12-20-remote_services_likely_to_raise_driver_interest_in_telemat

NOTE: Mercedes-Benz and Tele Aid are registered trademarks of Daimler AG. Mercedes-Benz does not sponsor or endorse the services provided by ATX to its subscribers.

About ATX

With operations in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and representative offices in Paris, France and Dusseldorf, Germany, ATX is one of the world's leading providers of customized telematics services to global automobile manufacturers. ATX services, among the first to be launched in the consumer vehicle market back in 1996, are provided to vehicle owners through the brand names of its customers: Toyota, Lexus, BMW, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Mercedes-Benz Canada, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, as well as through the ATX brand, Connected Vehicle Services.™

Services by ATX provide enhanced safety, security and driving convenience to vehicle owners, and include location-specific emergency and roadside assistance, automatic collision notification, stolen vehicle recovery, remote diagnostics, and real-time traffic and navigation assistance.  ATX also customizes services to help automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships use telematics data and multiple customer contact channels to reduce costs, enhance vehicle servicing, and more closely manage customer relationships and contacts with the vehicle through its lifetime.  ATX is a division of Cross Country Automotive Services (www.crosscountry-auto.com), a leading provider of location-based automotive services.  

For more information, visit www.atxg.com.

SOURCE ATX Group