Directed Electronics, the leader in vehicle security and remote start, has introduced the Viper SmartStart, which allows users to start their car with the push of a button from their iPhone or iPod touch.
Users simply download the free Viper SmartStart app from Apple’s iTunes App Store, have Viper SmartStart professionally installed on their vehicle, and then activate their account to start experiencing the year-round comfort and convenience of Viper SmartStart.
Particularly popular in cold weather climates, remote start allows users to start their vehicle by remote control to defrost the windows and pre-warm the cabin, so they get into a warm car that’s ready to drive. Remote start can also be used to pre-cool the vehicle in hot weather by activating the air conditioning.
Most remote start systems use a small remote control on the user’s keychain to activate remote start, but these “keyfobs” typically have limited range. Viper SmartStart has virtually unlimited range. If the iPhone and the vehicle have signal, then Viper SmartStart starts the car with the press of a button.
Viper SmartStart has many other capabilities beyond remote start as well. Depending on the installation, users can also lock and unlock the doors, pop the trunk, find their car in a parking lot, or arm their security system. Users can even control multiple cars from one iPhone.
“The growth and popularity of the iPhone has opened the door for a whole new category of products in our business,” said Kevin Duffy, President of Directed Electronics, in the press release. “Our customers have consistently told us that the two most important features in a remote starter are range and user interface. We developed the Viper SmartStart in response; range is virtually unlimited, and iPhone owners can use the elegant touch-screen interface they already carry in their pocket.”
“We think customers will find all sorts of unique and personal value in Viper SmartStart,” said Mike Simmons, EVP of Directed Electronics’ parent company, DEI Holdings, in the press release. “Whether helping out her husband who’s locked his keys in the car, or securely locking her keys and purse in the car while she takes a jog with some music on her iPhone, we expect to hear about some uses we never anticipated.”
Two Viper SmartStart models are available. Users who don’t have remote start can purchase the Viper SmartStart System (MSRP: US$499) while those who already have a compatible Viper system can purchase just the Viper SmartStart Module (MSRP: $299). Viper SmartStart will be available at Best Buy stores starting October 13.
More info: www.viper.com/smartstart
More info about the free Viper SmartStart app via Apple’s iTunes App Store here.
Source: Directed Electronics
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “iSteve” for the heads up.]
For that much money you could hire an unemployed person to start your car. No – Wait – they might drive away with it.
yeah 1st year free then 30 bucks for a subscription….no thanks.
Sounds pretty CO2 neutral to me.
I believe this is what ZipCar is using. The system maintains wireless link with the back-end server and most standard functions can can be controlled remotely. Your iPhone can unlock the ZipCar, open its trunk, sound the horn (if you can’t find the car in the lot/garage), in addition to reserving the car and looking up the location on the map.
For a car rental company, this can be a business advantage. For an individual, a bit of a pricey convenience.
Ahhhh, not for use in enclosed garages?
Phillycarshare has the same thing.
I’d consider saving up for it, not for $30/yr tho. subscriptions must DIE
How long until OnStar comes out with a remote app to just the same thing for subscribers?
Sabrina writes, “Ahhhh, not for use in enclosed garages?”
When I lived in Montreal years ago, two automotive winter accessories were the electric dipstick and the engine blanket. The dipstick had a heater element to help keep the oil warm; the blanket was intended to keep the whole engine warm. (Keep in mind this was in energy rich Canada before the first oil shock and before the appearance of synthetic oils.)
Are people really that wimpy about sitting in a cold car? I always figured the actual market for remote start technology was people who have reason to worry about a bomb in their car.
——RM
If you have a half way decent car then you shouldn’t need a remote start. I have an 05 acura and I just hop in and start it up and turn up the heat in the car and my seat and im pretty toasty within minutes. Now my old crappy 95 blazer… that didn’t heat up so well but it was also 14 years old… I did get excited though over this. If it had no yearly subscription it would be cool to be able to heat or cool the car by iphone and start it up or shut it down and lock doors and such. especially when I go to the gym I wouldn’t need to bring my keys in with me. What they could really do is give the ability to connect iphone to your stereo.. now that would be pretty sweet though I know you can do it through bluetooth and many of the hundred other things out there to connect.. but if it can already do this stuff… why not just add the radio function in too, especially for the price. But $500 now… it will certainly drop near christmas or after they notice its sales not doing as well as hoped.
Wake me up when it lets me drive the car remotely.
Remember the James Bond movie where Pierce Brosnan is driving his BMW while lying in the back seat from his PDA/phone?
Next year. Doesn’t Apple have the iCar trademark?
You two sound like typical L.A. bumpkins who think 50F is cold.
Before you sound off in your ignorance, spend a single January night in North Dakota or the prairie provinces where it warms up to 35 below.
A SUBSCRIPTION for a remote start????
Good luck with that!
Obviously, some commenters here have never lived in areas where the advantage of pre-starting your car means you only have to scrape the outside of the windows. Instead of both the inside and the outside as would have to be done if you hadn’t pre-heated the cabin.
Having moved from Southern Ca, to Rapid City South Dakota, to Chicago, then upstate NY, then back to SoCal, I can testify that sometimes it’s just so cold that you think your @#%#$%S are gonna fall off. And yes, people born and raised out here don’t have a clear understanding of what “cold” really is. (They also freak out and drive like 90 year old grandmothers when even a hint of rain is in the air.)
Course, back then I had a ’71 Superbeetle, that was air cooled and literally would take about 1/2 an hour for the heater to start pumping out any semblance of warmth.
This would be a great thing for cold weather climates.
You two sound like typical L.A. bumpkins who think 50F is cold.
Before you sound off in your ignorance, spend a single January night in North Dakota or the prairie provinces where it warms up to 35 below.
I thought you northerners were supposed to be hard-asses who laugh at cold weather, not a bunch of wimpy pussies who need their car all warmed up beforehand so they don’t get chills on their toesies.
For f****s sake, bundle up! I mean, once you reach your destination, you’re gonna have to go outside anyway. You can’t survive the five minutes or so it takes for the cabin to heat up?
And for the record, I live in Ohio. Nothing like North Dakota, but we get subzero temperatures in January. I’ve never felt the need to have my car warmed up before I get in it.
——RM
What they really should offer as an option is a small security camera pointed at the driver’s seat and window so when the car alarm is triggered, the owner can instantly see if someone they don’t know is at the wheel or at the window trying to get in.
This would take care of 98% of the false alarms and let the owner know if they should be calling the police.
I have remote start. I like it. I start the car about a minute before I walk out to it. I then get in and drive away. I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba and it does get to -30C to -40C frequently in the winter.
Remote start to warm up the interior of the car is not what it is intended for if you are interested in the life of your car versus your comfort and convenience.
Prevailing wisdom by those in the know advise you to start your car and let it run until the engine runs smoothly, which typically takes a minute or two, and then drive away at a reasonable speed. This warms the engine to proper operating temperatures more quickly, along with the automatic transmission if you have one.
So, remote start is a good thing is used properly, but I often see people start their car from within their home and let it run for 15 to 30 minutes until ALL of the frost/ice is off all of the windows in the car, the inside is warm, and THEY can be all nice and toasty for their 5 minute drive.
Bad for the car. Bad for the environment. And as another poster mentioned above, in different words, WEAR A PARKA if it’s that cold. You do have to get out of the car anyway.
Peace!
Greg
P.S. I do think it’s cool that DEI is coming out with this, more so for the cool factor and the control of other components of your car than the actual remote start. I do like the idea of locking your keys and other important belongings in the trunk of your car and just taking your iPhone with you which should be secured with a four number password. Cool. Useful. Subscription fee? Not so good.
I doubt they will sell too many of these – “virtually anywhere” Yeah right. It requires 3G – which is virtually nowhere unless you are in a huge city.
I was excited until that. although I would only use it for a couple months a year.
Hmmm. I’d pay a couple bucks for an app that just used the WiFi in my iPhone to unlock the doors. It would come in handy if I lost my keys.
This is Holy Grail territory for Apple: Creating a product that replaces car keys. (And then house keys, etc.) Pretty soon you have a product no one will ever leave home without.
But would my car be snappier because of it?
“Before you sound off in your ignorance, spend a single January night in North Dakota or the prairie provinces where it warms up to 35 below.”
wow talk about ignorance. Let’s start with how many nights actually have the temp drop to 35 below, VERY damn few (get real). Next, who REALLY needs to hop in the car to go “where” on such a night, smart people avoid travel when in dangerous temps. But what the heck – let’s assume that there would be a time when a person has to go get in a car and travel. You still think it is a wise move to remote start a car in such temps? Only a moron would. No matter what car, it is a stupid move. Fact is such temps can destroy a car quickly, Most often by overheating (ironic but true) when the cold takes out belts, hoses, or fan clutch. Someone in the car, this is easily to notice. If you remote start, and decide to have a coffee…. well, engines can be replaced
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Yeah just stick to that remote start. Chances are the oil pressure will always come up. The idle should adjust itself correctly. Engine coolant should work thru most of the time. Besides auto part stores needs your type.
At least you won’t have to be cold for a few min.
“wow talk about ignorance. Let’s start with how many nights actually have the temp drop to 35 below, VERY damn few (get real).”
I’ve lived on the Canadian Prairies for 61 years. Your description of “rare” is laughable, as is the rest of your goofball homily.
“Next, who REALLY needs to hop in the car to go “where” on such a night, smart people avoid travel when in dangerous temps.”
Tell that to the 630,000 people of Winnipeg who, contrary to your belief, drive to and from work every day, and if 35 below is bullshit, then it’s warm at 15 and 20 below?
Don’t preach about cars overheating at 35 below. You could remove the rad fan(s) and the cars wouldn’t overheat.