苹果iCar闪亮登场

    J.Crew首席执行官兼苹果（Apple）董事会成员米基•德雷克斯勒表示，史蒂夫•乔布斯生前一直梦想打造一款苹果汽车，即iCar，借此颠覆全球汽车产业。无独有偶，苹果现任首席执行官也曾对《纽约时报》（New York Times ）说过类似的话。虽然乔布斯未能在有生之年实现夙愿，但我们现在终于能够一睹iCar风采，虽然它并不是由苹果打造。

    大众（Volkswagen ）在今年的上海汽车展上发布了iBeetle（甲壳虫）。为何有个“i”？这款新车的造型略微有些变化，但仍是一如既往的经典。最重要的是，新款甲壳虫对苹果iPhone进行了深度集成，在中控面板上安装了iPhone扩展坞。只要将iPhone插入，就能轻松掌控汽车导航及音响系统。（当然，通过无线连接同样支持。）

    它和之前的iPhone-汽车集成方案有什么不同？大众专门开发了一款应用程序，极大地扩展了iPhone的功能。这款应用能显示冷却液温度、机油油位等各类汽车信息；能比较不同路线的行驶时间和里程；还能同步和播放Spotify或iTunes中的歌曲。当然，电话也能通过甲壳虫的音箱实现免提功能。

    不过，上述功能并不新鲜。汽车制造商、电信厂商、软件开发者和芯片厂商争相将智能手机和平板电脑上的新鲜玩意移植到汽车上。研究机构ABI预计，到2016年，拥有互联网接入能力的汽车数量将超过2亿台——它意味着大量的传感器、应用程序和处理器。中控面板很快将被与移动设备相关的高科技功能所取代，包括拨打视频电话以及快速拨号等功能。

    大众表示，新款甲壳虫的造型将和iPhone相得益彰。说得简单点，iBeetle将提供铂金灰、脂玉白和珠光钢琴黑等多种颜色。iBeetle和敞篷版iBeetle将于明年初大量上市。至于价格，目前仍是未知数。（财富中文网）

    译者：项航

    According to J.Crew CEO and Apple board member Mickey Drexler, Steve Jobs long dreamed of taking on the global automotive industry by building an Apple car, the would-be iCar. The Apple chief reportedly told the New York Times something similar. Though Jobs never got to make it happen, the iCar is coming. Sort of.

    At this year's Shanghai Auto Show, Volkswagen unveiled the iBeetle. Why the "i?" The new variant of the classic design is built around deep integration with Apple's (AAPL) iPhone. It sports a docking station for the popular smartphone on the dashboard. A plugged-in iPhone can tap into the vehicle's navigation and audio systems. (A wireless connection is also available.)

    How is this different from pervious iPhone-auto integrations? Volkswagen is releasing an app that supercharges what the iPhone can do inside the vehicle. One part of the program displays vehicle information, such as coolant temperatures and oil levels. Another can compare driving times and distances. It also pipes in tunes from Spotify or iTunes and, natch, makes calls that can be run through the car's stereo too.

    Of course, much of this isn't new. Carmakers, telecoms, software designers, and chip makers are rushing to bring the innovations made ubiquitous by smartphones and tablets to cars. Researcher ABI estimates that by 2016, over 200 million cars will have Internet access -- and that means loads of sensors, apps, and processors. Dashboards are quickly being replaced with high-tech features associate with mobile devices, from video calling to custom dials.

    VW says the car was designed to match the look of Apple's smartphones. In other words, it'll be available in gray, white, and black. The iBeetle and iBeetle convertible are due on dealer lots at the beginning of next year. The iBeetle's price was not revealed.