<p>Many vehicles on the road today offer some sort of inter&shy;net connectivity and experts agree that this capability will become a competi&shy;tive differentiator in the automotive industry in the next few years. The era of the digital vehicle, it seems, has started. <br> <br>“We clearly see that cars in the near future will integrate the same level of digital services that consumers today are used to having in their homes or at work,” says Lex Kerssemakers, senior vice president, prod&shy;uct strategy and vehicle line management at <span class=&quot;glossary-item&quot;>Volvo Cars</span>. <br> <br>In <span class=&quot;glossary-item&quot;>Ericsson</span>’s recent report, More Than 50 Billion Connected Devices, the company predicts there will be 50bn connected de&shy;vices by 2020, including 1.5bn vehicles around the world. <br> <br>“<span class=&quot;glossary-item&quot;>Gartner</span> made a prediction a couple of years ago, which still holds true: by 2016, the majority of consumers in mature automo&shy;tive markets like the US will have access to web-based content in the vehicle as a key buying criteria,” concurs Thilo Koslowski, vice president practice leader, automotive, vehicle ICT and mobility at Gartner. <br> <br>You might think internet connectivity just means web surfing while in the car, with something that looks similar to a PC or laptop embedded in the dashboard. The reality is that there are a vari&shy;ety of uses, however, and most current internet applications in vehicles do not involve the impractical practice of the driver browsing the web.&nbsp;<br> </p><p>기사원문보기 : <a href=&quot;http://www.itsinternational.com/categories/travel-information-weather/features/internet-connected-cars-their-functionality-and-safety-challenges/&quot;>http://www.itsinternational.com/categories/travel-information-weather/features/internet-connected-cars-their-functionality-and-safety-challenges/</a></p>