A3 sedan to debut Audi Connect

Australian Audi owners will soon be able to check their Facebook and Twitter feeds and navigate via Google Earth and Google Street View.

Originally due to make its Australian debut in the new A3 Sportback launched last month, the ground-breaking new suite of Audi Connect online functions is now expected to make its local debut in the all-new A3 sedan due here in January.

Audi Connect is already available in Europe, where customers of the German brand will have the ability from this November to connect online via the fourth-generation (4G) data transmission standard known as Long Term Evolution (LTE).

LTE is already widely available in Australia, where the Audi Connect system will be progressively rolled out as an optional extra across a range of Audi models.

In tandem with Audi’s MMI navigation plus infotainment platform, Audi Connect will offer a wide range of new functions via a broadband internet connection that enables download rates as fast as 150MB per second and the exchange of large files such as music and video in HD quality.

When equipped with Audi Connect and an LTE-capable SIM card, up to eight mobile devices can be connected to the vehicle’s WLAN hotspot, allowing occupants to surf the ‘net, watch movies or listen to music via the web on either their own device or the vehicle’s onboard monitor.

In addition, tailored internet services include navigation via Google Earth, which displays delivers a dramatic step up from even the latest 3D colour graphic maps by presenting a rolling map of the actual road and the buildings, landmarks, suburbs, towns and landscapes that surround it.

Furthermore, when they zoom down to a scale of 30 metres, drivers will able to see their current position or destination via Google Street View, enabling them to see close-up images of, for example, the house or business they’re looking for.

Google Street View images can also be stored in a database of commonly accessed destinations for later use.

Other Audi Connect services include the ‘Audi music stream’ internet radio app and Audi online traffic information.

Naturally, real-time social media feeds like Facebook and Twitter can also be accessed, while a text-to-speech function with pre-set templates is also part of the package -- although Australian legislation will rightly limit the use of these functions while the car is being driven.

Of course, Audi customers who opt for Audi Connect in their vehicles will also pay extra for the data used by these services, which could prove costly for owners with an inadequate mobile data plan.

While the number of services the Audi Connect system includes is constantly growing, the variety of them that Audi Australia will be able to offer is dependent on local infrastructure, meaning some functions will be unavailable to Australians until service providers make them available here.

These are most likely to include the ability to view cinema movie times and locations, and the ‘parking space locator’, which provides information on the availability and cost of car parks wherever the service is provided, allowing drivers to navigate directly to a vacant parking space.

Other upcoming Audi Connect services could include ‘traffic light info online’, which the company has just trialled as part of the four-year simTD field study in Frankfurt.

Motoring.com.au recently tested the system in Berlin and can vouch for its ability to provide an in-dash countdown to when upcoming traffic lights will turn green with remarkable accuracy.

Using car-to-infrastructure technology, the system allows drivers to time their run between lights, thus improving traffic flow and reducing time spent standing still.

The cost of Audi Connect is yet to be announced for Australia.

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site…