Audi Announce Collaboration With T-Mobile For 2012

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Katie Walsh

Moving forward in the world of cars and in particularly luxury cars, Audi has this month announced their collaboration with wireless internet provider T-Mobile starting in 2012. It will involve their high-end automobiles being fitted with the latest technology so people can always be connected to the World Wide Web even when they are the go.

The first vehicle from Audi to be installed with the technology will be the 2012 A7, which will feature an infotainment system hooked up to a T-Mobile SIM card. The car which is due out in April next year will be able to connect to the internet as soon as the ignition is switched on, and then drivers and passengers will be able to connect to Google as well as the Sirius Traffic Information service.

The SIM will be linked up with the onboard navigation system in the A7, the MMI Navigation Plus. Owners will receive a free six-month trial period to see what they think of the system. If they would like to keep the service going they will have to sign up for a personal package with T-Mobile.

Audi has made it clear how happy they are to team up with T-Mobile USA to give their customers more choice and potential greater enjoyment out of using their cars. With an online navigation system linked to the internet it could easily see the end for being caught up in meaningless traffic jams because some traffic control lights have failed to work. Both T-Mobile and Audi have built up a strong reputation here in the US and it will come as no surprise to many consumers these two greats have joined forces.

As well as being able to access the latest traffic information and local news reports, passengers in the car will be able to benefit from using the internet via a wireless hotspot. Anyone from children through to adults will be able to surf the internet and check emails as well as log onto social networking sites and fun stuff usually reserved for when you’re static.

The Audi A7 has only been on the market since 2010 and its design followed on from a concept car first seen in 2009. The car has attracted a lot of interest across the world as it was the automobile that put the German manufacturer back up there in the luxury coupe sector. They’ve had no car for this market since the discontinuation of the Audi 100 in 1994!

The current lineup of Audi A7s feature four different types of V6 engines to power the automobiles. Two gasoline types comes in a 2.8-liter which produces just over 200 horsepower and a three-liter which gives a massive 295 horsepower. The two diesel engines are both three-liter version with one offering 201 horsepower and the other 40 horsepower more.

The new technology will first appear in the A7 featured in 2012 but from then on,  Audi expect the offer to spread to their other luxury cars like the A6, A8 and the SUV crossover Q7…