Funambol's iCar Enables Marmosets, Toddlers to Drive Safely; Dogs Still Risky Behind Wheel

by Kristin Shoemaker - Apr. 01, 2009Comments (3)

Those of us with mixed systems and quirky smartphones here at OStatic (which works out to just about everyone) have been impressed by Funambol's open source push and sync services. Admittedly, though, with the pervasiveness of smartphones and sync tools, Funambol's various applications, open as they are, still feel pedestrian.

Today, Funambol announced its new mobile product, designed to push you, your phone, and the information loaded on you both anywhere (well, almost anywhere -- your mileage may vary in water, swamp land, and quicksand). The iCar has been called a "major transportation breakthrough" by Funambol CEO Fabrizio Capobianco, but don't just take his word for it.

iCar is the world's first car controlled entirely by hand gestures. This technological breakthrough allows drivers to motor around as absent-mindedly as they would flip through a playlist on an mp3 player. Okay, fine, if you live or travel in Boston, Massachusetts and its outlying areas, the majority of drivers already race around absent-mindedly, making frantic gestures with certain fingers -- but you can be sure those gestures aren't keeping their two tons of steel and combustible liquids from slamming into you at high speeds.

Funambol's iCar has full iTunes integration, aimed at making horn use genuinely informational (and depending on tastes, much less -- or infinitely more -- annoying). Webcams, microphones and speakers make interacting online the priority, while recording the happenings around you. Perhaps, as an added promotion, Funambol could offer classes and tutorials on photo editing in GIMP and video editing with Kino or Cinelerra to help iCar pilots give their insurance agents a clearer picture of filed claims.

That's all well and good, but the burning question for OStatic readers is whether the iCar is truly open. If I shell out $39,995 (who needs seatbelts and hubcaps, after all) am I going to be forced to buy my iCar add-ons from the iCar App Store? Is it loaded with DRM? Does it support Ogg multimedia files? Can I reconfigure it to support legacy devices, like steering wheels? Can I change the hotkey gestures, you know, if I have a particular gesture I really enjoy using in certain driving situations? There are a lot of unanswered questions.

The iCar is flying off the lot at Funambol's headquarters, and industry analysts expect the inventory will be entirely depleted by the end of the day. Next time you're out on the road, and see a five year old peering out the driver's side window making questionable gestures, relax -- it's an iCar. Well, you'll sure hope so, anyway.