I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but as a new owner with keyless entry and Bluetooth capabilities, why doesn’t Toyota offer a cell phone that incorporates the key? I already carry a cell phone and now a BIG key thingy and my pockets are bulging. Seems like a natural to put the two together. Any thoughts? Robert
Toyota does have a Smart Key Wristwatch, but it's like $400 and I don't think it works with the Prius.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Robert564 @ Jun 12 2006, 08:23 PM) [snapback]270339[/snapback]</div> Probably because they would have to use only one type of phone (Verizon, Nextel, etc.) and since those services vary in quality and availability from state to state and especially from country to country, they would have to worry about too many variations. Do you really think the remote is BIG? To me it is a lot smaller then the newer car keys that have the chip built into them. I don't carry house keys or anything anymore (keyless access to the house is pretty easy nowadays). So all I have in the pocket is the remote. Cell phone is on a clip on my belt.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ Jun 12 2006, 11:41 PM) [snapback]270346[/snapback]</div> I'm down for one of these. Damn, one less thing to carry around. Have been thinking about an extra fob, but this will do the trick. Hope it keeps good time.
I don't think I'd want my car key built into my phone, because just about every phone that I've had (the last few have been PDAs/smartphones) has had to be replaced or serviced at some point. I can live without a cell phone for a day or two, but not my car keys! On the other hand, a Toyota cell phone would probably never have any problems.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jim1eye @ Jun 13 2006, 06:30 AM) [snapback]270445[/snapback]</div> Unfortunately the problem is that while the watch is solar powered, the SKS part isn't. If the battery goes out, you're stuck. With the fob there's a regular key and you can stick the fob in the slot. With the watch, you'd have to carry a regular key and keep a fob (w/o a battery) inside the car to start it. Of course you could also have a schedule of changing the battery to prevent that from happening.
Interesting ideas to my original suggestion of combining the cell phone/key-fob. I like the watch solution, but it still leaves me wondering why Toyota doesn’t work on the cell phone idea. Years ago a friend of mine bought a Mercedes that came with it’s own cell phone that he could plug into the car and make calls through the car’s sound system (similar to today’s blue tooth). The phone worked so well he wouldn’t give it up when he traded in the car for a Boxster. Could have been the Mercedes logo on the phone that he liked more than the phones function? I do have a question about the Toyota fob. If it’s battery dies, and you let yourself in the car with the key, how do you start the car? Robert
If Toyota wanted, they could probably make their next car unlockable with a bluetooth cell phone. But that would be a software modification to the cell phone and the danger would be that ne'erdowells could use that software for evil. It seems clear to me that this kind of thing will become common in the future... eventually we will standardize on security protocols and you will carry just one device that unlocks everything (car, house, savings account, credit account, medical records, drivers license data) and also has network access for voice and data. But there are lots of good reasons (mostly political and organizational) why this will take a long time to materialize.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Robert564 @ Jun 13 2006, 09:25 PM) [snapback]270963[/snapback]</div> There's some problems with a cell phone by Toyota. I doubt if they'd have a wide selection. If you don't own one already, there isn't much of a problem, but consider this. What network will the cell use? CDMA? GSM? What carrier? Cingular? Verizon? What other features would this cell have? Camera? Polycromatic ringtones? Tri-mode? What will it look like? Flip phone? "Candy Bar?" And the cost, a watch is $400, what would a cell phone from Toyota cost? If you already have a cell you might be giving up a lot of features, and spend a lot of money, just so you won't have to carry a 1.5"x2.25"x1/2" piece of plastic. Well, one thing in the favor of a Toyota cell phone/fob, if it didn't pair or couldn't send your phonebook, you could go to the dealer and complain. As for the Toyota fob itself, if the battery dies and you use the key to get in, simply put the fob in the slot to start the car. Something you couldn't do with a watch or cell phone.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Robert564 @ Jun 14 2006, 12:25 AM) [snapback]270963[/snapback]</div> You stick the 'dead" fob into the slot in the dashboard that is below the Start button. The car will then power up the fob and read the security information. Then just start the car as usual.
Maybe they can put it on a microchip that is implanted somewhere on your body like a dog ID. ( sorry, it's Friday afternoon....) :blink:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prizzle @ Jun 16 2006, 01:09 PM) [snapback]272373[/snapback]</div> No worries there. That was a early poll if you were willing to have a chip installed.
