New 2013 Chrysler Uconnect Technology is Smart Without a Phone

Chrysler has announced that the 2013 SRT Viper and 2013 Ram 1500 will offer a new Uconnect Touch infotainment system that does not require a smartphone to be aboard and paired in order to connect to a cellular network.

In a partnership with Sprint, Chrysler will offer subscription-based services that allow Viper and Ram owners to access the Internet, safely send and receive text messages, perform voice-controlled Web searches via Bing, and enter navigation destinations by speaking them.

In a statement, Matt Carter, president of wholesale and emerging solutions for Sprint, said, “When we look at the car, we see another smartphone.”

Yeah, except many of the people who can afford to buy a new car already have a smartphone (or two), and they don’t really need another one which, given Sprint’s third-place market share position behind Verizon and AT&T, is likely to be on a completely different network and, even if it’s not, will cost extra every month.

Perhaps what Carter and Chrysler should be thinking about is turning that in-dash screen into a tablet that can be removed from the vehicle.

SPEEDY DADDY SAYS…

We at Speedy Daddy find the existing Uconnect Touch 8.4 infotainment system in Chrysler products easy to use. The display is enormous, the graphics and resolution are excellent, and the touchscreen buttons are large and easy to see and use. Plus, we’ve had no trouble pairing an aging iPhone 3GS running AT&T service to the Uconnect system, proving that even idiots can do it.

Therefore, unless you really need mobile wi-fi in your car, think twice about upgrading to this new version of Uconnect. That said, if they make the screen detachable so that it travels and works like an iPad, you can utterly disregard our advice.

– Christian Wardlaw