Any passionate car enthusiast in the United States will have likely looked into the potential of getting their hands on one of Automatic’s first or second-generation adapters that hooks into the vehicle’s diagnostic port. This tech has been allowing vehicle owners to track mileage and vehicle information, and then log the data back to a connected smartphone, for quite some time.
Now the company is back with an all new offering in the form of the new Automatic Pro, which is a gizmo built on top of the second-generation Automatic adapter, but with the inclusion of additional smarts. Rather than go back to the drawing board entirely and come up with a whole new product range or offering, Automatic has essentially taken the existing Automatic adapter and improved the hardware by injecting it with a little additional intelligence that offers a real tangible set of benefits to anyone who opts to purchase the new Automatic Pro.
The overarching pitch is the same; users are still able to use the Automatic adapter to track mileage and drill down to the vehicle’s maintenance needs. And they can still log that information to a connected smartphone using Bluetooth. However, the unique-selling-point of the Pro comes from the inclusion of a fee-free cellular data connection that’s always-on and active.
We’re excited to be using the power of cellular connectivity to build upon the offerings of the second generation adapter and combine a beautiful, scalable UI with an extensive range of features that will help consumers the most.
Just like the previous version, the Automatic Pro utilizes the vehicle’s OBD-II diagnostics port to go about its business. The difference with this new version is that it can track and log all information without a smartphone actually needing to be connected. That means all of that beautiful and important information is tracked regardless of whether it is the vehicle owner driving the vehicle, or someone else. There’s also no loss of valuable data if the connected smartphone is lost, damaged or just left behind. The subscription free, always-on data connectivity essentially allows for a permanent collection of data to be in place 365 days a year.
The new hardware will also be accompanied by a new Automatic smartphone app that includes functionality such as customizable notifications, an emergency crash feature that can contact the emergency services with exact GPS positioning data of the vehicle if a crash occurs, and even integration with IFTTT, which brings support for a variety of apps that are listed in the image below. Interested consumers can purchase the Automatic Pro immediately for $129.95.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the Web.