AT&T Unveils Six In-Car Apps to Automakers

AT&T Inc. has introduced six voice-activated applications for its eight-month-old AT&T Drive connected-car platform.

The company unveiled the Drive system in January. The service combines AT&T's own high-speed wireless system with analytic, billing, networking and voice recognition technologies developed by several partners. The modular architecture enables carmakers to add services on a global scale.

The Drive apps include:

• AccuWeather, which locates the vehicle and provides local weather conditions and forecasts by the hour and day
• Glympse, which allows users to broadcast their car's current location to anyone they choose for preset periods
• iHeartRadio, a service that offers access to thousands of live radio stations and the ability to create custom channels for a favorite artist
• Newsbeat, a mobile news app from Tribune Digital Ventures that delivers a customizable audio stream of top news reports from a variety of newspapers and Web sites
• Parker, which helps drivers find and pay for parking spots
• Stitcher, a service that streams radio shows, podcasts and custom music playlists and enables users to listen to talk radio shows on demand