I-mob: An OnStar Rival?

A British company has launched a U.S. arm that looks to take on GM's OnStar service. Called I-mob, the U.S. branch, based in Royal Oak, Mich., looks to compete in the vehicle security service in which OnStar is the primary — if not only — player.

I-mob’s current product, made for the aftermarket in Europe, features remote start, door-locking and vehicle shutoff services, and it connects drivers to a call center after a significant collision. The included GPS system also enables owners to track their vehicles at any time (teenagers’ ears just perked up everywhere in America). With that added feature, as well as cell-phone activation, I-mob could be a major player in this market. And because OnStar is only available in GM and select Acura vehicles, their rivals might have a way to compete.

[New Player Seeks to be OnStar Rival, Automotive News -- registration required]

Comments

At last a competitor. . .

I hope i-mob becomes a reality here, and not just a puff of many words and no action. Maybe Chrysler, and other imports will pick up on this technology. It seems a shame that only GM and Acura only get OnStar to begin with.

As a female car enthusiast, I find the safety and advanced imobilization features of the i-mob product to be superior to anything else I have used, including On Star. I especially like the fact that I can take control of my own vehicle (from just about anywhere I can get a cell connection) without the assistance of a call center..until needed. My current Jeep Laredo could use one of these units. I hope DCX and Ford figure out that this little device could net them sales and new clients..

I am on the Trillium/i-mob USA "list" for after market installation at Royal Oak Ford in early October and can't wait. In fact my insurance co said I may qualify for an additional discount with the device installed!!

Rachelle

I-Mob! What!!! Coming from someone who works for OnStar, this so called “I-Mob” system does not even come close to comparing to the services that OnStar provided it's customers.
Take a moment and stop and think about the features that I-Mob is offering. With I-Mob you have the ability to stop your vehicle in its tracks if it is stolen! Ya sure that may seem like a great feature, but WHAT if you are driving along and someone hacks into your system and stops you as your heading through an intersection. Tell me what would you do then? It would be kind of late to do anything, all it takes it a split second for anyone to hack into I-Mobs low security systems and shut your car down with NO notice to you. Oh and as for their Major impact alert feature, that will call 911 if you are in a accident... what if your unable to respond to them when they are trying to talk to you! or what if you have no clue as to where you are? Who is going to tell them? NOT YOU! Onstar is the ONLY service that is notified as soon as you are in a crash and a live advisor will then contact you and 911 and tell them where you are located. As hard as I-Mob is going to try, it will never and I mean NEVER compare to ONSTAR!!!

Let me know what you think.

Chris

"it will never and I mean NEVER compare to ONSTAR!!!"

Gee, then it must be a great system from a company that CARES about their customers. I'm a current Onstar customer searching for an alternative since mine is analog and Onstar no longer cares about our safety. A company that doesn't even compare to Onstar is exactly what I'm looking for. Onstar is a great concept just a poor company. Once there is competition for them I do believe they will go belly up.

I hope Dodge does start putting I-MOB in their vehicles, I own a 2006 Dodge Dakota and I wish it had something like that in it. I like what OnStar is able to do, but I would never own a GM vehicle.

It was not true that OnStar does not care about customers who have older (analog) hardware. The infrastructure still supports analog hardware, although analog users will not be able to benefit from the new state-of-the-art features that are coming down the line. OnStar's decision to switch to digital service was actually not theirs at the time. The FCC placed a 7-year time limit restriction upon the company where digital communication must be the primary means of communication. This DOES NOT mean that you will be left in the dark if you do not upgrade to digital hardware (vehicles earlier than 2004 may have analog hardware; vehicles after that will definitely have digital hardware). All emergency services, as well as other primary services are still supported with the analog hardware (airbag notification, stollen vehicle tracking, lock/unlock doors, GIS/POI services, etc).

All businesses need to upgrade their equipment to stay on the cutting-edge. In the case of OnStar, not only was this an FCC requirement to continue running as a business, but also to bring forth such services as Personal Calling, Virtual Advisor with e-mail support, voicemail services, entertainment services, advanced in-vehicle diagnostics services, etc. In any technical arena this is the case. If you don't care about these new advanced services, your analog hardware will still function with OnStar's most basic features. If you want the newer functionality, it is extremely simple to upgrade the hardware in the vehicle.

"it is extremely simple to upgrade the hardware in the vehicle."

I went to a web site and it would be 600-1500 dollars to upgrade from a analog to digital. To me that is not extremely easy. If they new about this problem 7yrs ago which would include my 2002 for time passed since they knew, they would have installed the digital/analog feature in those cars. Yes FCC regulated the change, but it is up to the company to take action. If there is another product out there to aid the lack of support from OnStar, then I am all for it. At least until OnStar can get there customers left behind by advancing technology back on track.

I wish Anonymous' information were accurate. However, i just received a second notice from OnStar advising me that they will be unable to provide services to my 2001 vehicle after 12/31/2007. "...in an emergency, despite what your system may indicate, you will not have a connection".

WOW... How can you be so wrong about OnStar. Or OnStar customer service has lied to me multiple times. Yes, if they actually cared about their customers they would have come up with a solution or still provided service to analog customers. My 2003 "will not have service after 12/31/2007" and OnStar was "sorry to tell me that there is no upgrade available". WOW.. way to screw so many existing customers, and the next customers of those used GM vehicles equipped with analog OnStar. So hmmm.. will there be a market for an after market system like I-mob? I'd say so. Is it even worth comparing I-mob to OnStar? Why bother. The comparison would ONLY apply to 2006 or greater GM vehicles.
Thanks I-mob.. can't wait until you and other competition put OnStar on their toes and make them start caring about their customers.

jake siciliano

So, just curious. Non-impact rollover accident. What happens. With a 2008 Silverado with On-Star... On Tuesday of last week... NOTHING. Well,I have to admit it worked when I pushed the button. Considering the antenna was crushed between the cab of the truck and the asphault that's something. Also considering the cab of the truck was partially collapsed, and the camper was probably what saved as much of the cab as it did, and I was hanging upside down by my seat belt... probably not so impressive. Without the camper shell I suspect we would have been more severely injured from the collapse of the truck cab, and I might not have been conscious to push the button.