SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Automatic, the company bringing the power of the internet into every car on the road, today announced the launch of the Automatic App Gallery, an app store for nearly every car on the road today, as well as an open development platform to fuel a rapidly growing ecosystem of car apps. The company also unveiled their second-generation Automatic car adapter, which enables third party “Bluetooth streaming” apps that display data from the car’s onboard computer in real-time. The Automatic App Gallery features over 20 third party apps at launch including Jawbone, IFTTT, DashCommand, Concur, Expensify, YourMechanic, Harry’s LapTimer, RescueTime and SherpaShare, with many more to come.
“The next wave of connected devices poised to change the world are those we’ve been using for decades: our cars,” said Thejo Kote, Founder and CEO of Automatic. “Just as the iPhone App Store unlocked the power of the smartphone, we’ve built an open platform that makes it possible for the world’s best developers to build amazing apps for your car.”
Two years ago Automatic launched a mobile app and matchbox-sized car adapter, which plugs into the standard diagnostics port, to connect just about any car since 1996 to the internet. The product addressed the top needs of most drivers: fuel economy, engine diagnostics, and free emergency services. This was the first step towards realizing the vision that software and connectivity could help every car live up to its potential.
Today, Automatic is expanding what just about any car can do with the launch of the Automatic App Gallery, which features third party car apps for many different kinds of drivers. Built using the Automatic Developer Platform, these apps let cars instantly reach an entirely new level of intelligence and utility by tapping into the powerful computer hidden under the hood.
By plugging the Automatic car adapter into their vehicle, users can now connect to a thriving ecosystem of car apps that enhance nearly every imaginable aspect of car ownership, for instance:
- Heating up your home in time for your arrival from work with the Nest Thermostat
- Automatically logging your business mileage and expensing it with popular services like Concur and Expensify
- Helping parents make sure their teens are driving safe with License+, and much more
“Across companies of every shape and size, business mileage represents one of the highest-volume categories of expenses made by their employees,” said Ryan Schaffer, Director of Marketing and Strategy at Expensify. “The Automatic platform is such a natural fit for Expensify. When we heard about Automatic’s App Gallery and Developer Platform, we were excited about the opportunity to enable a hassle-free business mileage experience for our users.”
The Automatic Developer Platform makes it easy for developers to build and distribute car apps powered by the data available in cars. Apps built on this platform seamlessly integrate with the vast majority of the hundreds of millions of vehicles on the road today, so developers can build car apps that work across nearly every make and model.
About Automatic
Automatic turns almost any car into a connected car. By pairing Automatic’s smartphone app and in-car device, drivers are able to enhance their driving experience with a host of connected services on the Automatic platform. Automatic helps customers drive safer and smarter-with applications that diagnose engine trouble, detect accidents and send emergency response, and help customers save money on driving. Developers, meanwhile, can use the Automatic platform to build services and applications that use car driving data with interoperable access possible to nearly every car type on the road. Automatic is available for sale at Apple Stores, Best Buy, Target, Amazon, and direct on their own site for $99.95 with no ongoing service fees. Automatic Labs was founded in 2011, and headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.automatic.com.
