Nothing screams head-on-collision to us more than Facebook for automobiles but that’s exactly what’s about to happen when Mercedez-Benz introduces Facebook integration for their new cars.
The stripped down version of the social networking website is meant to “minimize” the chance of someone crashing while using it. Although the word “minimize” instead of “eliminate” worries me a bit.
Announced at CES this week the app focuses on location-centric tasks for example alerting you when friends are near by or notifying you of location based businesses you have “Liked” from your Facebook page.
In the hopes of reducing accidents the Facebook app won’t allow users to type anything when the car is moving, however users can turn or tap on a know to post pre-loaded status updates which in turn is going to lead to a bunch of “driving my Mercedes Benz” updates which no one cares to read.
One neat feature is the ability to share your final destination with friends. If you have entered an address via the onboard GPS you can tell friends where you’ll be an even post an official ETA determined by the program (just keep in mind it doesn’t include stop times, potty breaks and other stops in the ETA for obvious reasons).
Facebook also plans to offer further integration options in the future, although at this time what those options might be our a mystery.
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