BENGALURU: The smartphone giant, Samsung, makes inroads into the connected-car accessory space today with the announcement of the Samsung Connect Auto dongle at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Following the footsteps of Apple and Google, the South Korean technology conglomerate unveiled Connect Auto, a dongle that can be plugged into the diagnostic port and bring LTE Internet connectivity to it reports Manish Singh from NDTV gadgets 360.

The biggest feature of the Samsung Connect Auto is its compatibility with old cars. Samsung admits that because its car dongle utilizes the on-board diagnostic (ODB) II port, it can be used on almost all cars built in the past two decades. OBD-II is a sort of computer which monitors emissions, mileage, speed, and other useful data. OBD-II is connected to the Check Engine light, which illuminates when the system detects a problem.

Quite Acquainted to cut throat competition in smartphone space, Samsung will be entering a very crowded market filled with minor but extensively known competitors such as the Vinli and Automatic, big carrier-backed products such as AT&T's ZTE Mobley and Verizon Wireless' Delphi Connect, and automotive OEMs pushing connected vehicles off the assembly line with features like OnStar 4G LTE and Audi Connect.

Samsung’s dongle  is aimed at enabling customers enhance their driving experience by keeping a check on fuel efficiency and other important information by making use of geo-fencing and driving safety algorithms. The dongle will gather send data and location information to a cloud-based server, where all the analysis and processing would be done. These bits and pieces of information will help users with features such as 'Find My Car' real-time GPS application. The organization aims to push boundaries in order to create a connected car ecosystem that seamlessly integrates their products and partner services for a better driving experience and this is a major step towards achieving this goal.

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