New Viper iPhone App: Start Your Car, Open The Trunk, Lock It Up

Called the Viper SmartStart, the system allows users to do practically anything they could do with their familiar car key fobs. Owners of a compatible Viper system will need to install the SmartStart Module, available from Best Buy for $299; a complete system is also offered at a price of $499.

Broken down, the new module connects to a 3G cellular network (the carrier hasn't been disclosed). With the iPhone app (or an iPod Touch on a Wi-Fi connection), users can trigger the module to lock/arm, unlock/disarm, open the trunk, or activate the panic feature of the security system with a simple touch. The application's screen is divided into four quadrants, one for each feature. In the center of the screen is a fifth button, used to remotely start the car.

While the first impression of the system makes it look a little gimmicky, the realization of the cellular network connection removes most boundaries. Most key fobs can do these same functions at a range of 30 to 100 feet. This distance is reduced as the battery strength diminishes and with each obstacle between the remote and the vehicle. With SmartStart, users can now access the system from anywhere.

In addition, with a SmartStart module in every vehicle, one iPhone can now control every car in the household. Since the application must be assigned to each system, different users in the family can have their iPhones authorized to operate the system on specific vehicles. This can be a good way to keep teens from driving mom and dad's car when they're not home, since chances are good they will have their phone, which is also the remote, with them. In cases of an emergency, the vehicle can still be disarmed and opened from practically anywhere.

As with most devices that use a cellular carrier to provide a service, there is a subscription fee to use SmartStart. The first year of use is included in the price of the module. After that, the annual fee is $29.99.

It will be interesting to see if Directed Electronics/Viper expands the application to other smartphone operating systems in the future. It seems a bit silly to rely solely on the sale of a phone model whose users are beginning to look for the next big thing. The logical next step would be a similar BlackBerry or Android application, which would offer a much larger customer base both because of the number of handsets and the variety of carriers.

There are currently no plans for that to happen, though, which makes one wonder if both Apple and AT&T have a hand in the development of the system. Either way, there's no denying that this system is another example of how services designed around a cellular network are becoming more prevalent.

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