Microsoft (News - Alert) proposes to position itself as the go-to technology provider for automakers in view of the entry of the Internet into cars. Microsoft plans to offer hosted Internet search services for automakers and their business partners who are developing infotainment systems for automobiles.

 

The service, Microsoft Live Search for Devices, is expected to be hosted from a Microsoft data center in Washington. Automakers can use it for localized search services on in-car navigation systems.

 

Live Search can easily be incorporated in autos. Already, Ford navigation systems enable drivers to search for gas stations, local pizza joints and ice cream parlors using GPS coordinates. However this information is available on CDs and drivers will have to buy new CDs which are updated for the latest information.

 

With a navigation system which is connected to a cellular network, Live Search running on Microsoft-hosted servers will help find local eateries based on the location of the automobile.

 

Chrysler proposes to offer a new wireless Internet service called UConnect Web on its 2009 models. The service is meant for passengers who want to use their smartphones, laptops, digital cameras, MP3 players, and other devices to connect to the Internet via an in-car wireless router that uses a 3G cellular network.

 

Microsoft looks forward to offering Internet search and other capabilities for in-car navigation and entertainment systems to automakers as the Internet can be a major differentiator in the automobile industry. Microsoft has a good relationship with Ford for its hand-free, voice-activated infotainment system called Sync.

 

Microsoft emphasizes that this effort is just the first of many hosted services it plans for automakers and their business partners. It has launched a new companywide “software + services” business strategy. The company foresees that the Internet will soon enter the automobile like in other aspects of a consumer’s life.