Irving Company Creates Technology That Allows Car to Do Your Texting For You

So, driving while texting is 23 times more dangerous than just, ya know, driving; 88 percent of Texas teens do it anyhow; with the growed-ups, the number's probably closer to 104 percent; and some states are proposing legislation outlawing the practice altogether. To which an Irving-based company says: Have we...

By Robert Wilonsky

July 29, 2009

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So, driving while texting is 23 times more dangerous than just, ya know, driving; 88 percent of Texas teens do it anyhow; with the growed-ups, the number's probably closer to 104 percent; and some states are proposing legislation outlawing the practice altogether. To which an Irving-based company says: Have we got a deal for you. Last week, ATX Group -- which, from the look of its product line, is slowly turning cars into Autobots -- debuted technology that allows for "in-vehicle, hands-free text messaging via voice," meaning you talk instead of type.

Automotive News picks up the story with a longer, subscription-only follow, but CNET has the condensed version: Some cars already read text messages to their drivers, and the Ford Sync allows drivers to send texts, "though only from a menu of scripted messages." OnStar says thanks but no thanks to ATX's tech: "Our focus remains firmly on safety and security and in-vehicle communications," take that. Most everyone else won't even have the option for a while: The Freeport Parkway-based company provides its tech to the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, PSA Peugeot Citroën Maybach and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Not, say, a 1996 Jeep Cherokee with a leaky transmission and a decided lack of side molding.

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