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from the when-all-you-have-is-$160-billion dept.
AudioGuy writes:
"Adrian Perica is a very busy man. Over the past 18 months, the mergers and acquisitions chief at Apple has been scouring the globe looking for deals, snatching up everything from search engines and data analytics to mapping software and motion tracking chips.
A source tells The Chronicle that Perica met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Cupertino last spring at around the same time analysts suggested Apple acquire the electric car giant.
The newspaper has also learned that Apple is heavily exploring medical devices, specifically sensor technology that can help predict heart attacks. Led by Tomlinson Holman, a renowned audio engineer who invented THX and 10.2 surround sound, Apple is exploring ways to predict heart attacks by studying the sound blood makes at it flows through arteries.
Taken together, Apple's potential forays into automobiles and medical devices, two industries worlds away from consumer electronics, underscore the company's deep desire to move away from iPhones and iPads and take big risks.
Good grief. Is the 'iTesla next in the 'i' line?"
(Score: 5, Interesting) by mmcmonster on Wednesday February 19 2014, @08:11PM
When I put my order in for my Tesla a couple months ago, the rep mentioned that they don't have deep iPod integration because Apple required a per-instance licensing fee that Tesla wasn't interested in paying.
I hope Apple doesn't purchase Tesla. Elon Musk seems to march by his own drum, and I would hate to see that change.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by VLM on Wednesday February 19 2014, @09:33PM
"Elon Musk seems to march by his own drum, and I would hate to see that change."
Some folks think the coolest thing he's done is his car, but I kind of like his SpaceX rockets. I would imagine a couple billion cash would send him to Mars... literally.
I'm not so cool about the other way around. What would Apple owned iSpaceX look like?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by mcgrew on Wednesday February 19 2014, @09:48PM
Why would it have "deep iPod integration" since everybody is using their phones to store music? Who has an iPod these days? All it needs is bluetooth and USB and it's good to go. Also, why in the world would they only support one product from one company? That would be insane.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2, Interesting) by mmcmonster on Wednesday February 19 2014, @11:23PM
Look up BMW Apps to get an idea. Not a great thing, but something that can be done with a little integration.
That being said, Tesla has it's own phone apps that do well enough without having to pay tax to either Apple or Google.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by theluggage on Wednesday February 19 2014, @11:33PM
I do believe that Apple make some sort of phone thingy (iCall? iBlower? iTelephone? - something like that) that uses the same connector as the iPod Touch, and that it does more than music. "Deep integration" could mean wheel-mounted controls, information display on the dashboard, integration with Maps/GPS and other apps. Locking the iPhone touch screen while you're actually moving, so you're not tempted to fiddle, would be a good idea, too. Yes - I know you can do some remote control with standard Bluetooth, but last time I tried it was fairly limited.
If you wanted to do such "deep integration" then iPod/iPhone would be easier than catering for multiple flavours of Android and multitude of music player Apps (does anybody use the stock Android music player?) - anyway, offering an iPhone-specific option shouldn't preclude offering USB and Bluetooth as well.
The other possibility would be using iOS or Android as the OS for the built-in entertainment system.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by unimatrix on Wednesday February 19 2014, @11:27PM
Probably not next year, but definitely in 2016 we'll be looking at a new car. Mine is 10 years old, 150k miles and hers will be about half that. Previously I had a condo/loft which meant no option to do electric charging, but now married with a house out in the suburbs and electric is an option. Not only an option, but an interesting one because I work from the house 3 days a week and her daily commute is less than 20 miles a day round trip.
To me it will be interesting to see what Chevy does with the Volt's technology and whether it comes down in price or gets incorporated into other models. As it stands right now I can get a Cruse Eco that's 40MPH+ for half the price of a Volt let alone a Tesla. Unless Gas suddenly went to $15 a gallon I doubt that I'd ever make up the $20k difference over the life of the car. And it's that fact that keeps me from going electric right now.