Stuttgart, Germany – Mercedes-Benz is offering a glimpse into the future with myCOMAND, an Internet-based infotainment system, as part of a special preview at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The user-friendly system uses Internet connectivity to keep all data and information fresh and current, without the need for software or hardware updates, and concentrates its functions into one user interface for easy and intuitive access.

As computer science experts predict that the Internet will be available almost everywhere with a significantly higher bandwidth via cellular networks within a few years, Mercedes-Benz has launched a research project for myCOMAND. Each time the engine starts, the system automatically updates itself via radio and continuously brings the software up to date.

Available myCOMAND services will include off-board navigation, which works not only with maps but with traffic information available on the Internet to account for route selection, including satellite images for easier orientation, and up-to-the-minute data for such information as the cheapest filling station along a route; a Trip Assist that can access and supply Internet information such as weather, hotels and leisure activities along a route, and make reservations at hotels, restaurants or theatres; World Radio that will tune into almost any radio station in the world; Internet telephony that uses Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for free-of-charge long-distance calls; and a traditional browser for surfing the Internet.

The system will be programmed so that it automatically collects all the information necessary from the Internet, including such things as hotel descriptions, weather forecasts or available parking spaces, without the need for the user to search via a browser.