For portable wireless devices, it's primarily emergency response and roadside assistance. Every shred of research on telematics over the years substantiates this. I foresee desktop connectivity in vehicles by the 2002 or 2003 model years. Consumers want access to timely and accurate information wherever they are. Our need for information doesn't stop at the rocker panel.
People are nodes on a network and the vehicle can also be a node.
How that information is delivered will be the key. As in the early days of many new products, hardware prices are still relatively high. Some cost reductions are already being realized through increased volume as telematics becomes standard on model lines. More competition in the marketplace as well as the emergence of standards will also drive down costs. Hardware costs can be reduced as OEMs put more of the functionality in response centers and less in the car.