Hauppauge, N.Y. – Audiovox
can be added to the list of companies planning a remote-start smartphone app
for the car.
Tom Malone, Audiovox president, told TWICE the iPhone and
BlackBerry app is scheduled to begin shipping by early October, with a formal
announcement coming from the company within the next 60 days.
“We’ll make a kit that will be able to be used not only on our
product, but on any factory system and really any remote-start system that you
have in the vehicle,” Malone said. “Our approach is a little different in that
we want make it more universal.”
On the remote-start category, Malone said, “I think sales are OK.
We don’t hear anybody say that it’s changing their business. It is new business
[and] it is a new way to bring some energy into the category. We will be modest
in our projections, and hopefully the business will build.”
Audiovox is looking at a target retail of $399 for the kit, he
said. The company is also looking into extending the app to Droid smartphones.
