Verizon Hum Adds Location Tracking, History, Geofencing
Verizon Hum, an automotive system comprised of an OBD reader, speaker, and mobile app, has been updated to include some new (and pretty useful) features like geofencing and driving history. Such features could prove useful in various situations, such as a home where a newly licensed teenager is being given the keys. The features have been added to the iOS and Android mobile apps.
Verizon Hub is essentially a smart system for cars that may not contain such features baked in. It is based around an OBD reader that is plugged into a car's OBD-II port, where it will have access to things like the car's health. Joining it is the hum Bluetooth speaker (center item below), which clips onto the visor and provides easy-access buttons for hands-free calling and emergency services.
On the driver's end there's the mobile app, which supports iPhones and Android handsets. The app provides details from the OBD reader about the car's health (access to diagnostics), provides advice and reminders, and similar things. With this new update, the apps gain a handful of new features.
There's now boundary alerts, which allow the driver to set certain boundaries in which they want the car to remain. If the car enters into one of these boundaries or exits from them, the subscriber will get a mobile alert. The boundaries can be tailored to things like certain days or certain times during those days.
In addition, the app now lets subscribers set a maximum speed limit for the car and to get alerts when the driver goes over that speed. These notifications can be delivered via text and email as well as through the app, and so can be sent to multiple people instead of just the subscriber.
The two other features include vehicle location tracking, including which direction it is traveling. The subscriber is able to access the last five locations that were requested. Finally, there's driving history that shows how long a trip took, when it started and stopped, how long it idled, what its maximum and average speeds were, and how efficient the drive was. This information is provided in daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly logs.
The service requires a monthly subscription, which is $14.99/month and includes the devices and activation. Additional cars added will cost $12.99/month up to three vehicles. The service is also dependent on GSM connectivity; if there's no connection available, the features won't all work until that service is restored.