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>> Here at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, you'll find the usual collection of amazing new sheet metal and green power plants, but if you look a little closer, you'll find something even more amazing, the integration of Internet and smartphones in the cabin. Certain Fords and Lincolns coming out this summer will let you connect an Internet-enabled app on your smartphone, like this streaming radio application, and have it show up on the car's dashboard, where you'll see it on the car's display and control with the car's buttons and knobs. In fact, they go so far as to lock out use of that app on the smartphone while you're driving, all a nod toward lowering distraction. This smartphone app, being developed for the Chevy Volt, let's you check the vehicle's state of charge, tell it when to charge, lock and unlock your own doors, even start the car and get the heater or the air conditioner running, and all from just about anywhere. Even low-cost Kias have a new system called "Uvo" that will eventually support web apps that connect to the Internet, as well as tuning in mobile digital TV. Now, automakers know they have to tread lightly in this area, as driver distraction is shaping up to be a big hot-button issue in 2010, but they would argue that taking this device and making its functions accessible by a voice command and a fixed display on the dash is a lot safer than juggling a smartphone while you drive. For CBS News, I'm Brian Cooley, CNET.com in Detroit.
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