EE's Buzzard 2, a simple 'connected car' device takes over from the earlier Buzzard (one) to bring enhanced 4G Wi-Fi service into the car for EE's subscribers. The device can be plugged directly into the car dashboard's 12v connection and allows various mobile devices on board to connect to the internet. The device is priced at £79.99 on pay-as-you-go plans with an offer of free 100MB of data for every month for those purchasing the device before the 31st of January 2015. For those on 4GEE monthly subscription plans, the Buzzard 2 is available from £10. EE4G subscribers can also add the device to their Shared Plan for £8 per month.
Buzzard 2 is one alternative for those who want to have 4G connection in the car. Mobile data connection in the car can be created through many ways, the most popular being purchasing a car that comes with built-in digital platform with 4G connectivity that can be activated for in-vehicle infotainment services via a service provider who has partnered with the auto-maker. Another popular method is the use of smartphones such as iOS or Android phones to power the vehicle's digital display. For the latter, auto-makers work with the likes of Apple and Samsung as well as OS-agnostic third party platforms such as Mirrorlink to enable users of smart mobile devices to use their existing plans to bring data connectivity for the car. The vehicle digital platforms typically have built-in Wi-Fi and blue-tooth connectivity that allow all other devices to access data and various content via the digital platform. The Buzzard 2 joins the third category of connected car solutions whereby a third party device (in this case, provided by the service provider) is plugged into the car's system and brings its own data connection. Within this third category, some devices act as connection providers (Buzzard for example provides Wi-Fi), others such as those provided by Zubie, Mojio and Airbiquity provide telematics-based navigation and information services via a cloud-based application that can be accessed on the user's mobile phone. Each 'connected car' solution presents its own value proposition to the end-user and while all these solutions are collectively providing connectivity to the car and within the car, the actual end-service, experience and subscription models differ vastly between one to the other.
In the case of Buzzard 2, EE providing the device themselves makes it enticing for EE subscriber's especially with the device being bundled with existing subscriptions and shared plans. For Buzzard enthusiasts, they can look forward to the latest version which weighs just 50g and is adaptor-free, hence, never running out of power. According to EE, the device which is powered by Balong 720M 667MHz processor also comes with an additional USB socket which allows further devices to be connected to the power and charged during the journey, without affecting the 4G WiFi performance. And best of all, for EE customers who subscribe to data plans of more than £15 (3GB) per month, the Buzzard 2 comes for free!
Read more on the Connected Car.
