So much for "animal, mineral, vegetable" and license-plate games. This June, just in time for summer vacations, today’s generation of incessant young Web surfers will get to enjoy the auto industry’s first rear-seat Internet-connected entertainment system. Leave it to the folks at iconic family-wagon maker Volvo to launch the RSEi-500 touch-screen computer with broadband, WiFi and a 500-gigabyte hard drive. Otherwise fidgety passengers can surf the Web and distract themselves with video and music. You can also connect to your home computer and transfer video, audio and other content. Volvo further promises special apps to "personalize" the car to your lifestyle. I’m still trying to get my head around the notion of having Internet connectivity at 70 mph. Volvo explains it through the use of Sprint 4G with its new Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot technology. The RSEi-500 was unveiled today at the Chicago Auto Show, becoming the first harbinger of what could become a standard vehicle feature.
—Posted by Noreen O’Leary