Cold beer (and a chance encounter) at Telematics Detroit

Last year I was part of QNX’s advance team for Telematics Detroit 2011, which had me in Detroit well before the show. I was just heading out to dinner when I saw a small bar set up on a terrace outside my hotel. I wandered by for a closer look, thinking I might stop by later to enjoy a cool drink in the warm evening air.

A few guys were sitting drinking beer and they invited me to join them. Ever social, I agreed. It turned out that the person who extended the invitation was from Cybercom — serendipitous, as Cybercom is a Bluetooth connectivity provider that we were considering for our next-gen QNX CAR application platform.

Fast forward one year exactly. We are getting ready to showcase that next-gen platform, QNX CAR 2, at Telematics Detroit 2012 — in a new reference vehicle, no less. Meanwhile, QNX and Cybercom are now engaged with a number of leading tier one suppliers. In fact, Cybercom has issued a press release about the partnership; read it here.

To Kristian at Cybercom: thanks for showing kindness to a guy on his lonesome, and for being a key contributor and partner in our mutual automotive initiatives.