Within the past few days, the main Straight Talk site has been quietly updated with a slate of new service plans for tablets, home security and a new slate of plans for automotive logging hardware made famous by insurance company Progressive as a way to reduce insurance rates by enforcing safe driving habits through the logging of automotive data such as location, vehicle speed as well as basic vehicle diagnostics.
Beginning with the new slate of tablet data plans, the plans will support AT&T and T-Mobile service with LTE support and will start at $15 monthly for 1GB all the way up to $75 for 7GB of access for 60 days, although Straight Talk has not launched tablet data service as of yet and has not given a launch timeframe for when the SIM cards will be available.
ST Home Security head unit with motion sensor
Following that, Straight Talk will release a first of its kind wireless home security system in the Orbic AX54N wireless keypad and sensor array. The AX54N head unit will feature a standard 10-key numeric keypad with multiple buttons for testing, arming the system, panic button, and support for four separate zones where the system will monitor motion at a maximum of 26 feet per zone with optional support for door sensors. The service plan for the hardware will run either $10 monthly or $100 yearly and will be powered by Verizon.
Audiovox My Car Connection Adapter
Finally, Straight Talk will launch a unique product for those that want to keep tabs on their car and their family with the goal of making it less expensive to ensure vehicles by enforcing good driving habits with the My Car Connection Adapter.
While such automotive devices spark divided opinions due to the extensive amount of information collected and the reliance on GPS to track vehicle location and speed and are usually forced by insurance companies to tie them to lower insurance rates, for this to be offered by Straight Talk in the future means that such products are becoming more accepted outside of the insurance industry, especially with families that have adolescent drivers.
Like the security system, the service plan for the adapter will run $10 monthly or $100 yearly with a companion portal to manage the device outside of the Straight Talk portal for data management.
I’m surprised by the limitations of the Audiovox OBD-II tool.
Delphi’s version, sold on Verizon, has much more functionality. It can unlock doors and even remote start on vehicles that expose that functionality to the car’s OBD-II port.
I was hoping Delphi’s version would land on Straight Talk at an a la carte price. Would really give OnStar a run for its money, and really the kind of integration that OnStar For My Vehicle (FMV) should have been ages ago.