I mentioned earlier this week that the official NORAD online search destination for tracking Santa this year is Bing rather than Google, which has held the contract for the last few years. OnStar will be tracking Santa from 7 AM on December 24 until 5 AM on December 25. Anyone with an active OnStar subscription can press the blue OnStar button and request a “Santa Update” to find out Santa’s current location.

This year owners of vehicles made by manufacturers other than GM can also use the service if their car has one of the OnStar accessory mirrors that are available. There are many ways to keep track of Santa this Christmas eve. You can use OnStar, or you can go online for the official NORAD tracking with Bing. While Google is no longer the official NORAD tracking partner, it is also keeping track of Santa using Google Maps.

There is also an official NORAD Track Santa mobile app for various platforms. The only downside to tracking Santa with OnStar is children are likely to have parents running back and forth to the car constantly on Christmas Eve.

Since OnStar launched, the blue button has been the same. For 2013, OnStar says it is “Buttoning Up” with a new look in 2013 models. One of the coolest new looks for OnStar in 2013 model GM vehicles is the frameless mirror you see in the photo above. That particular mirror will be used in the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro.

The black button that was previously called the “Hands-Free Calling button” had a white phone with a circle around it. OnStar has changed that button to the “Voice Command button” with a general speech icon on it that looks like a person sitting down and talking. The Emergency Button was previously a white cross with a red circle around it. That button has been replaced with a red circle sporting a white border and white letters spelling out SOS, the recognized international symbol for distress.

The iconic blue OnStar button has also changed with a switch to the company’s new logo introduced in late 2010. The frameless mirror you see in the photo above that will be featured in some 2013 Camaro models will have touchscreen access. The OnStar buttons on the mirror has electrochromic capabilities and lights up when touched and dims shortly after. The mirror is also auto dimming and will be standard on the Camaro 2SS, 2LT, ZL1 coupe and convertible models.

This announcement is more of an update and an upgrade, as the RelayRides program originally launched back in 2010 in Boston via GM and OnStar, this week this service being launched nationwide. Studies quoted by GM for this program show that each car shared can result in up to 13 fewer cars on the road in all – this of course leading to a lot less pollution and clogging of roadways in the end – or so we hear from OnStar.

Users opting in to this program are provided with a $1 million dollar insurance policy if they own the car during the rental, with a $300,000 USD policy set up for renters – this insurance cash comes from the RelayRides program itself. Shelby Clark, RelayRides founder and Chief Community Officer, spoke on the program this past week:

“Using the OnStar API to access GM vehicles empowers RelayRides to make car sharing even safer and more convenient. The sheer number of vehicles eligible for the program allows us to greatly expand across the U.S. and introduce the economic, environmental and community benefits of car sharing to regions that car sharing services have previously been unable to serve.” – Clark

You can find out more about the program at the RelayRides official homepage, and head below to find our more about OnStar in our own timeline as well!

Family Link had previously been tested by a group of 4,500 existing OnStar customers. The feedback was resoundingly positive, with OnStar VP of subscriber services Joanne Finnom saying the testers “told us it provides them peace of mind by staying connected to their family when they’re on the road.” The service is of course designed with the altruistic intention of making sure family members are safe.

But of course, there are also concerns that it could be used for less salient purposes. Suspicious spouses could use it to spy on one another, or parents of adult kids could covertly track where their children are going when they’re on what they believe to be a private date. Regardless, the service is rolling out nationwide. Current customers will get invited to participate in batches, with the first set of invitations going out next month. The service will cost an additional $3.99 per month.

[via Wired]

The new Smart Grid API that OnStar is pushing will do several things for drivers of the EVs and plug-in hybrids that will make charging smarter, cheaper, and easier on the environment. The APIs will offer things like demand response, time of use rates, charging data, and aggregated services. The aggregated services solutions interesting and is intended to allow companies such as Google that operate large fleets of electric vehicles to control the charging simultaneously.

The charging data offers details that the utility companies can use to determine potential load scenarios for a given area where multiple electric vehicles might be charging at once. The time of use rates will allow the owner of the electric vehicle to see exactly how much the electricity would cost them at a specific time. The demand response feature would also allow the utility companies to manage energy use for Volt drivers allowing the driver to save money on energy costs and allowing for more efficient use of the electric grid. I don’t see a lot of companies hopping on the development bandwagon for the Smart Grid APIs at this point since only the Volt is compatible right now.

OnStar claims ATOMS is the most powerful cloud platform in operation today connecting 6 million OnStar users. OnStar says that it has conducted research and that apps for the system that its customers want most have to do with emergency and security services along with navigation, vehicle information, and diagnostics. OnStar is also looking for some new app services as well.

The first partner OnStar is noting to use the API is RelayRides. This is a peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace along the lines of the high-end peer-to-peer rental service HiGear, which I mentioned recently. HiGear shut down after several customer vehicles were stolen using the service. The RealyRide app will let the car owner rent out their idle vehicle and allow control of rates and availability too. Other firms that have worked with the API include Google and MapQuest.

Starting at 7pm on Christmas Eve OnStar subscribers, including FMV owners, will be able to request a Santa Update all the way through 5am on Christmas Day. OnStar and NORAD are working together to help kids track Santa on his trip around the world. I can only imagine the number of calls that OnStar will receive.

Considering my daughter updated the app roughly every 15 seconds last year. I suspect very heavy calling from any parent with an OnStar ride and young kids. The downside is that knowing where Santa is may mean some kids will stay up later. OnStar was showing off in car video call streaming yesterday.

The OnStar video call system for vehicles was shown off last year as a preview and was in conjunction with Verizon. At CES 2012, OnStar will again be showing the system off, this time the voice chat will be in a Volt. OnStar has tipped that the system will support cloud streaming of information and entertainment. The saving grace may be that the system is being pushed for back seat passengers.

The hard tech specs for the system aren’t offered. There are two potential ways that streaming of this sort could go down. One is that the car could connect with a smartphone to provide the data service needed for streaming and download. The other is that the car could have its own 4G modem inside. Either way, people that don’t live in one of the few 4G areas won’t see as much benefit out of this as those in 4G areas. Parents with kids that go long long road trips would really appreciate this sort of system.

[via MotorAuthority]

That question of permission was what triggered the initial flurry of complaints. OnStar had originally planned to track its users who cancelled service with the company, collecting aggregate data and sharing that with advertisers, governmental organizations and other firms. Although OnStar clarified that those affected would be informed of the policy and given the choice to opt out of it, that failed to calm the storm.

Instead, the company found itself under the beady eye of at least three US senators, each with concerns as to how user privacy might be impacted. As a result, no data connection will be preserved with the cars of those subscribers who cancel their service.

“We realize that our proposed amendments did not satisfy our subscribers,” OnStar President Linda Marshall now says. “This is why we are leaving the decision in our customers’ hands. We listened, we responded and we hope to maintain the trust of our more than 6 million customers.”

OnStar says that, if it decides to attempt a data collection system again in the future, it will make it opt-in rather than opt-out. “We regret any confusion or concern we may have caused” Marshall concludes, though OnStar can’t help but point out what potential services have been lost as a result of the cancelled plans. “Maintaining the data connection would have allowed OnStar to provide former customers with urgent information about natural disasters and recalls affecting their vehicles even after cancelling their service” the company argues.

OnStar later came back with an announcement that the user could opt out of the tracking service. The mere thought of users being tracked after cancelling an account was enough to make three US Senators angry enough to call on the FCC to investigate. Two of the Senators are Al Franken (D-MN) and Chris Coons (D-DE) who called the tracking of users a violation of basic principles of privacy and fairness.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) raised objections of his own in a letter that he wrote to the FCC calling the new policy by OnStar, “one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory.” Apparently one of the sticking points for the Senators is that the opt out of tracking for the customers cancelling can only be done over the phone. There is apparently no other way to stop them from tracking users and sharing that data for whatever reason they want. The other worry from the Senators is how difficult it is to anonymize the user with this sort of data.

[via ArsTechnica]

Updated with OnStar comment after the cut.

“What’s changed [is that if] you want to cancel your OnStar service, we are going to maintain a two-way connection to your vehicle unless the customer says otherwise” Denison told Wired, billing the decision as a way to make reconnections “easier” down the line. Customers leaving the service will be able to opt-out of the tracking, though they will need to actively communicate that request to OnStar (and, presumably, read the privacy policy in the first place to know that’s a requirement).

“We may use the information we collect about you and your Vehicle to improve the quality of our Service and offerings and may share the information we collect with law enforcement or other public safety officials, credit card processors and/or third parties we contract with who conduct joint marketing initiatives with OnStar” Updated privacy policy

Some of OnStar’s potential applications for the data do, on the surface, seem reasonable. The company has suggested that crowd-aggregated location and speed data could be used by city planners to better organize their road networks, monitoring peak hour traffic and improving layouts and maintenance schedules to minimize delays.

However, the scope of OnStar’s new possibilities with user data has been highlighted, with forensic scientist Jonathan Zdziarski pointing out that a new addition to the policy allows the company “to collect any data for any purpose.” OnStar makes clear it can sell personalized data with GM, its affiliates, dealers, “joint marketing” third parties and others, while anonymized data (“including location, speed, and safety belt usage”) can be shared or sold to third parties “for any purpose.”

The new terms will go into effect in December 2011. You can see the new OnStar privacy policy here [pdf link].

Update: OnStar’s VP of Subscriber Services, Joanne Finnorn, has given us the following statement. One of the parts we’re particularly pleased to see is that the company will apparently notify users canceling their subscriptions about the tracking, rather than expecting them to know about it from reviewing the privacy policy themselves.

“OnStar has and always will give our customers the choice in how we use their data. We’ve also been very open with our customers about changes in services and privacy terms.

“Under our new Terms and Conditions, when a customer cancels service, we have informed customers that OnStar will maintain a two-way connection to their vehicle unless they ask us not to do so. In the future, this connection may provide us with the capability to alert vehicle occupants about severe weather conditions such as tornado warnings or mandatory evacuations. Another benefit for keeping this connection “open” could be to provide vehicle owners with any updated warranty data or recall issues.

“Of course, if the customer requests us to turn off the two-way connection, we will do as we have always done, and that is honor customers’ requests.

“Our guiding practices regarding sharing our subscribers’ personal information have not changed. We are always very specific about with whom we share customers’ personal information, and how they will use it. We have never sold any personally identifiable information to any third party.

“Keeping the two-way connection open will also allow OnStar to capture general vehicle information that could be used in future product development.

“We apologize for creating any confusion about our Terms and Conditions. We want to make sure we are as clear with our customers as possible, but it’s apparent that we have failed to do this. As always, we are listening to our subscribers’ feedback and we will continue to be open to their suggestions and concerns.”

The app also allow the user to shoot an address from their contact list to the car and it supports voice search so the user doesn’t have to type. Once the destination is sent to the car, it can be accessed via the OnStar turn-by-turn nav system or though the vehicles integrated nav system. As soon as the destination is activated, it will be ready to go inside the car at startup.

The updated version of the app is available right now on the Android Market and iTunes. You have to be driving a RemoteLink compatible vehicle for the app to work, check with OnStar to find out if your vehicle is compatible. I suspect only more recent models will work with RemoteLink.

[via Android Community]

Family Link is a service that subscribers can sign up for that allows others to locate their vehicle and sign up for location alerts. The pilot program is by invitation only and will run through the end of this year. What the program does is allows the subscribers to log into the Family Link website and view the map to see where the vehicle is at any time.

The subscriber can set up email or text notifications to let them know where the vehicle is at any time of the day and they can change the frequency of the alerts. The idea is interesting and would let parents keep an eye on kids on the way to college. A family member unable to go on a road trip could see where their family was at any given time rather than worry something might have happened to them. The information provided will tell the address the vehicle is near and can show the speed the vehicle is traveling.