The invention relates to a method for operating a communication system, comprising the steps: Providing a chip card, in particular a SIM card, in a communication device of a motor vehicle, said chip card including a user identification for dialing into at least one mobile communication network; storing a device identification of a mobile phone in the communication device of the motor vehicle; establishing a mobile communication link between the mobile phone and the communication device of the motor vehicle using the user identification stored on the chip card if a predetermined activation action has been detected on the mobile phone and it has been determined that the device identification of the mobile phone is stored in the communication device of the motor vehicle. The invention furthermore relates to a communication system.

An information display system for a vehicle is provided. The information display system includes a steering wheel including a ring portion and a upper opening region within the ring portion, an instrument cluster arrangement positioned forward of the steering wheel and including one or more gauges positioned such that at least a portion of the one or more gauges is visible through the upper opening region of the steering wheel, a holder configured to receive a handheld device, the holder being positioned adjacent to the one or more gauges such that the handheld device being placed on the holder is visible through the upper opening region, and an electronic control unit configured to communicate with the handheld device positioned in the holder to display information associated with the vehicle on the handheld device.

According to one aspect of one embodiment of the present invention, a safety control system for using applications in vehicles, includes, a communication device having at least one of an input accessible from within the vehicle and an output communicated within the vehicle, at least one sensor operable to sense at least one condition related to vehicle operation, and data about distraction features of a running application, to and a controller communicated with the sensor and the communication device to selectively suppress at least one of said input and said output in response to a sensed parameter of said at least one condition being outside of a threshold. When an input is suppressed, the driver is prevented from accessing or inputting information into the communication device. When an output is suppressed, communication between the device and the driver of a vehicle is suppressed to, among other things, avoid distracting the driver during certain driving situations or conditions relating to the driver, vehicle and/or environment.

According to one aspect of one embodiment of the present invention, a safety control system for using applications in vehicles, includes, a communication device having at least one of an input accessible from within the vehicle and an output communicated within the vehicle, at least one sensor operable to sense at least one condition related to vehicle operation, and data about distraction features of a running application, to and a controller communicated with the sensor and the communication device to selectively suppress at least one of said input and said output in response to a sensed parameter of said at least one condition being outside of a threshold. When an input is suppressed, the driver is prevented from accessing or inputting information into the communication device. When an output is suppressed, communication between the device and the driver of a vehicle is suppressed to, among other things, avoid distracting the driver during certain driving situations or conditions relating to the driver, vehicle and/or environment.

A communication system includes a first device configured to transmit a signal to each of a first transmission path and a second transmission path provided within a vehicle, a control device configured to control an in-vehicle device on the basis of the signal transmitted to the second transmission path and transmit a signal indicating a result of control to a third transmission path, and a second device configured to detect a fraud state in the vehicle by performing a comparison on the basis of first information included in the signal received from the first transmission path and second information included in the signal received from the third transmission path.

In an example, the mobile device may be configured to determine whether to authorize a request for the vehicle head unit to utilize a resource of the mobile device. The mobile device may be configured to utilize a proxy of the mobile device to establish a connection with a destination in response to determining to authorize the request.

In embodiments of the present invention, a virtual phone is provided which includes a touch screen mounted on an enclosure that includes a processor, memory, wireless communication port, and a power port. The virtual phone further includes a software application executing on the processor to control image display on the touch screen and emulate features of a handheld device presented in the image in response to a user touching a presented feature. The virtual phone further includes a configuration of a user-specific handheld device that is derived from the user-specific handheld device is stored in a memory that is accessible to the processor; wherein the virtual phone presents a visual representation of the user-specific handheld device on the touch screen based on the configuration.

According to one aspect of one embodiment of the present invention, a safety control system for using applications in vehicles, includes, a communication device having at least one of an input accessible from within the vehicle and an output communicated within the vehicle, at least one sensor operable to sense at least one condition related to vehicle operation, and data about distraction features of a running application, to and a controller communicated with the sensor and the communication device to selectively suppress at least one of said input and said output in response to a sensed parameter of said at least one condition being outside of a threshold. When an input is suppressed, the driver is prevented from accessing or inputting information into the communication device. When an output is suppressed, communication between the device and the driver of a vehicle is suppressed to, among other things, avoid distracting the driver during certain driving situations or conditions relating to the driver, vehicle and/or environment.

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for device control are provided. The apparatus determines that a user equipment (UE) connected to the apparatus receives a call. The apparatus determines a location of the UE. The apparatus adjusts a volume of at least one of a plurality of speakers based on the location of the UE and locations of the plurality of speakers while the UE receives the call.

A vehicle-connected operation system and method includes a vehicle and the mobile device. The vehicle includes an in-vehicle electronic control system activated in response to an ignition start signal, and a vehicle connector coupled to the in-vehicle electronic control system. The mobile device is configured to automatically invoke at least one predefined user function depending on connection or disconnection of the vehicle connector.