Abstract: A technique for providing management of a motor vehicle information system includes a number of steps. Initially, a wake-up message is received from a portable transmitter. In general, the wake-up message, unique to the portable transmitter, is provided responsive to user activation of a button that is electrically coupled to the portable transmitter. Next, it is determined whether power capability of the motor vehicle is adequate responsive to receipt of the wake-up message. When the motor vehicle power capability is adequate, power is provided to a wireless interface, a vehicle information system and a mass storage device, all of which are located within the motor vehicle. Information is then received via the wireless interface and stored in the mass storage device, when the power capability of the motor vehicle is adequate.

Abstract: A multi-context speech recognition system includes a device for providing phrase based speech recognition and keyword based speech recognition from a single user utterance. A first speech recognition engine coupled to a phrase based dictionary is used for searching out matches between the utterance and one or more entries in the phrase based dictionary. A second speech engine is coupled to a keyword based dictionary for searching out matches between the utterance and one or more entries found in a keyword based dictionary.

Abstract: A vehicle navigation system uses a simple graphic user interface (GUI) to display a route formed by a sequence of route segments. At any given time, the vehicle navigation system displays a single route segment, defined either as the distance between consecutive turn points or as a fixed distance. The vehicle navigation system also displays a graphic representation of the vehicle. The user can scroll backward and forward through the sequence of route segments using a simple control, such as a knob or a keypad. As a result, the user can view the entire route easily without having to mentally adjust to different frames of reference, such as between an overview map and a detailed map.