iPhone you control my car - if it is a Mercedes-Benz

There’s an App for that, at least if you drive a Mercedes-Benz (like a certain handicap-parking, barcode license plate having CEO we know), which has teamed up with Hughes Telematics to offer a new system that lets drivers of the luxury cars enable “dozens of their vehicles features” - using an iPhone.

The mbrace app lets you open and close doors, contact roadside assistance - even find your Mercedes-Benz in a parking lot. This system’s going to be included on all new Mercedes products, while existing customers with the car maker’s Tele Aid system installed are eligible to retrofit their motor with the new mbrace system ($280/year).

Sascha Simon, director of advanced product planning at the firm said, "With mbrace, we begin the introduction of a whole new generation of innovative and personalized services that fit our drivers' mobile lifestyles, keeping them connected to the people, places and services that are important to them and offering them enhanced safety, security and navigation options. Most importantly, the flexibility of Hughes Telematics' architecture will also allow us to continually add new features and innovations that will keep Mercedes-Benz on the forefront of in-vehicle services."

The system also works with BlackBerry devices.

The standard mbrace safety and security features include: Automatic Collision Notification; SOS/Emergency Calling; Safe Ride; Roadside Assistance Connection (in-vehicle and mobile application); Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance; Automatic Alarm Notification; Vehicle Information and Crisis Assist.

Navigation services include a Search & Send feature. Standard convenience features include: Remote Door Unlock and Lock (remote application), Vehicle Finder (via mobile application), and Dealer Connect (mobile application).

A premium service -- mbrace PLUS -- adds such features as Location-Based Weather, Location-Based Traffic, agent-assisted Route Assistance, Point-of-Interest Destination Download (through agent), and "Mercedes-Benz Concierge," which functions much as a hotel concierge making restaurant reservations, locating stores and services, cash wire assistance, etc.