Any worries that the incoming Land Rover Defender might not be up to the cutting-edge latest in terms of tech will surely have been dispelled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where the SUV's family showed off the dual-eSIM connectivity package.
Twin LTE modems
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is claiming that the Defender is the first vehicle with two embedded LTE modems for enhanced connectivity, while the Pivi Pro touchscreen infotainment will be seen in all JLR products going forward - it is said to share electronic hardware with the latest smartphones, for instance.
Pivi Pro will also let customers make use of the Defender's software-over-the-air (SOTA) technology, without compromising its ability to stream music and connect to apps on the move. Pivi Pro will be presented on a ten-inch high-resolution touchscreen, while two mobile devices can be connected to the head unit of the infotainment at the same time - meaning the driver and passenger can both enjoy hands-free functionality, without swapping connections.
Pivi Pro 'like a brain'
Peter Virk, director of Connected Car and Future Technology at JLR, said: "With one LTE modem and eSIM dedicated to the SOTA technology, and the same set-up looking after music streaming and apps, the new Defender has the digital capacity to keep customers connected, updated and entertained at all times anywhere in the world. You could liken the design to a brain, with each half enjoying its own connection for unrivalled and uninterrupted service. Like the brain, one side of the system looks after logical functions, like SOTA, while the other takes care of more creative tasks."
Land Rover further says that Pivi Pro has its own battery, so the system is 'always on' and therefore responds immediately upon start-up. None of that waiting for the infotainment to 'boot up', as you get on some other vehicles, which is nice.