A wireless communications system and method adapted for use in automotive
applications for enabling automatic, high-speed, wireless voice and/or
data communications link to be established between a wide variety of
external devices and various electronic subsystems of a vehicle. The
apparatus includes first and second RF transceivers which are operated in
accordance with a communications specification to enable a seamless,
automatic communications link to be created when the two RF transceivers
come within a pre-determined proximity of one another, for example,
within up to 100 meters of one another. Information from one device is
then automatically transmitted over the wireless communications link to
the other device. In various implementations the apparatus is used to
obtain information from a home PC, a work PC, a notebook PC and various
other electronic devices, as well as information from the Internet, which
is displayed and/or played back for the user by various subsystems of the
vehicle while traveling in the vehicle. Other applications involving
retail and manufacturing applications are disclosed by which the
apparatus is used to facilitate and/or expedite manufacturing processes
or retail transactions via one or more high-speed, secure, wireless
communications links which are created automatically and seamlessly
between the RF transceivers of the apparatus of the invention.