Merc decides to let its cars play nicely with Pebble smartwatch

Good news for the very small portion of the population that drives a Mercedes-Benz and owns a Pebble smartwatch. Your two (undoubtedly prized) possessions can now play nicely together.

The German manufacturer built a dedicated app for the watch, following its earlier launch of a Google Glass app. Both of these are clear signs that, rather than trying to build wearables to play nicely with its own infotainment systems Merc is trying to tailor for customers who already have high-end devices in the emergent field.

Its partnership with Pebble does however seem to go a little further than most of its kind. At the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the Pebble will play an important part in the “intelligently networked vehicle” Merc will have on display.

In an official press release, the car maker says the Pebble “unlocks some interesting features” for the connected car:

For example, when away from their vehicle, Mercedes-Benz drivers can review important vehicle information at a glance like fuel level, door-lock status, and vehicle location using their Pebble smart watch, even when they are outside the vehicle.

When you’re in your car meanwhile, Merc reckons that the Pebble will be able to alert you to real-time hazards through V2V technology like accidents, road construction, or stalled vehicles by vibrating the watch.

The app apparently also allows you to do a couple of other things, like activate Siri and control the car’s audio features.