Smartphones, MP3 players, tablets, laptops, netbooks--modern consumers never leave the house without more electronics than Robocop. We're addicted to using and spending money on mobile devices, which might explain why automakers lately can't stop trying to capture some of that trillion-dollar market for themselves. To wit: Today Microsoft and Toyota announced a strategic partnership to build the "ultimate 'mobile device.'" Touted as a 1 billion yen investment in Toyota Media Service (a lot more catchy than saying $12 million), the partnership will have both companies team up to build a global cloud platform to support next-gen telematics in Toyota's hybrid and plug-in vehicles
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