“This next step forward with Toyota is just one more way we are demonstrating our commitment to connect the devices and power the services that are important to consumers,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, in a statement. The two companies said they will develop and deploy telematics applications on the Windows Azure platform, starting with Toyota’s electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012. Toyota says the cars will play a big part in “smart centers,” the onboard systems “capable of better managing overall energy consumption of cars and homes.”
