General Motor’s telematic service OnStar has entered into a partnership with The Wall Street Journal Online to provide OnStar subscribers with the latest business news and features while driving.

Beginning in May, the OnStar Virtual Advisor, service delivery platform, will enable customers hands-free and voice-activated access to audio news from The Wall Street Journal Online. Drivers will be able to listen to information from the Journal Online including Page One in Review; Hourly Business Reports; What’s News; Business and Finance; Hourly Market Reports; Heard on the Street Report, and much more.

The Wall Street Journal Online’s partnership with OnStar is just one of many alliances taking place, as the newspaper industry realizes the wide array of opportunities that emerging wireless technologies can offer.

On-line businesses such as The Wall Street Journal probably have the best chance of success in the wireless world. They have established customer relationships and, therefore, can provide content to meet their preferences. In addition, they have the editorial expertise to edit the content into a form suitable for small wireless screens.

At present, The Wall Street Journal along with The New York Times and US Today are feeding news, stock reports, sport scores, and weather to Palm users through AvantGo applications. Reuters is also pushing its news and information services to wireless users via Vodafone’s network. Currently, the news service is working on a financial-news and data delivery project with Ericsson.

Newspapers may find the demand for print copy eroding, but their readers’ appetite for information is strong and healthy. They just want their news served on a different plate, one that is small and more convenient.

For more information: http://www.gm.com/cgi-bin/format_daily_news.pl
(Additional source CNET News)