Got a SYNC-tastic Ford from 2011 onwards? Then you’ll find that the latest update (G1 V3.2.2) to the dash software will let you listen to your smartphone’s incoming emails and SMS messages via the car’s audio system, thanks to the inclusion of Bluetooth MAP (Message Access Profile). We’ve already seen the tech running in BMW’s iDrive dash system and in MyFord Touch-equipped cars too, so the news here is just a wider roll-out to a bigger range of vehicles — but we’ll welcome anything that keeps more eyes on the prize. Read the full PR after the break and then enter your VIN at the More Coverage link below to see if you’re eligible.
Continue reading Ford brings Bluetooth text message readouts to more SYNC vehicles
Ford brings Bluetooth text message readouts to more SYNC vehicles originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, after the termination of 50 Cent’s alignment with Sleek, it was only a matter time before the rapper’s SMS Audio company filled the void. (After all, how do you know your cans are quality if they haven’t been endorsed by a man who was shot nine times and survived.) We don’t know when the wireless SYNC by 50 headphones will arrive or how much they’ll cost, but you can bet the part-time actor and entrepreneur will be making the rounds, trying to sell us on the 40mm driver, 50-foot range, “professionally tuned digital EQ” and noise cancellation. While the integrated music controls are nice, our favorite feature might be the ability to connect four sets of SYNCs to the same source. Check out the gallery below and a few choice specs from the data sheet after the break.
Gallery: SYNC by 50
Continue reading Fiddy Cent gets into the headphone game with SYNC by 50, countdown to Ford lawsuit begins… now
Fiddy Cent gets into the headphone game with SYNC by 50, countdown to Ford lawsuit begins… now originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Today at the TechCrunch Hackathon, Ford, the second largest automaker in the U.S., teamed with Spotify, the fast-growing Swedish music service that recently arrived in the states, to demonstrate the current opportunities for in-car app innovation as well as the new voice-activated Ford SYNC system. Just to clarify: This isn’t an “official partnership”, it’s just a cool hack meant to demonstrate how easy it is to integrate with SYNC. For those unfamiliar, Ford SYNC is the in-vehicle communications and entertainment system that allows drivers to make hands-free phone calls, as well as control music and other in-car entertainment with their very own vocal chords. SYNC recently added integration with AppLink (in 2011 Ford Fiestas for now) to allow hands-free use of smartphone apps in the car.
At Hackathon today, Ford offered developers the opportunity to learn more about SYNC’s API and demonstrate how to integrate apps like Spotify into SYNC. This is Spotify’s first in-car integration, and it’s still an initial hack, but it’s a pretty good start. We’re hoping this becomes a long-term Ford/Spotify strategy.
The tremendous growth of smartphone apps has created the need and the opportunity to provide the same voice-controlled solution for apps that drivers are now using in the car — but it also has to stay safe. “Look ma no hands!” is never something you want to hear while in a car with someone. SYNC provides users, through voice assistance, with the ability to easily control their car’s multimedia and app functions, and at at the Hackathon today Spotify is on board in the passenger seat.
According to Julius Marchwicki, the SYNC AppLink program manager, TC Hackathon was the perfect place to launch to give developers the information they need on Ford’s new API and SDK to get developers hacking on in-car entertainment and app goodness.
So just what’s possible for developers with SYNC AppLink at this point in its development? When working with SYNC-enabled smartphone apps, developers are able to create a voice user interface using SYNC’s in-vehicle speech recognition system, write information to the radio head display or in-vehicle touch screen, using the text-to-speech engine, the in-vehicle meny system to provide commands for their mobile app, and vehicle data, like speed, GPS location, and fuel economy. All good stuff to know, and it’s nice to see Ford, a company that didn’t look so hot a few years ago, getting in on the innovation train.
SYNC AppLink will be available in 10 models (of Ford vehicles) beginning in 2012, including Ford Fusion, the Fusion Hybrid, Mustang, Shelby, Fiesta, F-150, and more.
Excerpt image courtesy of Intelematics Today
Crunchbase
- SPOTIFY
- FORD
Spotify has created a lightweight software application that allows instant listening to specific tracks or albums with virtually no buffering delay. It was launched in the fall of 2008 and had approximately 10 million users by September 2010.
Spotify offers streaming music from major and independent record labels including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Users download Spotify and then log onto their service enabling the on-demand streaming of music. Music can be browsed by artist, album, record…
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Company: Ford Website:
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Ford’s been pushing SYNC in its autos since 2007, but you wouldn’t have known it had you opted for the base trim level on your ride. Thankfully for those who appreciate the basics, that’s a-changing. The automaker is aiming to entice more potential owners by offering the voice-activated infotainment systems across all levels for $ 295 (down from $ 395, where optional), starting with its 2012 Edge and Explorer models. To sweeten the deal even further, it’ll also become standard on SEL variants for the first time — before, it was a luxury previously reserved for Limited and Sport. Ford plans to roll out the system across its entire lineup in three years time, bringing the 2013 Ford Taurus, Focus, Escape and Flex into the fold. You know, options for all of you who aren’t hip on the all-American, gas-guzzling SUV. Full PR past the break.
Continue reading Ford bringing SYNC systems to base trim levels, drops from $ 395 to $ 295
Ford bringing SYNC systems to base trim levels, drops from $ 395 to $ 295 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The strange, sterile Second Life type world of Playstation Home has been missing something. No, not a soul or anything like that. It’s been missing virtual car dealerships. And Ford decided it was time that particular problem was addressed.
Yes, a Ford dealership is now open in the world of Playstation Home. The zero square foot facility will house electronic replicas of the Ford Edge and Ford Focus, two cars you are of course extremely unlikely to see on the street or at a real-life retailer. Strangely, despite there being almost literally infinite space available, only these two cars are available for examination.
Look around your Home area and I’m sure you’ll find your way there sooner or later. You can win a Ford t-shirt if you have skillz.
Chevy had the whole “Heartbeat of America” thing cornered in the 80s, but now its Ford’s turn to get in on the action. The car maker’s European research team unveiled a prototype car seat capable of monitoring a driver’s heart courtesy of six embedded electrodes, which can take measurements without coming in direct contact with skin. The technology, the latest in a recent string of health-related in-vehicle concepts from the company, can detect whether the driver is having a heart attack and transmit that information to the vehicle’s safety system. According to the researchers, the system is already highly accurate in its prototype state, making correct readings for 98 percent of drive time with 95 percent of the drivers tested. For more information on the system, check the video and press release after the break.
Continue reading Ford car seat prototype keeps its sensors on your heart, so you can keep your eyes on the road
Ford car seat prototype keeps its sensors on your heart, so you can keep your eyes on the road originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 23:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Welcome to the latest episode of the The Engadget Show, in which we change things up just a little bit. Everything starts with a trip to the New Mexico desert for a ride on the Shredder, love child of a tank and a skateboard. Next, Tim and Associate Editor Jacob Schulman sit down with RIM’s Ryan Biden to talk about the BlackBerry PlayBook. Then, Tim has a chat with Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally about the future of transportation, and just what’ll be driving you in to work in 20 years.
After that, Engadget founder Peter Rojas joins Tim and Managing Editor Darren Murph to look at a plethora of tablets. Favorites are chosen, lines are drawn, and allegiances pledged. There’s also talk of Amazon’s next play in the tablet space, the death of Flip, and what’s up next for GDGT.
It’s an action-packed show and it’s ready for you. What are you waiting for? Watch it now! The video stream is above, or download the show in HD below!
Hosts: Tim Stevens, Darren Murph, Jacob Schulman Special guests: Ryan Biden, Alan Mulally, Peter Rojas Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger Edited by: Danny Madden Music by: Sabrepulse Visuals by: Paris and Outpt
Shredder segment music: Minusbaby
Taped live at AOL Studios
Download the Show: The Engadget Show – 020 (HD) / The Engadget Show – 020 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show – 020 (Small)
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The Engadget Show – 020: RIM’s Ryan Biden, GDGT’s Peter Rojas, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, lots of tablets, Shredder test-drive originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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So, you saw a Volt, Leaf, or Focus Electric and were convinced to go green, but are unsure whether your local municipality is as eco-friendly as you are. Well, Ford has done your homework for you (without even demanding your lunch money in return), and identified the “25 Most Electric Vehicle-Ready Cities” in the US. What makes a metropolis worthy of such status in the eyes of the Blue Oval boys? A utilities structure that allows off-peak charging, for starters, plus reduced red tape for getting your EV permits and inspections, incentives for offsetting up-front customer costs, urban plans for charging infrastructure, and EV-friendly city advisory committees. If your town’s lacking in those areas, perhaps it’s time to give your city counsel a ring — part of being an eco-warrior is political activism, right? PR’s after the break.
Continue reading Ford makes list of the 25 most EV-friendly cities, still likes selling cars to residents elsewhere
Ford makes list of the 25 most EV-friendly cities, still likes selling cars to residents elsewhere originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 20:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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SoundManCarAudio.com Check out the new iPad 2 become the sickest vehicle navigation system. Doug Bernards takes a brand new Ford F150 and guts the Microsoft Sync system, and replaces it with a fresh iPad 2. To see more iPad installations, watch our “Amplified” web show. Facetime video conferencing in your car. Video Rating: 4 / 5
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With it being ordered in 80 percent of its 2011 models, SYNC’s been a boon to Ford’s bottom line, but it’s not all peaches and cream for the Dearborn crew’s connectivity platform. Our friends at Autoblog are reporting that the second generation of the infotainment software has a nasty little habit of restarting itself when something goes wrong with one of the applications. Doesn’t sound like such a big deal, except these automatic reboots take several minutes (an eternity if you’re relying on the GPS to get you around), and the system tends to misplace your indexed music and linked phone info while fixing itself. Apparently, the only other way to deal with such glitches is to take afflicted autos to a dealer for a full-on software reinstall or reinitialization — why Ford and Microsoft went the Ctrl-Alt-Delete route instead of finding a more user-friendly solution, we’ll probably never know. The Blue Oval boys claim that Autoblog’s experience was atypical, but have nonetheless rolled out software updates to alleviate the problems. Hopefully, it’s enough to stop SYNC systems from doing the Force Close dance.
SYNC’s second version off to a buggy start, Ford fixes with Ctrl-Alt-Delete originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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