Posts Tagged ‘infotainment’
New "Heat Map" app can find night club, restaurant, shopping hot spots.
by Joseph Szczesny on May.15, 2013
Mercedes will demonstrate a variety of new Google-based infotainment apps and functions at the Google I/O conference.
The typical new car is likely to have as many digital processors onboard as the average home – and advanced technology, especially infotainment apps, have become a key differentiator between brands. That’s especially true in the luxury segment. Just ask Mercedes-Benz.
The German maker is expanding its relationship with Silicon Valley by demonstrating a variety of new apps and services at Google I/O, the technology giant’s annual conference for software and app developers. Among the apps it will show off, the new “Heat Map” can find night club, restaurant and shopping hot spots.
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Mercedes-Benz is the featured developer at this year’s event where it is demonstrating the Drive Kit Plus, a system which enables the seamless integration of a smartphone into the vehicle’s infotainment architecture.
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Tags: auto news, car news, google io, in car apps, infotainment, joe szczesny, mercedes comand, mercedes google, mercedes heat map, mercedes smartphones, mercedes-benz apps, mercedes-benz news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
A car that thinks it's an app.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.19, 2013
The iBeetle will go on sale in early 2014.
The iPhone has become an integral part of life for many folks these days, so perhaps it should come as no surprise it will soon “become an integrated component” in what Volkswagen has dubbed the iBeetle which is making its debut this coming weekend at the Shanghai Motor Show.
The modified Bug will feature a specially developed app and docking station and serves as a preview of new versions of the Beetle and Beetle Convertible that Volkswagen plans to launch early next year.
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Motorists will either be able to link their iPhone and iBeetle through an app or the special docking station to access a range of infotainment features, including navigation, hands-free calling, music and more, Volkswagen says.
Among the initial iPhone apps that the iBeetle can handle are: (more…)
Tags: auto news, car news, ibeetle, ibeetle convertible, infotainment, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, volkswagen ibeetle, volkswagen news, vw apple, vw ibeetle, vw news
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
Maker hopes to improve owner satisfaction with latest high-tech features.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.15, 2013
A Ford customer checks out some video "snacks."
If you’ve bought a new car over the last several years, chances are it’s been a challenge trying to learn all the new features, whether pairing a cellphone, using voice commands to program in a destination or setting up one of the new safety systems such as active cruise control.
Now, add the fact that dealers often have a hard time explaining the latest technology and you can understand why high-tech features have become the single-biggest source of complaints about today’s new vehicles, according to surveys by J.D. Power and Associates and other third-party researchers.
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That’s prompted Ford Motor Co. to launch a new service designed to help familiarize customers with the numerous features on their vehicles – something the maker has dubbed “video snacks.” The idea is to give a new owner a place to go to check out short, online videos that allow them to review or learn about such features as MyFordTouch, remote start or blind-spot mirrors.
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Tags: MyFordTouch, auto news, car news, ford news, ford sync, ford video snacks, high-tech cars, infotainment, jd power customer satisfaction, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
New study finds motorists want connected cars – and also want to shop more online.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Mar.26, 2013
Motorists want their cars to deliver the sort of connected technologies they already have in homes, offices and on smartphones.
Automakers who want to connect with their customers have to make sure they offer the latest in connected car technology, according to a new study.
Buyers don’t want to differentiate between what technology they can access behind the wheel from what they already have in their homes, offices – or on their smartphones, according to a report by consulting firm Capgemini.
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That extends to the buying process, the study of 8,000 consumers from eight countries revealed. Buyers are more and more focused on the web when it comes to gathering information on the vehicles they’re likely to buy. And dealers and manufacturers who don’t embrace that – and respond quickly to online shoppers – will likely lose sales.
“Especially for young buyers, this is what pulls them in,” Michael Boruszok, vice president of Capgemini’s automotive practice, tells TheDetroitBureau.com.
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Tags: auto news, auto trends, capgemini, car news, carsharing, connected cars, consumers delay car buying, in-car internet, infotainment, millennial car buyers, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, smartphones cars, thedetroitbureau
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by Joseph Szczesny on Mar.07, 2013
GM is already staffing up three other "Innovation Centers," like this one in Austin, Texas.
The ongoing search for high-tech talent, which is critical for an era in which cars will serve as mobile hot spots, talk to one another and drive themselves, has led General Motors to Arizona.
GM said it plans to hire 1,000 high-tech employees to staff an Information Technology Innovation Center Chander, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, over the next three to five years.
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Over the past year, GM has announced similar moves for innovation centers in Austin, Texas; Roswell, Georgia; and Warren, Michigan, as the centerpieces of a strategy to bring high-value IT work in-house to support the business transformation underway.
The new GM policy announced last spring reversed more than three decades of outsourcing where IT work was routinely handed over to outside suppliers such as EDS and HP.
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Tags: GM it, auto news, car news, general motors, gm hewlett packard, gm hires, gm ho, gm information technology, gm jobs, gm news, infotainment, joe szczesny, software development, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
Connected cars will offer infotainment, safety advantages.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.25, 2013
GM will become the latest - and largest -- maker to offer broadband access in "most" of its vehicles.
General Motors will partner with AT&T to offer embedded 4G Internet access in “most” of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. and Canada starting next year, the maker announced during a mobile communications conference in Spain this morning.
An early leader in so-called “connected car” services with its OnStar system, GM sees a number of advantages in tapping into AT&T’s 4G LTE wireless service, promising it will expand the range of infotainment options motorists will have while also providing the potential to use the broadband service to improve vehicle safety.
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Among other things, passengers will be able to tap into a WiFi hot spot that can handle up to eight different cellphones, table and laptop computers and other devices.
“In addition to allowing consumers to bring in and connect to personal mobile devices, the vehicle will also act as its own mobile device, enabling embedded vehicle capabilities,” said Mary Chan, president, Global Connected Consumer, General Motors.
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Tags: GM OnStar, audi wifi, auto news, car news, connected car, gm att, gm news, hi-speed internet, in-car wifi, incar broadband, infotainment, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, wifi
Posted in Automobiles | 6 Comments »
Automakers hope to turn the car into a digital showpiece.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jan.08, 2013
Ford Chief Technology Officer Paul Masarenas at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.
Want your friends to get a Glympse of what you’re up to? That’s easy if you’re using the Glympse smartphone app and driving a Ford product equipped with the maker’s latest-generation Sync infotainment system. With the touch of a button and a simple voice command, the technology will allow a driver to send out a bulletin alerting friends where you are – and where you’re heading.
“We’re providing drivers with a rich, real-time and hands-free way to share where they are,” explains Brian Bryan Trussel, the CEO of Glympse, which is showing off its new software – and its partnership with Ford at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
CES is the largest trade show in the country and this year organizers are reporting record turnout at an even featuring 3,250 exhibitors spread out across 1.9 million square feet of exhibition space at the Las Vegas Convention Center. And that doesn’t include spin-off gatherings scattered all across Sin City.
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Traditionally, the show has focused on televisions, audio systems, computers and smartphones, but in recent years automotive technology has come to play a more important role. More than a dozen different automakers have staked out a presence at the 2013 CES, along with scores of hardware suppliers, app makers and other vendors looking to make inroads into the transportation industry.
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Tags: 2013 ces, Consumer Electronics Show, audi ces, auto electronics, auto news, autonomous cars, autos ces, car news, chrysler ces, consumer electronics, ford CES, hyundai ces, in-car entertainment, infotainment, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, toyota ces
Posted in Automobiles | 2 Comments »
Maker remains committed to MyFordTouch despite problems.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Dec.19, 2012
Ford Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields insists recent quality problems are "isolated incidents."
Ford has long claimed that “Quality is Job 1,” though it has taken a drubbing in recent months for some nagging problems that have seen it tumble on quality and reliability surveys.
The maker intends to aggressively address such “isolated incidents,” Ford’s new Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields insists. That notably includes the maker’s Sync and MyFordTouch infotainment technologies which have come in for some of the sharpest criticism. But Ford will also have to deal with a variety of other problems that have seen some of its newest models repeatedly recalled in recent months, including a variety of recalls.
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“We’ve had a few issues,” acknowledges Fields, who until a few weeks ago served as Ford’s President of the Americas. “When we see a problem we go at it proactively to address the issue as quickly as possible.”
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Tags: Ford, Ford Escape, Mark Fields, MyFordTouch, auto news, car news, ford escape recall, ford fusion recall, ford news, ford quality, ford recalls, ford sync, infotainment, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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Maker adds iPhone voice-activated system to three small cars.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Nov.27, 2012
Chevrolet will integrate Apple's voice-activated Siri personal assistant into three of its small car models.
General Motors is getting Siri-ous about its voice-activated infotainment technology. The maker plans to introduce the Apple iPhone’s popular voice-activated personal assistant technology on three of its Chevrolet models early next year.
The technology will allow a motorist to do many of the things already found in older, less advanced voice-controlled in-car technologies, such as playing music, switching radio stations or plugging in a destination. But Siri was designed to go even further, providing access to an iPhone contact, for example, or checking or adding appointments and even finding a local business, store or restaurant.
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“Safe, easy, reliable and portable connectivity is a top priority for our customers and Siri complements MyLink’s existing capabilities to help deliver an incredible driving experience,” said Cristi Landy, Chevrolet’s small car marketing director, referring to the brand’s current infotainment technology.
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Tags: Jim Farley, apple siri, auto news, car news, chevrolet mylink, chevrolet news, chevrolet siri, chevy news, ford sync, infotainment, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, siri chevy, siri chevymylink, thedetroitbureau
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Live operator assist will be included with new Lincolns.
by Joseph Szczesny on Nov.09, 2012
New Lincoln models, such as the 2013 MKZ, will get an expanded suite of Sync Services, including live operator support, free for three years.
Despite some persistent carping about the system’s effectiveness and ease of use, Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft are celebrating the fifth anniversary of the partnership which spawned the groundbreaking Sync voice-activated infotainment system.
With over 5 million Ford vehicles in the market using the technology – but with complaints leading to recent declines in quality and customer satisfaction surveys – Ford says it will stick with Sync and related systems like MyFordTouch, but also find ways to improve the usability of those technologies.
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It will also offer more features, Ford announcing that it will now offer three years of Sync Services — the upgraded version that provides live operator assist – on all 2013 Lincoln models. That notably includes the all-new Lincoln MKZ.
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Tags: Lincoln Sync, auto news, bmw idrive, car news, ford microsoft, ford microsoft sync, ford news, ford sync, infotainment, joe szczesny, lincoln news, lincoln sync live operators, sync services, sync turns 5, telematics, thedetroitbureau, toyota entune
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