Ford and Microsoft announced
their Sync partnership back in January, and there are a number of competing initiatives from other vehicle manufacturers and aftermarket companies already underway. Businessweek
provides us a sense of the market's potential appetite for these products and has a nice slideshow of other systems that are coming soon. The Sync concept is intriguing because it has the potential to become a platform rather than just a nice feature that is bound to your car. Sync, at least in name, recognizes the value of personal data and content. I'll be eager to learn more - particularly if it will be open to multiple platforms or just Microsoft-friendly ones. There is a positive early indication from PC World's Techblog , who reports that Sync will recognize music protected with Apple's FairPlay Digital Rights Management System. Compatibility with FairPlay-protected music means that songs purchased through the iTunes music store will be able to play through Sync-enabled systems.
I'll wait to see how seamless that integration actually is, but for now I'm interested. What kind of content or device would you want to Sync with your next vehicle?
carlisimo says:
04:00 PM, 02/ 9/07
If it works with my TI-85 I'll be thrilled!
estreka says:
04:15 PM, 02/ 9/07
lol
I'd hope it has voice recognition. I'd sync my phone and PDA up. I'd also use my MuRo (predecessor to the iPod and Windows-based).
gmguy111 says:
09:42 PM, 02/ 9/07
if that thing can work with my latop or my old samsung X95 phone i'd be happy
ateixeira says:
10:46 AM, 02/12/07
It should synch with my BlackBerry, my portable GPS, and some sort of MP3 player. Preferably a device from the future that does all 3 of those tasks.
hondacura4 says:
03:17 PM, 02/12/07
Why cant Ford put this kind of innovation in all areas of the vehicle?