All roads lead to apps seems to be the theme here at CES, and two Ford announcements today underscore that trend. The first, a Sync AppLink-enabled NPR News app, allows fans of National Public Radio to now get their favorite shows on demand and create custom playlists -- all with hands-free functionality. The Blue Oval is playing it smart here given that new studies like a recent Arbitron & Edison report show drivers are increasingly using wireless data connections to stream their favorite programs while on the road.
The big story here is popular content (NPR has 34 million listeners) delivered with minimal driver distraction. Using both voice prompts and custom steering wheel controls, the new Sync-integrated app gives you access to multiple layers of programming. Need to catch up on breaking news? Just say "Hourly News" at the voice prompt. If you're looking for something more entertaining you can say "Programs" to catch the latest celebrity profile on Fresh Air or practice your best Boston accent and call up Car Talk. Even better, there is a timeshifting element here, similar to what you experience on DVRs like Tivo. Get your Car Talk fix on a Thursday night for example, as all programming is available 24/7 (if a local station is playing the requested program, the app will grab the live stream, if not, a pre-recorded stream plays).
User choice is key to the new app, as you can also get local news from across the entire NPR network. Using the app's "Stations" command lets you listen to a favorite affiliate and even offers the option to assign the station a preset from the car radio.
More options include making voice-prompt selections based solely on topics like Science or Politics and even the ability to create a playlist of popular shows on a smartphone before a trip for use while driving.
And if you want to hear that pointed political barb again or skip that world music track, the app features pause, skip, and advance functions coupled with the ability to go back to an earlier point in the story, or to an earlier story.
Navigating the airwaves isn't the only app solution Ford announced today. Bumping up their personal navigation game, Ford's Sync AppLink will now be paired with Scout by Telenav, which also debuted at the show today.
Scout for Ford Sync Applink is multi-featured, cross-platform solution designed to give drivers high levels of personalization and diminish data-driven headaches. That’s because although the app may be new, we all know the driver for this solution: The familiar hassle of getting one set of data –whether that's directions, POIs, or playlists – from devices like a smartphone or desktop computer and having to port them individually to a vehicle.
In use, Drivers just connect their Scout-enabled smartphone in their Ford vehicle for a built-in navigation system experience, but without the high price tag. Navigation aids such as turn-by-turn directions are then channeled through the car's speakers as well as visible on the vehicle's center stack display. Scout comes to the party with a broad integrated feature set that includes many we’ve seen separately in other apps before. Some of the most notable include My Dashboard, which gives users the best drive-times for commutes and trips; My Traffic for real-time traffic data, and My Favorites, where selected POIs can be stored.
Of course one of the most critical features here is voice control, which allows drivers to safely access the full range of functions and stay on the right side of the law at the same time.
Scout is currently available in the Apple® iTunes Store and at www.scout.me. Scout for Ford Sync AppLink will be available in the U.S. later this year.
Eric Hiss -- Contributor
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