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Ford offers SYNC TDI update free for 2010 model owners
We've finally got the details on that Ford SYNC refresh we recently warned you about. According to the company, current owners of 2010 vehicles with the device now can download and install the latest TDI (Traffic, Directions and Information) app for free. As mentioned before, the app connects a customer's Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to Ford's Service Delivery Network voice portal for turn-by-turn driving directions, real-time traffic, business searches, news, sports and weather. This bad boy will be available on all 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles equipped with SYNC, $395. The sale price includes service for the first three years. Ready to SYNC your ride? Do you find the phrase "SYNC my ride" as amusing as we do? Hit that read link.
The future of Ford's SYNC starts on May 26, future of US auto industry still uncertain
If you were around for our 2009 CES coverage you might have caught our ears-on demonstration of the future of Ford and Microsoft's SYNC technology, which delivered traffic, directions, and weather over a Bluetooth-tethered handset -- no monthly fee or even a data plan required. It was said the update would be included in 2010 Fords, which is still true, but owners of older models can also get in on the fun with an update coming early next week (installable via thumb drive). That's hot, but even hotter is talk of what's planned for the next update: internet radio, and Pandora is on the short list for hopeful inclusion. Have you streamed in a Ford, lately?Update: As pointed out by commenter ericr34, it actually sounds like owners of earlier SYNC cars may not be able to get in on all this goodness. Here's to hoping that Ford enables pre-recession car buyers to experience the upgrade fun.
Video: Microsoft's new Sync hands, eyes, and ears on
Microsoft's Sync hasn't exactly taken the automotive world by storm, but the updates coming to 2010 Fords seem like they could earn the service a little respect. Microsoft has added a suite of new services including voice-driven news, traffic info, and directions. We got a quick demonstration inside a shiny new Ford Escape, which kindly provided us with directions to the world's 35th-largest hydroelectric dam (you can find your way to the video below). We also got some further details on how the service uses Bluetooth to tether to any handset, downloading content using a voice call so that you can use this completely fee-free -- even if you don't have a data plan. Yes the display is simplistic to say the least, but having access to this kind of functionality without recurring monthly charges (for three years, at least) sounds fantastic to us. %Gallery-41428%
Ford teases the future of Sync, plans to bring disembodied heads to dashboards everywhere
There's plenty of automotive tech on display at CES this year (amps and kickers for miles, dawg) and, while Microsoft is talking up its enhanced Sync for 2010 autos, Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally took an opportunity to direct our gaze a bit further down the road with an interesting demo of what he imagines the rear-view mirror of the future will look like. Ford calls it Emotic Voice Activation, or EVA, basically an integrated AI that can read you your e-mail, check the news, and even, apparently, detect what kind of tunes you're in the mood for. At this point we don't know anything about when or even if this sort of thing will be available in the real world, but, based on the video, we expect EVA to become standard equipment roughly when steering wheels lose their spokes and people actually start pulling over to check their e-mail. Soothing video below.
Sync adds turn-by-turn, traffic reports for some 2010 Fords
Ghost riding a wave of success with the in-car Sync, Ford has unveiled expansions to its Microsoft-fueled communications system. The biggest addition here is turn-by-turn directions and traffic reports (sound familiar?), but it'll also offer news, weather, and sports. The updates will first appear in some 2010 Ford models later this year and will be assimilated into all Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury models by 2011. Services will be free for three years, but no word on the cost after that. Peep the full press release after the break.
We spy Ford's future Sync plans, nab a Sirius Travel Link hands-on
Ford invited us to its swanky Premier Auto Group headquarters in Irvine, California to talk about the future of Sync and demo the latest iteration of their infotainment platform coupled with Sirius Travel Link. According to the company, Sync v2.0 debuts in November, bringing tighter integration with Ford's syncmyride.com portal, providing owners with in-depth online vehicle health reports. Also in the cards is E911 support, which automatically places an emergency call as soon as the vehicle detects airbag deployment. Sync 3, scheduled to debut "sometime in 2009," will bring traffic, news, sports and weather to Ford vehicles without requiring navigation or a monthly subscription. On the infotainment front, however, 2009 Ford vehicles with the navigation option can subscribe to Sirius Travel Link for $7 a month, enabling real-time traffic info, coast to coast weather, local gas station listings sorted by price, movie show-times and sports scores. Peep the gallery below for a smorgasbord of screens.%Gallery-30685%
2010 Ford Fusion features 8.5-inch touchscreen
We already saw a demo of the next-gen version of Ford Sync, but it looks like what we saw was just a taste -- our friends over at Autoblog scored some shots of the 2010 Ford Fusion's interior, and it features a monster 8.5-inch touchscreen, which will also apparently make it into the 2009 F-150 pickup truck. It's not clear how much the system will control or how much it'll cost, but you can bet it's not nearly as sweet as the 1979 Atari Riviera. Hit the read link for a couple full size shots.
Microsoft to bring Sync to other carmakers as Microsoft Auto in November
Our experiences with Microsoft's Sync in Ford cars has been mostly a comedy of voice-recognition errors (we'll never forget our rental at CES blasting NWA in response to "Play artist: David Bowie"), but it looks like other automakers will be able to join in the confusing fun in November, when Microsoft's exclusive contract with Ford runs out. Hyundai and Kia are the first to sign up for what's now being branded Microsoft Auto, and while it's not exactly clear what their versions of the system will look like, you can expect the same basic features as Sync, as well as some new capabilities like navigation and emergency-response services. Microsoft also says that Auto will be available for "general release to the automotive community," which could lead to the inclusion of the OS on aftermarket gear as well. Let's just hope they tune the system to figure out the difference between Ziggy Stardust and Eazy-E, eh?
Keyspan intros iPod Sync Cable for Ford Sync media system
Ford's Sync infotainment platform may not be helping/distracting all that many drivers just yet, but Keyspan isn't ignoring those early adopters out there, with it now introducing what may well be the first accessory for the platform. That distinction, as you might expect, goes to the company's new iPod Sync cable, which'll work with everything from the first generation iPod mini to the recently-released iPod touch. In addition to displaying iPod content on the Sync's screen, the cable will also let you control the iPod from the Sync media system, and it'll even charge the iPod while it's connected (although only when the vehicle is running). You will have to fork over a somewhat hefty $50 for that convenience, however, which Keyspan will gladly take from you right now.
Hands-on with the Ford Sync infotainment platform
With Microsoft having injected itself into almost all aspects of our daily lives -- from work to play to communication -- it only makes sense that the software giant would try to own those rare stretches of time when we're not using a Windows product or playing on our Xbox. The most obvious contender for the firm's next conquest are those automobiles we tend to spend so much time in, and so Microsoft decided to team up with Ford last year to develop a standardized in-car infotainment platform called Sync. As with most of the company's products, there's not a ton of innovation here -- except for maybe the Zune compatibility -- but what it will probably succeed in doing is bringing higher-end features like navigation and Bluetooth calling to a more mainstream audience. We got to spend a little time with a (non-moving) Sync-equipped Ford Edge at last night's DigitalLife kick-off event, and what surprised us most was not the functionality, but rather the complete lack of Microsoft-branding on any of the screens. No Start menu, no Windows logo, no Clippy -- no nothing. Not that we're complaining: we just would have liked to be at that meeting where Detroit reminded Redmond whose name was on the vehicle. Check out the gallery below for some more pics, and then head over to Autoblog for even more in-depth Sync action along with a video walkthrough.... %Gallery-7818%
