Lots of folks use Pandora. In fact, the service currently has 48 million users accessing its 700,000 music tracks -- and nearly half of them do so on their mobile phones. But while Pandora has always been a breeze to use when you're sitting at a computer or in a wi-fi zone, listening on the go has been more difficult. Ford's SYNC system aims to fix that, and the automaker has uploaded a video to demonstrate how it'll work.
How to use SYNC® AppLink™ How to get StArted. Make sure you download and install the latest version of the app from your phone’s app store. Some apps require you to register them before using them with AppLink.
Until now, using Pandora in the car has generally meant plugging a smartphone into the car stereo through the auxiliary jack, then interfacing with Pandora through said phone. In other words, it requires you to pull your eyes off the road to fiddle with play buttons and such, making it just as clunky and dangerous as using an iPod, or even sending a text message.
As a SYNC app, however, Pandora gets a twin steering wheel/voice control interface, which makes flipping through selections and giving songs the thumbs-up (or thumbs-down) much easier. This clip from Ford shows the difference between the two set-ups, and perhaps unintentionally highlights the awkwardness of interfacing with Pandora directly through a smartphone:
All-in-all, we give this development a thumbs-up of its own. We were hoping to see a demo of the app in action with the newer MyFord Touch system, which looks to break some new ground as far as telematics systems are concerned (though it also seems to pull drivers back toward a potentially dangerous, distracting touchscreen interface).
Also, we're curious how Pandora on this system and on MyFord Touch will allow users to scan channels built by others. The ability to share music with friends and family is one of Pandora's best features, and it's what makes it a true social media service. We don't see evidence of that capability here, but we seriously hope to see it down the line.
[YouTube]
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MyFord Touch
MyFord Touch
MyFord Touch
Mobile apps for Pandora and Stitcher, specially developed for in-car use, will be among the first to be supplied to users of Ford's all-new MyFord Touch system, Ford announced today at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Ford says that its appropriate that these two will be among the first. Pandora says, surprisingly, that 55 percent of its users listen in the car at least sometimes, while 40 percent of Stitcher users listen in the car. Pandora is a user-adaptive music player, and Stitcher is creates personalized news content from major-media sources, also with adaptive features.
The next-generation interface, called MyFord Touch, includes infotainment options, mobile data services, enhanced voice command, and a greatly improved, iPhone-like interface that wraps it all in with vehicle functions. And it will arrive before some main-line automakers even get a system on par with the first-gen system Ford introduced more than two years ago.
If you're thinking MyFord Touch will only be offered on the most expensive Fords, or the large cars, you're wrong. By 2015, Ford says, 80 percent of its North American models will get the system. The company has already revealed that the 2011 Ford Edge and 2011 Lincoln MKX (MyLincoln Touch) will get it, with the all-new 2012 Ford Focus that's highly anticipated for next week's Detroit show slated to get it as well.
The newer version of Sync is so sophisticated that its voice-control functions will play well with apps. For instance, Ford demonstrated that drivers will be able to say, 'Pandora, play station Jessica Stone radio,' or 'Launch Stitcher, play station 'Technology.' The improved voice-recognition and syntax of the new system will allow a great deal of flexibility.
Ford Sync How To Videos
And it sounds like many more apps are on the way. Ford's strategy for MyFord Touch was to leave development open; the automaker even went so far as to create a Software Development Kit (SDK) for the system, and the platform allows developers access to buttons and hotkeys as well as to the touch-screen. Most touch-screen entries will be blocked when the vehicle is at speed, for safety, encouraging those voice prompts.
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Sync Pandora To My Phone
Ford says that it took Pandora and Stitcher less than ten days to develop their MyFord Touch apps.
Ford Sync Pandora App
Already, Ford has formed several important partnerships, including one with the University of Michigan, to look at popular iPhone apps and help develop a shortlist of which ones would be best for Sync. Through its American Journey 2.0 program, students are looking at how to incorporate vehicle variables to communicate with social media in a way that's helpful to drivers. For instance noting that windshield wipers or fog lamps indicate rain in a particular area. In the spirit of Ford's new attitude, the winner will get a trip to the DIY-tech-focused Maker Faire.
Delivery of new apps should also be relatively easy, as Ford has decided to leverage existing mobile app stores instead of using its own. Ford's strategy will be to let drivers use their own phone and their own data plan.
In the works? The sky's the limit, really, but Ford has said that a second-party Twitter interface will launch early on, while an RSS reader (yes, a voice reader) and some type of browser are on the way. Expect lots of location-based services as well for restaurants, gas stations, traffic, and everything in between.
Ford has the apps for Pandora and Stitcher running on the CES show floor for demonstration.
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Expansion of voice-control functions seemed like a natural choice, considering, as Ford CEO Alan Mulally mentioned in his CES keynote address, the recent results of naturalistic driver-distraction studies suggesting that voice control reduced accidents and close calls. More than 60 percent of current Sync owners use its voice capabilities for music, calling, and text messaging.
According to CEO Alan Mulally, in his keynote address this morning at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the company's emphasis on technology and connectivity is paying off. Thirty-two percent of customers surveyed indicated that Sync was critical or imp in purchase, and 81 percent of heavy Sync users are satisfied with the system, he reported. Meanwhile, 76 percent would recommend to a friend.
As for satellite radio-based services, and how they might continue to fit into the picture, we'll have to get back to you on that one..
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