Ford, Microsoft team up for in-car connectivity
Sunday, 07 January 2007, 18:30 IST
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Detroit: Automobile major Ford Motor Co has teamed up with software giant Microsoft Corp to offer cars with technology that controls mobile phones and portable music players by voice commands or steering-wheel buttons. The system, called Sync and coming this year in select Ford models, uses Bluetooth technology for wireless connection of phones and a USB port to control and charge digital media players, including Apple's iPod and Microsoft's new rival product, Zune. Ford, hoping to win back customers in its US home market by appealing to the internet generation, unveiled Sync Sunday at the 2007 Detroit auto show, complete with a piped-in pitch by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. "The market potential is absolutely enormous," said Mark Fields, Ford's top executive for the Americas. Sync will make its debut in the Focus compact, which Ford has overhauled for the new model year. Sync, which uses advanced voice recognition technology, is exclusive to Ford through 2008, Fields said. Ford lost $5.8 billion in the third quarter of 2006, its worst quarterly performance since 1992.
Source: IANS
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