Spotify Drops in on Ford, Syncs Up Some Mad Beats - The UpStream

Spotify Drops in on Ford, Syncs Up Some Mad Beats

posted Sunday Sep 11, 2011 by Nicholas DiMeo

Spotify Drops in on Ford, Syncs Up Some Mad Beats

This weekend's Hackathon in San Francisco showed some really cool, new, innovative tech off to the masses. Specifically, we saw Spotify and Ford team up "unofficially" to show everyone how easy (and how cool) it is to integrate with Ford's voice-activated SYNC system. Spotify was there to explain details on how easy the API and SDK are and to encourage developers to "hack" the in-dash system to make some great apps.

We have lots more on what you can do with SYNC after the break.

Ford's recent add-on to SYNC, AppLink, allows users to control Android and BlackBerry devices with their voice and with the car's controls. As of right now, this feature is only available in the Ford Fiesta. However, the goal is to keep the driver focused on the road. To help push the cause, Ford has already started the Mobile Application Developer Network, where developers can partner up with Ford. The site's not up completely yet, but it's definitely an opportunity to get in on the ground level for something cool like this.

We are excited that you're looking to develop a new or existing mobile application to work in-vehicle using SYNC's voice activation and in-vehicle controls. While the entire website is not ready, we want to provide you with an opportunity to receive more information when it becomes available.

For Spotify's involvement, their job was to flaunt how easily music can be played and streamed through SYNC. The test seemed to be a hit, and as they continue to grow here in the States, it might not be a bad idea to get together with Ford for a more exposure to more people.

For Ford, they are pushing very hard to get more out of SYNC. They look to enhance their voice user interface, use more of their text-to-speech engine and bring more data to their mobile apps, like fuel usage, speed, GPS data and other useful information. Ford looks to bring AppLink to the Ford Fusion, the Fusion Hybrid, Mustang, Shelby, Fiesta, F-150 and four other models some time in 2012.

So the question here is who is going to sign up and become a developer for a truly "mobile" platform? The possibilities are endless!

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