Posts Tagged ‘iPod’

You’ve probably heard of the Ultimate Driving Machine, but what about the Ultimate Browsing Machine?

Just in time for the Paris Motor Show, BMW has announced a new ConnectedDrive technology that makes it easy to get the most from your mobile devices… particularly if those devices feature an Apple logo.

Looking for a better way to play music from your iPhone or iPod Touch in your car? ConnectedDrive is compatible with the new iPod Out function that debuted as part of iOS4, Apple’s latest mobile operating system. iPod Out lets you use the vehicle’s on-board screen and controls to search through your music or create a Genius playlist. The larger screen makes navigating the device easier and the tactile feedback from the car controls should help to keep the driver’s eyes on the road.

A new Cover Arts feature can also display the track listings and album art for the music you’re listening to.

Email and texting addicts will no doubt appreciate BMW’s new email access option which uses your phone’s Bluetooth connection to display messages and read them aloud to you. Blackberry users are first to receive this new feature, though similar integration for the iPhone is on the way.

And if you want easier access to your iPhone while on the road, a new accessory dock positions your phone in the center of the dashboard, in the space normally reserved for the navigation system’s screen. A new app launching in the spring of 2011 will optimize that docked iPhone for automotive use, slimming down the menu structure to core functions for music, navigation, phone, and ConnectedDrive.

And forget SpongeBob Squarepants. Today’s kids (and elite global executives) want internet access no matter where they are. For them, BMW will offer a new WiFi hotspot feature for rear seat passengers, plus accessory mounts to dock and hold their iPads securely in place.

Now if only we could get an app that makes traffic vanish…

Further proof that Craigslist is the most awesome invention known to man: the online listing service has allowed a California teenager to drive a better car than I do.  Correction: a better car than I will ever hope to have in the foreseeable future.

Steven Ortiz, who is barely of driving age, is now cruising down the freeway in a Porsche Boxster. And no, he’s not a trust fund baby or a lottery winner. He just knows how to fully utilize the online community that is Craigslist.

It all started with an old cell phone which was traded for an iPod which was traded for a dirt bike and so on until Ortiz finally ended up with the 2000 model year Porsche.

That last sentence begs a few questions. How do you justify trading an iPod for a used cell phone? Better yet, how do you justify trading a dirt bike for an iPod?

Maybe it’s just this crazy, throw-away culture that we live in. Or maybe this was all a serious case of CUI: Craigslisting Under the Influence.

For his part, Steven says that trading up to the Boxster was no easy feat. “It takes a lot of time. A lot of patience,” he told Fred Roggin of The Filter. Ortiz thinks that in a down economy, people still want the thrill of a new purchase but they don’t have the money to make it happen. So they instead resort to bartering old stuff that they aren’t using anymore.

Congrats to Steven on the new Porsche. You can see his entire story in the video below:

It doesn’t get much more American than baseball and Chevrolet.

General Motors is trying out a new marketing tactic with a Chevy-branded exhibition version of Flick Baseball Pro.  The app is available for download on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch and allows users to play 3- or 9-inning games with “life-like control of pitching and hitting via the accelerometer.”

The automotive tie-in comes courtesy of the Chevy Dugout portion of the app, where players can learn more about Chevy vehicles, like the iconic Corvette or hot-selling Equinox.  Fans who enter the dugout can also enter for a chance to win a trip to the 2010 All Star game.

Yes, this Americana-laden promotion is a bit cheesy.  And yes, there is some schlepping of products involved.  But as far as marketing and advertising is concerned, GM may be on to a grand slam concept here.

The baseball fan wants a fun game to play.  The automaker wants exposure to an audience that’s receptive to its message.  When GM sponsors the app – which normally retails for $2.99 – both parties benefit from the transaction.

That’s a nice change from billboards and television commercials where viewers are frustrated by the distractions and advertisers are frustrated by the lack of attention paid to their messages.

And while sponsored content is not exactly new in the marketing world, GM is among the first to offer a sponsored app like this for the iPad.

The Detroit automaker was also clever to tie into social media with a feature by Plus+ that allows players to brag about their baseballs skills to friends on Facebook.  This makes it convenient for users to share and it increases the chance for the app to go viral and spread to a larger audience.

If this app succeeds, it’s likely that other advertisers will jump in with sponsored content of their own.  But hey: if you’re going to be advertised to, you might as well get something in return.

How important is technology in your vehicle?

If Ford’s success with the Microsoft-developed SYNC system is any indication, there are quite a few drivers out there who insist on great software to keep them connected while on the road.

The Detroit-based automaker recently celebrated the 2-millionth installation of the system.  The lucky car was a Fusion Hybrid, itself a techno wonder of the fuel economy kind.

SYNC is a voice-controlled entertainment and communications system that can read aloud your text messages, provide turn-by-turn directions, dig through your iPod’s music library to find a song, and do much, much more.  The technology is available in a range of vehicles from the Ford Focus to the Mercury Milan to the Lincoln MKT.

Ford appears to have hit a home run with SYNC.  The automaker brags that 87 percent of owners are satisfied with how the system operates and 88 percent would recommend SYNC to others.

Installations of the system are accelerating, too.  SYNC has been around since 2007 and the 2-million installation came less than a year after hitting the 1-million mark.  Ford points out that the system can in some cases raise the resale value of a vehicle by over $200… further noting that SYNC is quite the bargain when you consider that it only costs $395 to begin with.

More importantly for an automaker on the rebound, SYNC seems to be raising people’s opinion of Ford.  Internal data shows that after receiving a demonstration of the technology, 80 percent of potential customers report that it improved their opinion of the brand.

The success of SYNC is obviously good news for Ford, which is in the midst of a blockbuster recovery that began in late 2006 when CEO Alan Mulally took the helm.  It also signals a sea change in the way that manufacturers integrate technology in their vehicles.

Cars, for all their wondrous complexity, have generally lagged behind the rapid-fire consumer electronics industry.  Automakers used to hide behind the excuse that it was much easier to replace hardware in a climate-controlled house than it was to replace in a vehicle that has to withstand Arizona summers and Wisconsin winters.

But tech-savvy customers, already accustomed to rapid change with their other electronic purchases, were never satisfied with this response.  SYNC largely solves this problem because the tried and tested hardware stays the same while the software can be updated, just like in a laptop or smartphone.  This allows for new features to be added to SYNC down the road, increasing a customer’s satisfaction with the purchase.

If this seems like a painfully obvious upgrade, you’re right.  But SYNC was a pioneer in bringing this update-friendly philosophy to automobiles and it is forcing some long overdue changes in the industry.  For Ford, at least, this is a major win and it’s shining light on some very deserving vehicles.