| Contact: Charlotte Fisher | cfishe60@ford.com | 313.323.7045 |
IMAGES: Available at www.media.ford.com  |
SUMMARY:
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CONTEXT / BACKGROUND:. Consumers continue to be fascinated with upgradeable, take-it-with-you technology. It started with Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs), which showed incredible promise due to their affordability and convenience. But then came the PC-like Smartphone, which bundled cell phone, Internet, navigation and other must-have data services, and consumers fell in love all over again. But despite their affordability, popularity of PNDs is decreasing. According to iSuppli Corporation, a market research and consulting firm specializing in electronic value chains, PND’s share of device shipments will decline to 30 percent by 2011 from about 50 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, navigation-enabled mobile devices such as Smartphones will grow to account for 36 percent of total navigation system shipments by 2011. But even Smartphones don’t offer customers in-vehicle integration and control of navigation capabilities. That’s where Ford steps in. The latest Ford SYNC application, Traffic, Directions and Information (TDI), ties together the advantages of both technologies, brings in even more options, and offers it in an affordable, widely available package. SYNC TDI leverages a customer’s existing mobile phone; includes an integrated GPS receiver to connect customers to real-time turn-by-turn driving directions, traffic reports and business searches; offers extra features and applications such as favorite news, sports and weather; and provides seamless voice-control of all these functions while in the vehicle – at no subscription cost for the first three years of vehicle ownership. |
DETAILS: Current owners of early-launched 2010 Ford Mustang, Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, Lincoln MKZ, and Mercury Milan and Milan Hybrid vehicles equipped with Ford SYNCÒ now can visit www.syncmyride.com and download the latest application – Traffic, Directions and Information – at no cost. Eligible vehicles must be equipped with SYNC, but not equipped with Ford’s voice-activated navigation system. These vehicles are outfitted with the supporting GPS receiver needed to run SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information. The SYNC application is an industry standout, where most add-on applications or services for consumer electronics, such as iPhones, have a fee attached. Easy Downloading Eligible vehicle owners can download the free software from www.syncmyride.com to a USB drive and then upload the application to their vehicle via the SYNC system’s USB port in their car. Customers also can have the application installed at their local Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealership. The online download can be found in the Update & Customize section on www.syncmyride.com and is simple to complete, just like grabbing a online song for your digital music player. Once the software is downloaded to the USB drive, in-car installation takes about 10 minutes. The vehicle must be running to begin, and users will receive two completion messages – one approximately 60 seconds into the process and another 5-10 minutes later – for proper installation. Once the upload is complete, customers must reinsert their USB drive back into their computer to report successful installation on www.syncmyride.com, and then log back into their SYNC account to activate the application. A Voice Command Away Ford has partnered with Microsoft and other recognized companies – INRIX, TeleNav, TellMe, M/A-COM and Airbiquity – to enable the new Traffic, Directions and Information voice-activated services to seamlessly connect to real-time data via a customer’s Bluetooth-enabled phone – no integrated touch-screen navigation system or unsightly suction-cupped PND required. The simple voice command, “Services” gets the driver started, with the MicroSoft TellMe voice portal interpreting this request and ready to route it to the appropriate network partner. Users who say “Traffic,” for example, literally can receive personalized traffic reports based on best-in-class content from INRIX, a company that gathers real-time speeds, directions and locations from nearly 1 million commercial trucks and cars driving America’s roadways. In a text message sent to the user’s phone and broadcast over the vehicle’s audio system in real-time, drivers get the location and severity of accidents or new road construction causing areas of heavy congestion. Drivers requesting directions can use a variety of search criteria including a 14-million-plus business directory to find their destination, be it a favorite coffee shop or the location of a business meeting. Drivers can say “Search near me” or the name of the business and then say “Connect me,” “directions” or “text me the info.” If a user answers “directions,” a turn-by-turn route is downloaded from partner Telenav and is spoken to the user over the vehicle’s audio system and displayed on the central information display near the radio. All directions incorporate real-time traffic information therefore always providing the best route to the driver. With this new SYNC application, drivers can also personalize and categorize their favorite media topics, such as sports, weather and news using voice commands or through www.syncmyride.com. Users, for example, can personalize:
The new capabilities are in addition to SYNC applications that 2010 vehicle owners already have been enjoying including hands-free, voice-activated cell phone and digital media player integration as well as the security and convenience applications 911 Assist and Vehicle Health Report. Service Delivery Network SYNC TDI is built on the Ford Service Delivery Network, a plug-and-play architecture that gives customers the ability to use a mobile device they are comfortable with – in this case a simple Bluetooth-enabled cell phone – to access best-in-class offerings from the mobile electronics industry. This network also gives Ford the power to mirror successful online digital stores, delivering value-add SYNC applications and updates through friendly and familiar software delivery methods – something no other automaker can claim. More importantly, the network makes these applications and services available to a wider range of customers and products. Customers that purchase more entry-level vehicles like the Ford Focus, where a navigation systems is not an available option, can now enjoy integrated capabilities such as turn-by-turn navigation through the affordable SYNC system. The concept of building a flexible, upgradeable service delivery network that takes the latest and greatest from the electronics world and appropriately applies it to the car has made SYNC a technological differentiator for Ford – and a market success. There are now 1 million SYNC-equipped Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles on the road. The upcoming full launch of SYNC TDI on nearly all 2010 model year Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles will build on that momentum, with internal studies showing that roughly 1 in 5 non-Ford owners saying they would be much more likely to consider a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury product because of the breadth of features offered with this latest SYNC application. And Ford’s aggressive plan to further expand SYNC’s capabilities, as well as the way drivers interface with their vehicles, will continue to parallel the fast-paced world of consumer electronics. |
QUOTES: “SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information is a ‘killer app’ that demonstrates the plug-and-play capability of the Ford Service Delivery Network. We can continue to give customers continuous access to the best-of-breed services without having to touch the vehicle or inconvenience the owner – and we can do it economically, helping us fulfill our vision of making connectivity affordable for millions. ” - Doug VanDagens, Director/Ford Connected Service Solutions “Working with our partners, we are replicating the electronics industry’s speed to market with groundbreaking technologies, while creating a truly rich driving environment where there is no compromise – where everything you expect will be at your fingertips or voice command, integrated into your drive with minimal distraction” - Jim Buczkowski, Director/Ford Electronics Systems Engineering |
About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 205,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com. |