Hasta La Gadget!

Harman often works behind the scenes to supply the infotainment systems for the cars we know. This year, it’s hoping to catch more of the limelight by putting mobile front and center. Its high-end car system for 2013 runs a unique virtualized platform that keeps vital car functions running on QNX, with an Android-based interface on top: drivers will have access to Android’s usual app suite as well as an automaker-run app store. While exacting details aren’t available, Harman does promise integration with mobile devices (including Apple’s Siri and Google Voice Search) as well as an interface that expands the touch target when fingers get close.

If that’s not sufficiently future-forward, the company also has a potentially distraction-free infotainment concept waiting in the wings. While the prototype isn’t quite groundbreaking in carrying a heads-up display with augmented reality information, it builds in a pair of gesture control sensors as well; drivers won’t have to take their eyes off the road, or their hands off the wheel, just to decline a call. Harman is likewise promising LTE data and a possible smart grid tie-in that shows messages only when the car is stopped at a red light. Any adoption of the infotainment updates will depend on car manufacturers lining up at an unspecified point in the future, but those who can’t wait can learn more (including word of a third, basic system) after the break.

Continue reading Harman preps in-car infotainment with Android, shows concept with gestures and HUD

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Source: Harman

Texas Instruments has already shown off some new DLP technology here at CES, shrinking it down and shoving it into phones packed with pico projectors. It’s not done, however, as TI has plans to put DLP into next-gen car infotainment and HUD systems. Why the shift into automotive? Well, TI already makes infrared cameras, sensors and other components for cars, and because infotainment systems are becoming de rigeur, DLP based systems are the next logical move for the company. TI thinks DLP is a perfect fit for cars because it delivers higher brightness, wider field of view and better color reproduction than competing display technologies, and it can be used in curved displays. Plus, DLP-based HUD displays can be optimally positioned and changed in size on the fly based on drivers seating positions.

To power those systems, TI has also announced a new OMAP 5 chip codenamed Jacinto 6 tailor made for automotive applications. It’s got two Cortex A15 cores, two Cortex M4 cores and PowerVR SGX-544 graphics to provide ample computing power and electrical efficiency. We won’t be seeing DLP in-dash systems in showrooms anytime soon — Jacinto 6 won’t go into production until 2014 — but TI has brought a few concept systems to CES, and you can see one of them in a demo video after the break. Oh, and we’ll be bringing you an in-person look at TI’s wares from the show floor later this week, so stay tuned.

Continue reading Texas Instruments reveals plans for DLP and OMAP-powered automotive infotainment and HUD systems

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For all of Ford’s emphasis on Sync, it’s hard to deny that Fiesta drivers usually sit on the bottom rung of the automaker’s technology ladder when they’re denied MyFord Touch and the related perks of larger vehicles. Pick up the keys to a higher-spec 2014 Fiesta, however, and you’ll be in for a treat. The compact will stuff a 6.5-inch touchscreen and MyFord Touch into the center stack, with a few software upgrades over what we’ve already seen in cars like the Focus and Fusion. The highlight is undoubtedly the more direct voice command system — the Nuance-driven recognition no longer demands that we specify music categories or radio formats to start playing tunes. Bluetooth smartphone pairing and navigation by address should be streamlined at the same time. Motorists will have to wait until 2013 to reap the rewards, but it could be worth the wait to drive away with Ford’s better electronics in an affordable ride.

Continue reading 2014 Ford Fiesta gets MyFord Touch, smarter Sync voice commands

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Source: TechCrunch

They grow up so fast, don’t they? It was almost six years ago that we saw Ford SYNC step into the world, and the automaker has just handed the keys to the owner of the 5-millionth SYNC-capable vehicle. While we haven’t been told what model had the distinction, the milestone represents another million SYNC cars, SUVs and trucks than we saw in May last year. The most striking aspect between then and now may just be the shift in focus (pun entirely intended) — where we started off just happy to hook up our Zunes in a world of CD changers, we’re only content today if we can control seemingly every mobile app known to humanity through a touchscreen. Ford might not want to look too fondly at its rear-view mirror, however, lest an abundance of technology-laden competition close in too quickly.

Continue reading Ford sells its 5-millionth vehicle with SYNC: that’s a lot of media-savvy cars

Filed under: Transportation, Microsoft

Ford sells its 5-millionth vehicle with SYNC: that’s a lot of media-savvy cars originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 06:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interior technology is increasingly the main battlefield for automotive giants. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, that Chrysler is bringing in some bigger guns for its Uconnect service through a team-up with Sprint. The carrier will integrate its cellular data into a Uconnect Access system where the source of pride is precisely how little Chrysler drivers will need to touch it: the two want voice commands that cut down the amount of involvement needed to plot a new course, change the music input or send a text message. Smartphones also get much more of a say in the matter this time around, providing remote control to open and ready the car before owners even set a foot inside. WiFi hotspot support carries on as well. Just be aware that you’ll have to go big or go home to get an early taste of the new Uconnect — it’s available only in the 2013 model years of the Ram 1500 and SRT Viper for now, neither of which is especially gentle on the pocketbook.

Update: It looks like the 2013 Dodge Dart R/T will also get the Uconnect goodies, which Sprint’s press release neglected to mention. [Thanks, Nathan]

Continue reading Chrysler taps Sprint for new Uconnect in-car data, wants always-on internet that’s hands-off (video)

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, Networking

Chrysler taps Sprint for new Uconnect in-car data, wants always-on internet that’s hands-off (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 23:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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