The new version of Ford Sync, introduced this week at CES, isn’t just better Bluetooth and audio. It also represents a cheaper way to get navigation and driving information in your car. And most of all, it’s part of the car technology revolution where electronics trumps mechanical components.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally introduced Sync 3.0 with Traffic, Directions and Information in a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday. Sync will include an offboard navigation system that connects to your car via your Sync-connected Bluetooth cellphone and voice (or dashboard) inputs. You request trip directions from a Sync server, it downloads turn-by-turn information, and you navigate via text prompts (no moving map) on the radio display.
There’s also traffic information sent to your cellphone as text messages that can be read aloud by Sync, and the ability to get business information, weather, and sports scores. All this comes free for the first three years of ownership, after which there’s a monthly service charge that Ford says it hasn’t determined yet, or more likely just doesn’t want to discuss. Figure $10-$15 a month.
Post a Comment