In January Ford announced the next version of the Ford SYNC system, MyFord Touch which incorporated, amongst other things, in-car internet connectivity (when parked). When MyFord Touch was announced, Ford also said it would support third-party mobile applications for a seamless connected experience. Enter SYNC AppLink.
Pandora, Stitcher and OpenBeak are the first SYNC-enabled mobile apps that will be available. Using AppLink, BlackBerry and Android users can access and control their applications using their voice and in-dash car controls, rather than having to connect a phone to an line-in jack and fumbling with the phone while keeping an eye on the road.
Furthermore, Ford is launching a new Mobile Application Developer Network so that Android and BlackBerry developers can build in SYNC support for their applications. The possibilities for this sort of integration are tremendous. Just imagine the potential of leveraging a geolocation app with an in-dash navigation system.
Check out this video that shows Ford SYNC AppLink in action with Pandora and Stitcher:
While there are adapters that you can purchase to better integrate the Pandora and smartphone experience for third-party head units, this is one of the most seamless examples of app-to-phone integration that we’ve seen on the factory level.
Check out this extended demonstration of Pandora using SYNC AppLink:
AppLink will roll out to other models in the SYNC ecosystem next year.
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