It seems that Ford is a car company that understands how much people like to be connected while driving. So in order to reduce traffic accidents caused by people who are trying to text and tweet from behind the wheel, they’ve augmented their voice activated system known as Sync to include Tweets and Internet radio.
Ford’s Sync service, developed by Microsoft and rolled out in 2007, allowed drivers make phone calls and use GPS technology to hear turn-by-turn directions and traffic information.
Now, as Ford executives explained on Thursday, according to Yahoo Tech News, Sync will begin working with two Internet radio services, Pandora and Stitcher. It will also connect to OpenBeak, which can read your or your friends’ Twitter posts out loud. Users will need to have the Sync versions of these applications on a phone with a Bluetooth wireless link.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally told an audience at the International Consumer Electronics Show on Thursday that Sync is designed as a way for drivers to do things like chat with their kids and make dinner reservations, “all while keeping their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.”
Such in-car entertainment and information services are becoming popular in many makes and models, but are they safe? Paul Green, a professor at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute who studies the effects of distractions for motorists, said automakers are making a “reasonable effort” to minimize the problem.
In the meantime, Ford executives said that the company is talking with Google Inc. about bringing its services to cars as well, and that it plans to add Wi-Fi to some cars that have Sync.
So though we may not be able to drive as fast as our information travels, we can still be driving with internet speed.
Tags: Internet Speed