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MyFord Touch at CES
Ford's using Enterprise D control panels?
Detroit News story
Browser...
Media Hub
Additional USB port for a total of two USB 2.0 inputs
SD Card slot
RCA A/V input jacks
Internet Connectivity
Full Wi-Fi capability including Internet “hot spot†connectivity and a built-in browser for use while in “Park†(late availability)
Integrated browser supports tabbed page navigation, “drag†to pan and scroll and a provides a 3-D carousel for bookmark browsing
Support for on-screen and USB-connected keyboards
RSS feed aggregator and text-to-voice reader
Mobile in-car Wi-Fi “hot spot†capability through USB-installed air card or USB mobile broadband modem
Audio
AM/FM/CD, SIRIUS/XM satellite radio, USB-connected MP3 players and memory sticks
New HD Radio capability
Songsongsong tagging capability via HD Radio Technology, allowing listeners to identify song information and store it for later use
Browse tracks by artist, scan lists of tracks with identical names, and browse through devices without having to change audio sources
-D carousel album cover art and photo viewing displays allow easy scanning of available material, especially combined with Gracenote Media Management
Media player equipped with new “Podcast†source category
Enhanced Bluetooth® audio support including metadata, which allows additional command and control functions for capable mobile devices
Detroit News story
Browser...
Media Hub
Additional USB port for a total of two USB 2.0 inputs
SD Card slot
RCA A/V input jacks
Internet Connectivity
Full Wi-Fi capability including Internet “hot spot†connectivity and a built-in browser for use while in “Park†(late availability)
Integrated browser supports tabbed page navigation, “drag†to pan and scroll and a provides a 3-D carousel for bookmark browsing
Support for on-screen and USB-connected keyboards
RSS feed aggregator and text-to-voice reader
Mobile in-car Wi-Fi “hot spot†capability through USB-installed air card or USB mobile broadband modem
Audio
AM/FM/CD, SIRIUS/XM satellite radio, USB-connected MP3 players and memory sticks
New HD Radio capability
Songsongsong tagging capability via HD Radio Technology, allowing listeners to identify song information and store it for later use
Browse tracks by artist, scan lists of tracks with identical names, and browse through devices without having to change audio sources
-D carousel album cover art and photo viewing displays allow easy scanning of available material, especially combined with Gracenote Media Management
Media player equipped with new “Podcast†source category
Enhanced Bluetooth® audio support including metadata, which allows additional command and control functions for capable mobile devices
Ford ready to wow at CES with new in-car technology
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
One of the most eagerly awaited unveilings at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is not from Sony or Dell, but from Ford Motor Co. -- a new automobile interface that the company says will change the way motorists interact with their cars and trucks.
Dubbed "MyFord Touch," the new system replaces most of the old-fashioned analog gauges and buttons on the dashboard with full-color, touch-sensitive computer screens. It also incorporates the latest version of Ford's Sync -- the onboard infotainment and voice-controlled communications system the automaker developed with Microsoft Corp.
"It's a fantastically smart design that allows us to be connected to an integrated world," CEO Alan Mulally told The Detroit News. "It's easy to operate. Your hands are on the wheel. Your eyes are on the road."
Derrick Kuzak, Ford's head of global product development, said it is all about providing customers with the same connectivity in their cars that they have come to expect everywhere else.
"We saw people becoming addicted to connectivity. We connected the dots to create Sync," he said. "(Now) we are continuing to connect the dots to deliver the cars of tomorrow today."
The MyFord Touch interface -- "MyMercury Touch" and "MyLincoln Touch" on Mercury and Lincoln vehicles -- retains the traditional dashboard layout and analog speedometer, but replaces the rest of the gauges and lights with three full-color LCD screens.
The new interface will be familiar to anyone who has used an iPod, PlayStation or just about any other contemporary electronic device: nested menus, five-way thumb controls and an animated, three-dimensional carousel browser that bears more than a passing resemblance to Apple Inc.'s Cover Flow.
Much of the information displayed on each of these monitors is customizable by the driver.
"MyFord really is about managing information," said Jason Johnson, one of the engineers who designed the interface. "The steering wheel has all the necessary functions available in a very compact area, right where your hand falls as you grab the wheel."
Many of the functions also can be controlled using voice commands, thanks to the latest generation of Ford's Sync system.
In addition to giving drivers voice control over their connected cell phones and music players, the new version of Sync that Ford is slated to unveil today will transform the automobile into a mobile Internet hub that brings together all of the technologies people have come to depend on in an increasingly wired world.
As The Detroit News first reported last month, the new version of Sync will include an open-source program interface that will allow the system to control virtually any application on a connected smart phone or music player. Today, Ford is expected to demonstrate the first of these, including a Sync-controlled version of the popular music streaming service Pandora.
In addition, the latest version of Sync can provide turn-by-turn navigation with real-time traffic reports, sports scores and news.
The new version also includes a more advanced phone book application that allows drivers to add photographs of each person in their contact list and browse by picture. The same system allows users to browse for music by scanning through a collection of album covers. The voice command system has been improved and the 911 Assist feature now can provide emergency dispatchers with more information.
Owners of Sync-equipped vehicles will be able to download the new version free of charge.
New hardware features include a second USB port and SD memory card slot, audio-visual input jacks and mobile Wi-Fi capability. Users can even connect a keyboard to Sync.
MyFord Touch will debut on the 2011 Ford Edge, which will hit dealer showrooms in late summer. It will be rolled to 80 percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury nameplates in North America within five years and also will be offered globally on select vehicles.
While many of the features Ford is offering with Sync and MyFord Touch have been introduced separately by other automakers, it is the first manufacturer to integrate them into a single package and make them a mass-market offering on all of its cars and trucks.
"It's led to a lot of the positive growth in their vehicle sales," said analyst Mark Boyadjis of iSuppli Corp., who added that it has helped Ford connect with an entirely new customer base. "Ford has made a name for itself at CES. Five or six years ago, there wasn't anything particularly advanced about Ford cars. It's a positive for their sales, it's a positive for their brand recognition."
But Boyadjis said Ford is facing increasing competition from other automakers as this sort of technology becomes more widely available.
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
One of the most eagerly awaited unveilings at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is not from Sony or Dell, but from Ford Motor Co. -- a new automobile interface that the company says will change the way motorists interact with their cars and trucks.
Dubbed "MyFord Touch," the new system replaces most of the old-fashioned analog gauges and buttons on the dashboard with full-color, touch-sensitive computer screens. It also incorporates the latest version of Ford's Sync -- the onboard infotainment and voice-controlled communications system the automaker developed with Microsoft Corp.
"It's a fantastically smart design that allows us to be connected to an integrated world," CEO Alan Mulally told The Detroit News. "It's easy to operate. Your hands are on the wheel. Your eyes are on the road."
Derrick Kuzak, Ford's head of global product development, said it is all about providing customers with the same connectivity in their cars that they have come to expect everywhere else.
"We saw people becoming addicted to connectivity. We connected the dots to create Sync," he said. "(Now) we are continuing to connect the dots to deliver the cars of tomorrow today."
The MyFord Touch interface -- "MyMercury Touch" and "MyLincoln Touch" on Mercury and Lincoln vehicles -- retains the traditional dashboard layout and analog speedometer, but replaces the rest of the gauges and lights with three full-color LCD screens.
The new interface will be familiar to anyone who has used an iPod, PlayStation or just about any other contemporary electronic device: nested menus, five-way thumb controls and an animated, three-dimensional carousel browser that bears more than a passing resemblance to Apple Inc.'s Cover Flow.
Much of the information displayed on each of these monitors is customizable by the driver.
"MyFord really is about managing information," said Jason Johnson, one of the engineers who designed the interface. "The steering wheel has all the necessary functions available in a very compact area, right where your hand falls as you grab the wheel."
Many of the functions also can be controlled using voice commands, thanks to the latest generation of Ford's Sync system.
In addition to giving drivers voice control over their connected cell phones and music players, the new version of Sync that Ford is slated to unveil today will transform the automobile into a mobile Internet hub that brings together all of the technologies people have come to depend on in an increasingly wired world.
As The Detroit News first reported last month, the new version of Sync will include an open-source program interface that will allow the system to control virtually any application on a connected smart phone or music player. Today, Ford is expected to demonstrate the first of these, including a Sync-controlled version of the popular music streaming service Pandora.
In addition, the latest version of Sync can provide turn-by-turn navigation with real-time traffic reports, sports scores and news.
The new version also includes a more advanced phone book application that allows drivers to add photographs of each person in their contact list and browse by picture. The same system allows users to browse for music by scanning through a collection of album covers. The voice command system has been improved and the 911 Assist feature now can provide emergency dispatchers with more information.
Owners of Sync-equipped vehicles will be able to download the new version free of charge.
New hardware features include a second USB port and SD memory card slot, audio-visual input jacks and mobile Wi-Fi capability. Users can even connect a keyboard to Sync.
MyFord Touch will debut on the 2011 Ford Edge, which will hit dealer showrooms in late summer. It will be rolled to 80 percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury nameplates in North America within five years and also will be offered globally on select vehicles.
While many of the features Ford is offering with Sync and MyFord Touch have been introduced separately by other automakers, it is the first manufacturer to integrate them into a single package and make them a mass-market offering on all of its cars and trucks.
"It's led to a lot of the positive growth in their vehicle sales," said analyst Mark Boyadjis of iSuppli Corp., who added that it has helped Ford connect with an entirely new customer base. "Ford has made a name for itself at CES. Five or six years ago, there wasn't anything particularly advanced about Ford cars. It's a positive for their sales, it's a positive for their brand recognition."
But Boyadjis said Ford is facing increasing competition from other automakers as this sort of technology becomes more widely available.
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