The Ford Sync AppLink, first hinted at in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, is a downloadable software upgrade for BlackBerry and Android-based smartphones. The first Ford car that will use the AppLink is the 2011 Fiesta model, which debuts in the summer.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":176605,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,mobile,","session":"D"}']The first Sync-enabled apps are Pandora, Stitcher and OpenBeak. BlackBerry and Android phone users will be able to keep their eyes on the road as they speak commands that activate various phone-related apps.
Ford is also going to launch a developer network to make it easy to integrate Sync support into mobile apps. More than 2 million cars have the Sync system, less than a year after it hit the 1 million mark. Ford’s data shows that the system boosts the resale value of a vehicle by more than $200 over cars without it. And about 89 percent of Sync customers use the hands-free voice calling system, and half use the voice-activated features the most.
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Here’s a video demonstration of the system at work:
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