Ford plans to roll out the second generation of its Sync in-car connectivity
system, which establishes a Wi-Fi hot spot inside a vehicle, sometime in 2010.
However, the company has not yet disclosed which of its hot rods will be hot-spot-enabled.
To activate the second-generation Sync, a driver or passenger will insert a USB
mobile broadband modem into a USB port,
creating a secure wireless connection and allowing everyone within the vehicle
to use Wi-Fi devices.
"You're not paying for yet another mobile subscription or piece of
hardware because Ford will let you use technology you already have," Mark
Fields, Ford president of The Americas, said in a statement Dec. 21.
Standard WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) security protocols will require
users to enter a "randomly chosen password to connect to the
Internet," said a Dec. 21 statement issued by Ford, and drivers must
specifically allow a device to connect. In theory, this prevents unauthorized
users from piggybacking off an owner's signal.
The
first generation of the Sync is offered on 13 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.
Originally developed in conjunction with Microsoft and introduced at the
Detroit Auto Show on Jan. 8, the feature supports Apple's iPod and Microsoft's
Zune, will sync with Bluetooth-capable phones to access their contact lists,
and can play music from USB thumb drives.
As smartphones and other devices encourage users to remain always connected,
vehicle makers have been incorporating more features into their vehicles that
play to that perceived need. For example, a consortium of companies showed the
LTE Connected Car, a proof-of-concept vehicle, to reporters in New
York on Nov. 3.
That concept car featured four touch screens, allowing access to navigation,
entertainment, communications and vehicle diagnostics applications. A variety
of companies, ranging from Alcatel-Lucent to Toyota,
contributed their particular knowledge bases to the endeavor. The vehicle
included an in-vehicle Wi-Fi environment.
While that particular car remains firmly in the concept stage, other
automakers have taken more concrete steps. Ford has built a number of
next-generation features into its vehicles, such as a 76GHz radar system that
alerts the driver to oncoming obstacles.
Ford also developed a MyKey feature that lets a parent program vehicle keys to
enable default modes for specific drivers; for example, limiting a teen
driver's speed and volume level. Microsoft's Traffic, Directions and
Information Sync application provides real-time traffic reports and other data.
These new abilities at least partially stem from new technologies introduced
by hardware manufacturers such as Intel, which in March rolled out a series of
Atom processors designed for in-vehicle systems. Paired with the Microsoft Auto
software platform, the processors power vehicle features such as mobile device
syncing and speech recognition.
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