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Apple Partners with Ford

Posted by Zonk on Fri Aug 04, 2006 08:33 PM
from the i-have-a-synergy-deal-deal-with-delorean-motors dept.
Businesses Apple
conq writes "BusinessWeek reports on Apple's latest partnership with Ford. This new accessory will be available in all Ford, GM and Mazda 2007 models allowing users to control thei iPod through the car's stereo controls. From the article: 'Currently, most MP3 players connect to vehicles via tape-deck or FM radio adapters. The devices are relatively cheap, ranging from $20 to $90, but are often difficult to operate while driving and can distort sound quality. But the iPod jacks, situated in glove compartments, let drivers easily operate players with existing stereo controls and charge a device's battery without an additional adapter.'"
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  • OK But... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by MBCook (132727) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Friday August 04 2006, @08:41PM (#15850115) Homepage

    These things look nice. I would love one in my van. I tried 3 or 4 different FM transmitters before I finally got a CD-changer interface so the iPod plugs directly into the back of the stereo (which took a long time to find because of my car). That said, there is one thing that worries me.

    What happens when Apple changes the interface? You don't expect them to keep the same dock connector forever. Does the system have an alternate input (standard line-in, for example)? Is there a cable that can be changed so you can use dock-connector 2.0 (or whatever)?

    Just something to think about.

    Really, I wish some kind of audio input bus would be put into cars to simplify all this stuff. You either have to get a special (and expensive) adaptor to fake being a CD-changer, or use the FM transmitter. Now let's say I have an XM receiver and a iPod and I want both plugged into my car stereo? I can't do it (without hacking a dock interface connector for the XM). Or what if I want to add HD radio? Or plug in a tape player (which my car lacks). Just a simple line-in jack would be fine with me. I don't need the rest of the fancy stuff (although it's nice).

    My guess is this is just vendor lock in since there was basically no demand for it before iPods (and their ilk) and you could always use a tape adapter (although more and more cars lack cassette drives).

    • Frankly, just an analog audio jack would work for me, there are players like that. I don't want to pay a good fraction of the portable device's selling price to make it work with an audio deck's proprietary connector and changer controller. That also means that I'm not tied to any audio device brand on either end of the cable.

      • Re:OK But... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by iso (87585) <slash.warpzero@info> on Friday August 04 2006, @09:14PM (#15850244) Homepage
        That would entirely defeat the purpose of having the playlists and controls through the faceplate of the stereo.

        • That is definitely true. One of my favorite things about using my car to listen to CDs is the little button on the wheel I can hit to change to the next track. I don't really care about my stereo being able to tell me what track I'm listening to, but having the controls make the iPod work would be great. As it is I I would have to hit the button on my iPod to change tracks.

          In fact, that is one of the reasons I have kept my 3G iPod and didn't buy a 4G. Because of the cutouts in the plastic for the buttons a

      • My 2007 Toyota Yaris has an aux connector in the center console that links into my CD player. That's an analog input. The sound quality is much better than using the FM transmitter I used with my previous vehicle. However, I don't have the ability to control my iPod through my radio since it is just an analog input for auxiliary devices. (Plus, I don't have any buttons on my steering wheel so no big loss anyhow).
    • Lots of stereos have a line in, it's just hidden around the back (sometimes inside the case). There are a few aftermarket head units that have standard line in jack on the front. I had one in my old car.
    • In 2001, the American Automobile Association did a study examining the interaction between distraction and automobile crashes [aaafoundation.org]. According to the study, "adjusting radio/cassette/CD" is the 3rd most common cause of distraction. Depending on the set of numbers that you use from this study, "adjusting radio/cassette/CD" causes between 1.5% and 3% of all automobile crashes.

      Judging from the numerous articles (in this particular discussion) praising the fun of using an iPod within an automobile, I suspect that

      • Depending on the set of numbers that you use from this study, "adjusting radio/cassette/CD" causes between 1.5% and 3% of all automobile crashes.

        I hooked my ipod into my mr2 (manual, natch) by way of the tape deck and left the iwred remote thing between the shifter and P-brake. With its known position and four buttons, it was easier than changing channels on my radio.

        If using an iPod causes a fatal automobile accident, will some victim of such an accident eventually try to sue Apple?

        Well, duhh, what

      • "Because of Apple's product I had an auto accident"
        "Specifically, because you used it in your car, when you weren't capable of doing that and driving"
        "Well..Apple made the product"
        "And they held a gun to your head and said, use your iPod, don't drive"
        "No, but they made something dangerous, and sold it to me"
        "So, if I beat you nearly to death with my briefcase, you sue its manufacturer."
        "No, I sue you. But that isn't fair"
        "No it isn't. If you beat yourself nearly to death with your briefcase, you sue its man

      • I won't argue that point. Doing ANYTHING other than driving is distracting. That said, which do you think is worse? Reaching over for the radio or iPod and then trying to use it (worse if you have to do the menus on the iPod as opposed to a single button press to switch radio stations); or pressing a button on your steering wheel that will control your iPod?

        Added convenience, better sound quality, costs less, slightly less dangerous.

        I don't see a down side.

    • ,i>What happens when Apple changes the interface? You don't expect them to keep the same dock connector forever.

      Why yes, I do. it's not like there's anything on the horizon that would obsolete the current interface.

      • Personally, the proprietary connector is one reason I got an archos - every system just recognizes it as a fat-formatted mass storage device.

        The iPod is also "a fat-formatted mass storage device". I don't see what the proprietary connector has to do with that anyway.

  • Interesting, but... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by CyberSnyder (8122) on Friday August 04 2006, @08:44PM (#15850131)
    I'd be happy with a simple mini jack standard on car head units. Then we wouldn't have to play around with those terrible FM tuners. My Sirius sounds worse than AM through the FM tuner.

  • Nice, but I want better... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rthille (8526) <web-slashdot&rangat,org> on Friday August 04 2006, @08:50PM (#15850154) Homepage Journal

    I don't want to have to remember to lug my ipod out to the car, I want my car to be an iTunes client. It should have wifi and 100GB, and should sync whenever I pull into the garage (or within range of my home wifi network).

    I'll leave the interface on the radio as an excercise for product developers, but neither the iPod interface nor the 'pretend it's a big CD changer' is the right approach.

    • For me, I like having only 1 device to sync up anyway. I don't even like setting up all the playlists for my and my wife's iPod, let alone adding cars in there as well.

      Anyway, while what you are asking for WOULD be cool, this is still better than what was there before - and that's at least movement in the right direction... I ended up soldering in a patch cable between the remote tape deck (weird, huh?) and the head unit on my Blazer, and it was a pain, and it didn't charge the iPod, and you still had no c

    • No need to remember your iPod. Just remember to keep your iPod when the battery dies. You can get great deals on iPods that don't hold a charge and it doesn't matter because the adapter will provides the power.

  • Bah (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 04 2006, @08:59PM (#15850189)
    Why can't they put a USB port in the cars instead, or even AUX inputs or stereo minijacks? If Ipods ever phase out of the mainstream, we're going to have a mountain of proprietary crap just because Apple refuses to use a standard, widely accepted connector.

    Being the owner of other brands of players (superior sounding, at that), I find how everyone only supports Ipod very frustrating.

    A USB port could have other potential uses, too. For instance, adding a hard drive unit that could interface with the audio controls, that would enable you to truly bring your music collection wherever you go. Or, quickly charging other devices via USB. The possibilities would be endless.
    • Make the car look like USB speakers. Make the radio controls look like a joystick with lots of buttons. Make the radio receiver look like a USB tuner.

      When no computer is connected, it's all like a normal car. Add a computer (iPod, Mac Mini, Linux SBC, etc.) and the computer gets to operate everything.

    • Re:Bah (Score:5, Funny)

      by Mattintosh (758112) on Friday August 04 2006, @10:52PM (#15850602)
      I find how everyone only supports Ipod very frustrating

      Ahhh... yes. Mac users' revenge. I speak for Mac users everywhere when I say, "Cry me a river."

  • 3rd Party Mods for Prius (Toyota) (Score:3, Informative)

    by rsborg (111459) on Friday August 04 2006, @09:02PM (#15850197) Homepage
    This mod I bought for our 2005 Prius allows control through the steering wheel and touch-screen:
    http://www.vaistech.com/sli.html [vaistech.com]

    They even have a video-in unit.

    All that said, I am just as happy with the line-in for our 2006 Prius (any audio source works, and I can control almost as easily with the iPod in the cupholder.
    • You have an 05 AND an 06?!

      The iPod2Car [peripheral...ronics.com] Toyota version works well enough for my 04. Steering wheel controls work, but no video (I like seeing my map all the time anyway). I bought a little Monster dashboard attachment and placed the thing to the left of my steering wheel (little vertical space available on the Prius dashboard). Works great.
  • This is nothing new. My CD player came iPod-ready, though I have to purchase an extra extension seperately to make it work (for some reason, they decided to put the attachment on the back of the unit). The only interesting thing I see here is some conjecture about how the other auto giants will respond.

  • Ford? Uh oh. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by gklinger (571901) on Friday August 04 2006, @09:04PM (#15850206) Homepage
    Now is the perfect [cnn.com] time to partner with Ford! Seriously though, it's good news and I look forward to such a feature being available on all cars. Using an FM transmitter isn't viable in a metropolitan center with a clogged FM band and a cassette adaptor is becoming less and less useful as many new cars lack cassette players. While a simple input jack that connects to the output jack of any electronic device (rather than just iPods) may be cheaper and more flexible, it doesn't allow for integration with the iPod's interface. The day is approaching when all cars will have LCD displays built into the dashboard/console and being able to browse through songs on your iPod as well as display information about the current song would be ideal.

  • Glove compartment? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by anlprb (130123) on Friday August 04 2006, @09:08PM (#15850225)
    Why are these in the glove compartment? In the dashboard, as a slot, or instead of the ash tray, etc... Why do I have to reach into the glove box each time I want to put my iPod in there? Does anyone do any usability studies anymore?

    • Re:Glove compartment? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by NMerriam (15122) <NMerriam@artboy.org> on Friday August 04 2006, @09:32PM (#15850304) Homepage
      Because people want to put it in there, close it, and have it completely invisible to thieves. You have to break into the car and pry open the glove compartment to even know if there's an iPod in there. Several aftermarket units already locate the iPod there for these reasons, and because it's usually an easy place to access all the wiring and the car's antenna if you want to do a passthrough.

      I agree, I'd like to have a slot I loaded my iPod into (I even started building one a few years ago), but it's not like putting it in the glove compartment is some crazy counter-intuitive place that nobody would ever want.
    • Because this way its more difficult to access and therefore more distracting to the woman driving behind me putting on makeup and talking on her cell phone....
    • Simple.

      Cost savings. You have any idea what it would add to the cost of the vehicle to design something to plug an iPod into? Instead of a 50$ addition for the additional wiring.. you are adding a few hundred dollars because now they to re-engineer the dashboard to fit the iPod.

      It is cheaper to just run the wire to someplace no one really uses much anyway.

      Also it is theft deterant; out of site, out of mind.. and the iPod is still in your car when you get back.

  • bad choice (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If Ford had waited for Zune, their customers would be reasonably happy and building up their music collections until one day their players stopped working. Then the MS support people would give them the news: "The version that you have is lacking in robustness. You need to upgrade to the current version of Bronco."

  • ... when all cars have iPod dock connectors.... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Cryptnotic (154382) * on Friday August 04 2006, @09:23PM (#15850276) Homepage
    No, not everyone will buy iPods. Instead, it will open up the market for adapters for other devices to iPod dock connectors, possibly with translating command signals.

  • Apple and Ford is a perfect match (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 04 2006, @09:25PM (#15850280)
    Nothing better then grooving to the iPod while you're waiting by the side of the road for your tow.

  • Why Ford? Why not "automakers"? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by NotQuiteReal (608241) on Friday August 04 2006, @09:34PM (#15850315) Journal
    Even the summary says "Ford, GM, and Mazda"...
  • I have a 2006 Honda CR-V. I bought the Honda iLink. It sucks. Stay away. It comes with a crappy software prg that goes and makes a talking name/artist for each song. It is an AppleScript (compiled I think) that does not even really work! I tried it on a library of 2000 tunes and it errors out half way thru. There are no updates and the company that wrote the code does not support it - call Honda they say. Did I say that the 2000 tunes takes about 40 mins to run? Wonder how it is going to work on my full col
  • Am I the only one here reading Ford as in Prefect?

    Are the people that find me strange actually right?

  • Not really "new" (Score:3, Informative)

    by Transcendent (204992) on Friday August 04 2006, @10:03PM (#15850420)
    To get in the 2007 model year vehicles, this had to be planned years ago. The announcement just comes out right before product launch.

  • About time. (Score:5, Informative)

    by kahrytan (913147) on Friday August 04 2006, @10:09PM (#15850432) Homepage

      Honda already did this in 2006 models. It's called the iPod Music Link and you control the music from the steering wheel or the audio system. Read their official announcement at Honda.com [honda.com]

    Other words, this is not news. Ford is just playing catch up as always. Honda owns the auto industry and is always one step ahead of the others.
  • Maker of exploding music players [ilounge.com] joins forces with maker of exploding cars [wikipedia.org].
  • Ford (Dodge too) needs to stop over engineering thier vehicles. For some reason neither can make a vehicle that doesn't have problems before I pay it off. Warranty my ass.

    There is a specific reason (multiple ones), I'm replacing my wifes Grand Caravan with a Toyota/Honda/Nissan.
    American auto makers Suck, no matter how many gadgets (gimmicks) they throw in.

    Enjoy,

  • Fords problem (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tf23 (27474) <tf23&lottadot,com> on Friday August 04 2006, @11:30PM (#15850749) Homepage Journal
    The article title seems misleading. It's not just Ford, it's GM (and Mazda).

    But this has been Ford's, and American auto manufacturer's problem. They're behind the times.

    I bought a Ford Escape 2005 (in 2004) a few years ago. Asked if their stereos could handle the iPod (I already had an iTtrip). The sales guy says "a what". Ended up talking to the sales manager, discussed it with him. He bluffed that he knew what I was talking about. :(

    While this is great news, in that it can only help sales, they should eat the cost and build it into every single auto they manufacture. The iPods are that prevalent that the small cost (and write-off) to them is relatively insignificant, compared to the positive sales and attitude towards the American manufacturer.

    And yes, I come from a long line of family who's worked for Ford. It's depressing to see them doing so poorly. But that's another topic in and of itself.

    • Re:in the glove box? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Kohath (38547) on Friday August 04 2006, @09:05PM (#15850212)
      Does that scare anyone else?

      Yes, people who scare easily and are generally scared of everything. It scares them.

      I bet that will be the cause of more than one accident...

      Adjusting your iPod while driving is already probably causing accidents. That's a selling point for this feature. It makes it easier to change songs without looking away from the road.

      iPods are about music, not about avoiding car accidents. Everything in the world doesn't have to be about avoiding car accidents.

    • Re:Or... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) (613870) on Friday August 04 2006, @09:15PM (#15850246) Journal
      It puzzles me why a line-in jack isn't standard.
      I think Honda do on some lines of vehicles.

      But...it's pretty obvious why auto manufacturers don't want you to use your audio hardware in their cars. They'd like you to spend lots of money on buying their crappy audio systems. In particular, they exploit a kind of 'bug' in human reasoning. If you're buying a $20,000 car many people will think little of wasting $1000, say, on a stereo worth $500 because the $500 seems insignificant compared to the total price of the car and the expense slides under many people's radars, even though under normal circumstances those people would balk at being ripped off so badly.

      • But...it's pretty obvious why auto manufacturers don't want you to use your audio hardware in their cars.

        Not quite. Many auto manufacturers are sympathetic to the people who put aftermarket devices in their vehicles. In fact many design their systems to include extra circuitry and possibly connectors such that it makes it much easier for aftermarket devices to be installed.

        The extra feature in this case is a line in jack consisting of 2 pairs of twisted and shielded wires (possibly just twisted). Note that
      • I think Honda do on some lines of vehicles.

        But...it's pretty obvious why auto manufacturers don't want you to use your audio hardware in their cars. They'd like you to spend lots of money on buying their crappy audio systems.

        Stock stereos have a tendancy of being half way decent. While I personly don't care if my buttons match my car, there are those who go out of their way to get factory radios specificly cause it looks right. They do raise the value of your car and should be kept if at all possible, ev

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