Ford introduces Meople.Connector, voice activated social media app for in-car
Remember when car makers were just concerned with issues like Torque, Horse Power and MPG? Those days are long gone. Ford, one of the pioneers in the connected car market, is announcing a new voice activated app for in-car, specifically for social media users.
Called somewhat oddly Meople.Connector, it will allow the driver or passengers to receive and send status updates etc. via social networks, such as Twitter and LinkedIn as well as the Russia based social network, VK (unfortunately not Facebook – yet?).
After drivers are alerted to messages, they can then use voice commands to “Read,” “Answer,” or “Skip,” the message. Should they choose to respond to the message they have listened to, they can do so using pre-determined messages, which also can be customised by the user. Drivers can select how often updates are received, and send their current location to friends, family and colleagues.
Says Don Butler, executive director, Connected Vehicle and Services, Ford Motor Company: “For many people today, social media is fundamental to staying up-to-date and informed. From a reminder that it’s a friend’s birthday, to hearing the minute your football team scores a goal, to breaking news, social media is part of the fabric of modern life. By adding further news and personal communications, we are helping to ensure customers can stay seamlessly connected throughout their day in a safe and stress-free way,”
Available for iOS and Android devices, Meople.Connector will be demonstrated at Web Summit, one of the world’s leading tech conferences which is taking place in Dublin next month. What’s more, Ford and Web Summit have also teamed up together to take part in a 24 hour challenge to design apps for AppLink with €75,000 price money on offer. Teams have until Oct. 31 to register at https://dublin.makeitdriveable.com/.
First introduced in Europe in 2013, Ford’s SYNC AppLink technology already enables drivers to voice-activate a range of smartphone apps, including ADAC, Audioteka, AUPEO!, Cityseeker by Wcities, Cyclops, DetektorFM , DIE WELT, Eventseeker by Wcities, Glympse, Goal Live Scores, Radioplayer, Roald Dahl Audiobooks, Soundtracker, and Spotify. Meople.Connector is the company’s first AppLink-enabled social media app for SYNC.
