Ford SYNC is continuing to expand its feature-list, as well as its penetration rate, adding a new "911 Assist" functionality and regular Vehicle Health Reports later this year.
At CES, Bill Gates announced that Ford will expand SYNC to nearly all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles by the end of the year. Currently, it's only available on 12 models.
But that's not really the big news. The big news is that Ford SYNC is getting a massive update later this year to include "911 Assist" functionality. All the new models, as well as current SYNC-enabled models on the road, will get this expanded functionality (since the SYNC system can download software updates).
This new "911 Assist" feature makes SYNC compete not only with satellite radio, but also with other telematics systems like GM's OnStar. The big difference being: there's no additional monthly fee.
Instead of setting up a separate cellular connection, Ford SYNC simply pairs itself with your current cellphone (which it's designed to happen every time you enter the vehicle). Upon airbag deployment, the system will wait 10 seconds before it automatically calls the local 911 emergency operator. A pre-recorded message will then play when the call is answered, and occupants in the vehicle will be able to communicate directly with the 911 operator.
Later this year, SYNC will offer a Vehicle Health Report functionality as well. Again, using your current cellphone, SYNC will gather data from the vehicle's control modules and send that information to Ford via an 800-number. The whole process, which in some vehicles will include a routine check of more than two dozen systems, takes a matter of minutes.
You can then receive these health reports regularly either by email or by text-message alerts. And it's all free.
It's interesting to see that Ford/Microsoft are accepting the fact that users all have their own devices that do the same thing as competing systems in the car. Rather than embedding a harddrive in the car (e.g., MyGig), SYNC uses your iPod/MP3 player. Rather than embedding a cellular connection (e.g., OnStar), SYNC uses your current cellphone.
They're not focusing on convergence, they're focusing on integration. And that's important, because it future-proofs Ford for whatever may come.
Looks like it will be agreat system.
Looks like Ford finally has an alternative to OnStar, can't wait to play with this on Sunday.
So what happens when the blue screen of death appears, the car shuts down and you have to reinstall the operating system.
@LAPTOP GAMER: It's not really any different than the car you're probably driving today. All vehicles in the U.S. since 1996 have the OBD-2 requirement which allows for monitoring of various systems (engine, emissions, etc).
This is simply an interface to the on-board diagnostic system - practically no different than when your mechanic plugs in to see why your check engine light is on.
Now maybe in this 2.0 they will add additional phones to their usability because as it is, only about 40 or so phones currently SYNC across main 4-5 carriers... that is not a whole lot of selection. for example, forget dialing 911 with your Treo - Treos do not work with SYNC.
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