Ford Adds Services to SYNC System
Horoscopes, stock quotes, movie listings and access to airlines, rental cars and hotels are now just a voice command away for customers driving Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles equipped with the SYNC app Traffic, Directions & Information (TDI).
And customers did not have to inquire, purchase, or upgrade anything to get this whole new set of services. All that is needed is an active owner account on www.syncmyride.com.
“SYNC is helping us move at a faster pace and deliver the level of connectivity and access that consumers want,” said Doug VanDagens, director of the Ford Connected Services Organization, in a statement. “Now, by leveraging the cloud, we continue to give our customers access to more and more services without having to touch the vehicle or inconvenience the owner with more subscription fees.”
Ford expanded SYNC TDI services to include stock quotes, entertainment, travel and movie categories, in addition to the already available traffic, directions, news and business search capabilities. The new services are provided by Microsoft Tellme, one of the many partners in Ford’s cloud-based service delivery network, which gives SYNC users the ability to use a simple Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to connect and voice request the information they want while in the car.
Owners of SYNC-equipped 2010 and 2011 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products will have immediate access to the enhanced TDI services.
“Current TDI users will hear a special announcement through SYNC the first time they call in, announcing stocks, movies, horoscopes and travel, and informing them that they have more choices,” added VanDagens.
When users say the “services” voice command, they can ask for “stocks,” horoscopes,” “movies” or “travel,” and follow the prompts. They can also create personalized lists of stocks and horoscopes to follow by visiting their account on www.syncmyride.com, clicking on the “Manage favorites” tab and adding their top picks.
In total, the new SYNC TDI categories offer the following options:
Stocks—Say a company name and receive real-time stock quotes, or request other specifics, such as the high/low of the day, of a 52-week period, share volume, market cap and price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio.
Horoscopes —Speak an astrological sign to hear the daily horoscope, or hear a list of astrological signs,
Movies—Search for movie theaters near the customer’s current location or provided city, receive lists of new releases, say a movie name and receive rating information and theater names where it's playing, and request movie times at a location for today, tomorrow or the next day.
Travel—Request to be directly connected to 150 airlines, the 50 largest hotel chains, and the 11 largest rental car agencies.