CES - Car tech

LAS VEGAS--Best Buy leased four iMiev electric vehicles from Mitsubishi in a test program for its Geek Squad. The cars, sporting Geek Squad livery, were on display at CES. All right-hand drive, the cars were built to Japanese specifications.

Best Buy will run the cars out of its El Segundo, Calif., store, using them to provide in-house tech support to residents in the area. Given the 80- to 100-mile range of the cars, Geek Squad members will have to reserve them for local calls.

Mitsubishi has been signing up partnerships with various organizations, including utilities and Best Buy, to get … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Although not a big name in navigation, Motorola is trying to keep up with top brands such as Garmin and TomTom by adding connectivity to its MotoNav series of GPS devices. The MotoNav TN500 and TN700, launching in the next couple of months, both feature a data connection for Google Search.

The devices both hold internal POI databases for finding restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and the like, but Google search enhances the local search capabilities. Users will be able to enter the name of any business and get Google search results in the interface.

To use Google search, the … Read more

Ford Motor made big news at CES this week with its revamped MyFord touch interface to put entertainment and driving controls in reach of the driver with minimum distraction.

The company is putting three LCDs in the instrument panel--two next to the odometer, and another 8-inch screen in the center panel.

A few hours after Ford's CEO Alan Mulally gave his keynote address, Larry Magid sat down with Jim Buczkowski, director of Global Electrical and Electronics Systems Engineering at Ford, to talk about company's recent innovations and plans.

The interview runs 11 minutes 38 seconds.

LAS VEGAS--Ever since Apple opened up the door for developers to create turn-by-turn GPS applications with the third-generation iPhone operating system, there have been many GPS applications for the iPhone. However, soon owners of phones running on different platforms, including Android and Windows Mobile, won't be missing out anymore.

Navigon, the developer of the Navigon MobileNavigator for the iPhone, which for the time being is the most comprehensive iPhone GPS app with potentially more features than you can ask for, announced Thursday at CES 2010 its upcoming MobileNavigator app for Windows phones and Android platforms.

Unlike the version for … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Yet another car audio manufacturer is testing out the CD-less lifestyle, as Kenwood announces its KIV-BT900 digital car audio receiver. Apparently, people don't just don't use discs anymore.

The KIV-BT900 drops its CD drive like a hot potato, instead focusing its attention on handling digital audio and video from USB-connected portable media players. Named among the supported devices are the iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Zune. USB mass storage devices are also supported for a variety of audio (MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV), picture (JPEG and BMP), and video (MPEG4, WMV and H.264) formats.

When the vehicle … Read more

LAS VEGAS--OEM automotive supplier Visteon, the power behind many carmakers' dashboard infotainment systems, demonstrated the next generation of audio and information services that will become available to drivers. The demonstration head units on display showed off connected applications that will change the way we drive.

Visteon showed off head units using a GENIVI alliance Linux-based operating system, a Flash-based interface, and one based on the Microsoft embedded operating system. Each demonstration showed what automakers could use in future models.

The GENIVI alliance, of which Visteon is a part, aims to provide a standard Linux automotive infotainment platform, so developers can … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Good audio has become a major selling point in cars, and automakers are signing up partners from the high-end audio world in droves. But Visteon's technology makes it unnecessary to throw all those speakers and amps in new cars.

Visteon is working with SRS Labs, a company that provides audio-shaping software for home theater systems, to improve audio in cars. SRS Labs' software and Visteon's hardware, which processes digital signals, add virtual subwoofers and 5.1-channel surround sound to even the most basic in-car audio systems.

We sat through a demo of the system in a Ford … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Kia takes a page out of Ford's playbook by partnering with Microsoft to include advanced voice command systems in its cars. Kia calls its Microsoft-powered system UVO and, similar to Ford's Sync, it lets you connect Bluetooth phones and MP3 players, and use voice command to control them.

We got a demo of the system at CES in a new Kia Sorrento, the first model that will feature it.

UVO uses Microsoft's voice recognition technology, and the system understands commands in a variety of contexts. During our demonstration, we told it to "Play Sirius channel … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Ford CEO Alan Mulally says tech geeks will feel right at home in Ford cars.

Mulally delivered the Thursday morning keynote at the 2010 International CES, where he said "smart technology" such as access to smartphones and fuel efficiency are core to Ford's strategy.

"Green technology and smart innovation are helping us serve our customers and differentiate Ford," Mulally said.

He started his talk noting the surge in usage of online applications like Twitter and Facebook in the past year. Ford's Sync software allows … Read more