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Ford kicks off Hackathon contest with Spotify integration

At the TechCrunch Hackathon, Ford and Spotify demonstrate how the Spotify music service can integrate with Sync AppLink.

Wayne Cunningham Managing Editor / Roadshow
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
Ford
Ford AppLink
Ford currently supports Pandora integration through Sync AppLink in the Fiesta compact car. Ford

Ford inspired developers for its AppLink contest at the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon last weekend by demonstrating Spotify integration. The demonstration showcased how easily Spotify developers were able to use Ford's Sync API to integrate the online music service into a Ford vehicle.

Developers modified the Spotify smartphone app, using Ford's Sync API, so that a driver could use the car's stereo controls and voice command to control the service. Information about the currently playing track appears on the car's stereo display.

Ford clarified that this demonstration was not meant to indicate a production version of Sync AppLink with Spotify integration. Sync AppLink currently supports Pandora, along with a few other apps.

Spotify is a streaming music service based in Sweden and recently made available in the United States.

At the Hackathon, a part of TechCrunch's Disrupt conference, Ford joined with companies such as IBM, Wunderground, and Box.net in sponsoring hack contests. The Ford contest challenged developers to adapt apps to the Sync API. The winners of the contest get to showcase their entry at CES next year.