Tag Archives: ford

Ford Turning Cars Into Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots

Next year, Ford will be introducing it's new version of SYNC , a technology it partnered with Microsoft on. This technology will allow you to have constant Wi-Fi in your car. All an owner of a SYNC-ready car would have to do is plug in a compatible USB mobile broadband modem (or air card), and they will create a secure wireless connection that will be broadcast throughout the vehicle. "While you're driving to grandma's house, your spouse can be finishing the holiday shopping and the kids can be chatting with friends and updating their Facebook profiles," said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas. "And you're not paying for yet another mobile subscription or piece of hardware because Ford will let you use technology you already have." "The speeds with which technology is evolving, particularly on the wireless front, makes obsolescence a real problem," said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford's Connected Services Solutions Organization. "We've solved that problem by making SYNC work with just about any technology you plug into it. By leveraging a user's existing hardware, which can be upgraded independent of SYNC, we've helped ensure 'forward compatibility' with whatever connectivity technology comes next." "Using SYNC with existing mobile devices helps Ford provide the most value, the most flexibility and the most convenience for owners," said Fields. "Constant connectivity is becoming a routine part of our customers' lives, and we're making existing technology more accessible without adding costs: That's the kind of value Ford drivers have learned to expect." Ford has proven in the past to be a particularly Internet-savvy company. This was evident from an interview WebProNews did with Scott Monty, who runs the company's social media efforts: Ford says studies by the Consumer Electronics Association show that as many as 77 million adults make up the so-called technology enthusiast drivers population, more than half of whom express the desire for a connected communications and information system in their vehicles. They say over a third of Americans would be interested in the ability to check email and access Web sites in their vehicles. Have You Read This? > Google Earth Makes Leap To Automobiles > Google Develops Fleet Of Fuel-Efficient Cars > How Ford Does Social Media Continue reading

Posted in Business, Pay-Per-Click | Tagged automobiles, Business, consumer, facebook, ford, holiday, microsoft, ready car, review and story, sync, technology enthusiast, wireless | Leave a comment

Hulu Partners With “American Idol” Creator For Web Reality Show

Simon Fuller, creator of "American Idol," is partnering with Hulu on an online reality program that follows the lives of five people hoping to make it in Hollywood. The new online program called "If I Can Dream" will launch in early 2010 with each episode streaming exclusively on Hulu. Hulu says "If I Can Dream" will be the first recurring show to be available to international audiences. Hulu and Clear Channel will create a distribution partnership with MySpace as well. " If I Can Dream " will have a customized page on MySpace allowing fans of the show to interact with the cast via comments and sharing. The ad-supported program has signed on Pepsi and Ford as its first two major sponsors. "Innovate is not a buzzword for Simon Fuller and 19 Entertainment. They've consistently delivered extremely high quality content in innovative ways, and helped to change how viewers engage with entertainment," said Andy Forssell, SVP of Content and Distribution at Hulu. "That's a great match with what Hulu is all about, Continue reading

Posted in Business, Pay-Per-Click | Tagged buzzword, distribution partnership, ford, innovative-ways, new labs, pepsi, quality content, search, simon-fuller | Leave a comment