Dummies, Wireless

more stations. And the digital transmission
system helps improve the transmission quality —
so you’re much less likely to have the signal fade
as you drive across town.
By the way, the neatest feature of HD Radio
hasn’t made it to the car yet (you can also buy inhome
HD Radio receivers). This feature, called
iTunes Tagging, lets you press a “tag” button on
Chapter 14: Other Cool Things You Can Network
your HD Radio when you hear a song you like.
The tag is saved to your iPod, which is docked
in the HD Radio, so the next time you’re syncing
your iPod with your computer, you can purchase
the song from the iTunes Store. With the increasing
number of car audio systems that can dock
an iPod, we expect that this feature will eventually
make it into cars.
Another cool Parrot product is the RK8200 Bluetooth Car Stereo, a headend
unit that replaces your current stereo in your car but has a USB port, an
SD card reader, an line-in jack, an iPod connector, and A2DP Bluetooth
support — note no CD player. This revolutionary product has 2GB of onboard
memory (plus whatever you can add via the SD card port), enough for hundreds
of songs. Even more, the faceplate comes off to reveal a compartment
where you can dock your iPod or cell phone for even more accessible content.
The RK8200 costs about $240.
So you have plenty of options for retrofitting your car to work with your
gadgets. But what’s more interesting to us is where the new car models are
taking us. Ford, for instance, has unveiled its new Bluetooth-powered Sync
system, a Microsoft Auto software system that controls all sorts of in-car
audio equipment. Sync is powered by a small in-dash computer running
Windows Automotive, with 256MB of RAM and a 400-MHz StrongArm processor.
It allows users to interface their mobile phone, music player, or digital
storage device with their Ford’s audio system. The devices will be controlled
by voice commands, steering-wheel mounted controls, or the car’s audio
controls.
You can use the car’s audio system to read back text messages sent to
portable devices. It will also synchronize your contact information from
devices, and will even be able to distinguish most ring tones loaded onto
mobile phones. You can even link to the car through a USB port for
recharging your portable devices.
Ford first offered the Sync system on the 2008 models of Focus, Fusion,
Five Hundred, Edge, Freestyle, Explorer, and Sport Trac; the Mercury Milan,
Montego, and Mountaineer; and the Lincoln MKX and MKZ. Ford says it will
put the system in all its future products as an optional accessory.
The move by Ford is an acknowledgment of the fast pace of the consumer
products industry. Instead of trying to create a leading edge dashboard
device that will be stale in a few years, they created an infrastructure that
enables software upgrades remotely but also allows car owners to link their
leading-edge devices into the car. Expect to see more of this approach as the
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