Sync helps Ford boost numbers

The Sync platform from Ford Motor is being introduced by the automotive giant by year 2010. The technology which helps connect mobile phones and digital music players using voice commands, has brought laurels for Ford in such a way that sales rose.

The new system debuts at a time when car makers are fighting it out to develop advanced electronics features in navigation and emergency assistance services. According to industry sources, the Sync wireless system is currently helping boost the US sales of the Focus compact car. The carmaker’s sales in America had registered a fall of about 20 per cent in 2008 with the slowdown sinking in. It is now seen that Sync is proving to for new car buyers. Sync-equipped be a hit with vehicles selling nearly twice as fast, compared to cars without Sync.

Sync would be capable of providing access to traffic alerts, directions and news without a built-in navigation system under new features that will be free for the first three years The wireless system has been developed in partnership with Microsoft Corp.

A review of the new wireless system from Ford Motor said that Sync would come as $395 option on many Ford vehicles. Conceived and developed with the aim to allow for upgrades along the consumer electronics cycle where new products are introduced every few months, the Sync is said to be a revelation of sorts in the automobile technology scene. The car maker is said to be now looking at improving voice recognition for the interior systems. This, it believes, will make the interaction between the user and the controls more conversational, the review added.

The technology, a voice-command activated system, uses features that can be upgraded by the user, said a report. It may be recalled that Ford Motor, along with Microsoft, had showcased the Sync system at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in 2007. The latest on the marketing front is that the automotive company has entered into a new agreement with Best Buy Co Inc to provide technical support for the system.