Ford Succeeds with BYO Philosophy for High-Tech Devices - electronic skin care devices

People in the automotive industry who develop high-
Technology electronic systems sometimes feel like ordinary people in the movie matrix, moving in seemingly slow motion, not fast motion
Forward the machine.
This is because it takes three to four years to develop a new car, and it takes several months to develop new software.
This difficult fact is forcing car companies to abandon the old business model of electronic devices, and customers have to buy a feature, such as a mobile docking station, which will be out of date in six months.
Ford is the leader of another philosophy in which the car is like an interface with the customer's own devices, such as mobile phones, pda and MP3 players.
Ford also innovatively partnered with external partners such as Microsoft, which helped develop the Ford Sync system that provides voice control and plumbing to connect customers' devices through the car's stereo speakers.
Jim Henry of BNET Auto recently interviewed Mark Scalf, product and business development manager, Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering, Ford.
Here is an excerpt from the editor: Trend News google Cloud outagemailing protesters interrupted Harris net during a shootout at momigiña beach in Connecticut: as the lead time of the car was so long, I 've heard that the car company is facing a fork in the road where you can call it "buy or take.
"That is to say, forcing a customer to buy your device, it will be out of date when you design and sell it, or allow the customer to bring his own and the device manufacturer can update it.
Mark Scalf: That's right.
We want to provide a way to interact with them (customers')devices.
You can put your phone in your pocket and still get the information you need.
We used it to a great extent. in device.
BNET: you are adding new features like traffic reporting and turning-by-
Turn in the direction of driving.
It was either impossible in the early days, or the customer needed to keep buying a new cd or dvd to keep the update going.
MS: Today, platforms for all data are outside the vehicle and are maintained by the entire network of partners ---and not by us.
The advantage of this is that information is constantly changing.
BNET: how to introduce features such as sync?
It's in your less-
Expensive models, this is a new, different way, rather than the usual industry practice of starting with your more expensive model and then working hard.
I'm familiar with this part, but how does sync roll out since then?
Do you have any models?
MS: except for some of our old models, such as Ford Ranger (pickup)
And Crown Vic (full-size sedan).
This is standard for some models and trim levels, and optional for some models and trim levels.
This is a $395 option if optional.
TDI, that is, transportation, direction and information, is free for three years, after which $95 a year.
This is much cheaper than buying a navigation system.
Your phone tells the system where you are, which is more or less a complete
The navigation system works anyway.
Is anyone still buying navigation?
MS: Overall, the usage of navigation is about 10%.
BNET: You said before that the hit rate for Sync is 70%.
Is it across the street or is it on Ford Fox?
Is it just on the optional model or is it on the standard model?
MS: That's all, including standard and optional rates.