After the second offical day of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we could probably have enough news to cover in RAIN for the next few months. So we'll try to throw a wide net here, and let you decide where you want to read more.
And connecting the car to the Internet is really where the action has been. In fact, a record number of automakers are exhibiting (see RAIN here), with six of the top-10 automakers present. Like Inside Radio wrote today, "From a keynote speech by the head of Mercedes Benz to the prominent presence of numerous other automakers, the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show took the digital dashboard for a test drive yesterday in Las Vegas."
Ford debuted its concept car, the Internet-connected Evos, at CES. "By the time you get behind the wheel, the car will have analyzed the morning’s traffic and weather and calculated the best route to get you to the office on time," writes The Boston Globe (here). "You won’t even have to touch the radio - it’s already playing the same station you were listening to in the house. And as you pull away, it will shut the garage door and turn off the lights."
While that's a little ways down the road, Ford announced the newly-updated TuneIn (the Internet radio tuning provider and aggregator) smartphone app (see RAIN coverage here) supports Ford's SYNC AppLink, giving drivers voice-command access to thousands of AM, FM, HD and Internet radio stations. Read more in Engadget here.
And just today, Ford announced it will be the first automobile company to enable in-car, voice-controlled access to Clear Channel Radio's iHeartRadio app through the SYNC AppLink system (there's more on this here).
Audi, also exhibiting a connected car, likes the idea of linking to devices consumers already own and use. "Customers want to bring their own devices into the vehicle, not buy devices from the car maker," Anupam Malhotra, a senior strategist at Audi, told Variety (here). "By having broadband in the vehicle for audio and in some cases video streaming, we can leverage that to create a flexible entertainment medium." Chrysler and Kia also showed Internet-connected cars.
Harman’s interactive platform Aha Radio had lots to announce: the tech will be built in to some 2013 Subaru and Honda models, giving customers on-road access to MOG, NPR, Shoutcast, Rhapsody, Slacker, plus CBS Radio's 129 broadcast station streams (but not online-only Radio.com streams or Last.fm). The Aha Radio platform will also be available on select aftermarket receivers from Kenwood and Pioneer. Read more in Inside Radio or Engadget (here).
Not surprisingly, it's Pandora leading the way among webcasters in making a presence in new in-car devices. Two new Alpine receivers announced at CES sport SiriusXM and HD Radio support; one, the INE-Z928HD in-car DVD receiver, allows creation and control of Pandora stations with a smartphone (more here). You can also listen to Pandora via AppRadio2, Pioneer's new smartphone powered in-vehicle audio system, showcased at CES (here); and on two new Clarion units (that's a Clarion unit pictured -- see more from CarAudioMag.com here). Finally, Pandora and "middleware" company Jungo announced a partnership at CES that "pre-integrates" Pandora’s proprietary automotive API, Pandora Link, with Jungo’s MediaCore automotive middleware. Instead of needing to create their own interface, automakers or aftermarket stereo manufacturers can use MediaCore to connect Pandora to the car audio system and stream and control Pandora stations via smartphone, as well as display station and track info on an audio system screen. Read more here.
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