CES 2009: Ford Unveils Another Sync

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, January 8, 2009

LAS VEGAS — Ford and Microsoft debuted at International CES the newest version of the popular Sync  voice-activated car radio.

The Sync, developed with Microsoft, delivers voice commands to a basic radio, without a navigation screen, using the consumer's Bluetooth phone. It also includes three years of free traffic, weather navigation and other information all controlled by voice.

Information is read aloud to the user, but not displayed on a screen. The data is sent over the voice channel of the phone, so no data plan is required, said senior product manager, Microsoft automotive business unit, Velle Kolde. 

This new version of the Sync retains the original $399 price tag and begins rolling out this spring to be offered, eventually, in all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models. 

Users can ask to hear local weather, traffic and  sports scores using voice commands. They can ask for points of interest and the Sync automatically serves up directions or a phone number to the location. 

The system will also read aloud news headlines and if a headline sounds interesting, a user can ask it to read the full article. 

Offering such data for an extended period of three years is unique in the car market. The service uses Inrix traffic data and TellMe voice service. It is expected to be offered in a million vehicles this year, according to Inrix.