Ford was one of the first automakers to offer a connected in-dash infotainment solution in their Sync system. It’s also considered one of the best to this day. The goal for the next phase of in-dash connections is not to your devices, but to the apps themselves. For this, Ford has picked up a nice piece of the puzzle in a small company called Livio.
Livio is a company that specializes in two-way linking applications for iOS, Android, and even Blackberry to your car. To do this, they have a number of APIs, SDKs, code libraries, hardware emulators, and testing tools that help developers create the two-way link. It’s supposed to make a tangled mess easy for automaker, developer, and consumer alike. Ford, likes this technology so much that they are not only buying Livio for their own Sync AppLink, they are also proposing a single standard mobile-to-car interface platform for all automakers. This would streamline the process for developer and make sure more apps are car-connected. Using Livio technology, Ford hopes to have produced 7 million AppLink equipped vehicles by 2015.
Financial details were not disclosed, but it is expected to be be just shy of $10 million. What do you think of this deal? Do you like Ford’s Sync AppLink? Would you like more car connected apps? Be sure to comment here or on our social media pages. You can find links to those at the bottom of the page.
