BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Audi have all said they will offer Siri integration in their cars, but General Motors apparently will be the first to market with Apple’s oft lauded, sometimes derided personal digital assistant technology. Game changer or also ran? The Chevrolet Spark and Sonic will be Siri’s to-market vehicles, which arrive in early 2013.
Apple has a habit of coming late to the party and then schooling everyone on how it should have been done. With voice recognition, the Cupertino, California-based Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad maker has neither first mover advantage nor has it achieved “it just works” domination.
Once dead and now insanely profitable General Motors has announced it will deliver Siri integration when it ships the Spark (1LT, 2LT) and Sonic (LTZ, RS) early next year.
“It says a lot about our commitment to small-car customers that Chevrolet has announced that Siri Eyes Free capability will be available in the Spark and Sonic well before the luxury brands,” said Chevrolet Managing Direct Cristi Landy. “Safe, easy, reliable and portable connectivity is a top priority for our customers, and Siri complements MyLink’s existing capabilities to help deliver an incredible driving experience.”
Whereas Ford calls their in-car implementation of Microsoft voice control technology Sync, GM is calling their Siri integration build out MyLink, which relies on Bluetooth to do the magic. At least initially, compatibility will be limited to the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, though one suspects the Siri compatible iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPad mini will work, as well.
See also:A video demo and review of Siri integration in the GM Spark SIRI.
The potentially killer combination of GM’s MyLink and Siri Eyes Free will allow users to make hands free calls, play iTunes music and compose messages. However, more complex tasks, like opening a webpage, aren’t part of the initial feature set.
Again, BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Audi are also promising Siri integration in their cars, but haven’t yet said when that will happen.
Whether Siri has the stuff to dominate voice recognition in the car remains an open question. However, Apple’s personal digital assistant will arrive in style inside the world’s top cars…
Ready to buy a Chevy just to get Siri?
via The Next Web