AppLink is an interface between Sync and a smartphone (Android, Blackberry, iPhone) and third-party software such as Pandora (music), and Stitcher (aggregated podcasts). Some analysts say an onboard telematics modem makes back its cost in lower warranty costs and increased service department traffic.įord AppLink: Order a pizza from Domino’sįor cars with Sync but not Lincoln’s integrated telematics, Ford plans to continue enhancing Sync AppLink to work better and with more apps.
A robust onboard telematics system can provide WiFi, voice calling, up-to-date maps, stolen vehicle tracking and slowdown, geofencing, reports of vehicle problems, and customer notification of needed maintenance. Lincoln says the car’s onboard modem will talk to the smartphone MyLincoln Mobile app for remote lock/unlock, remote engine start, preconditioning the cabin temperature, and locating the vehicle (like Find My iPhone for cars). It’s unclear how rich the Lincoln features set will be. Lincoln is under pressure to be more competitive in the luxury car segment where most automakers integrate telematics. Now, the cost of a basic 3G telematics modem is less than $100 4G modems that customers prefer if they think about it still cost a bit more. In the past, if you connected your mobile phone via Sync, Ford and Lincoln used that for emergency crash notification (911 Assist) and some other services, but not as many as OnStar. Lincoln will also begin installing telematics modems. Lincoln is returning to knobs and they will be on the 2015 Lincoln MKC compact crossover that ships late spring or early summer. What sounded cool in the design studio and in a showroom turned out to be less user-friendly when driving on bumpy roads. Buttons became smaller buttons, text was downsized to match, and Lincoln’s AARP-heavy buyers grumbled. Tap in the middle and you set the volume, or fan, at 50%. Compared to the first-generation MyFord touch (right), Lincoln hoped this was coolness personified: Move your finger across the touchstrip, a chaser light follows your finger, and the volume goes up. Three years ago, Lincoln got hung up on the coolness of an all-touch center stack and in 2011 moved some cars to capacitive touch, including the volume and fan buttons (above). MyLincoln Touch will get similar software enhancements, and buttons.
Lincoln adds on-board telematics, loses capacitive sliders The 2015 F-150 pioneers so many new technologies that Ford turned to robotic testing to assist test track drivers. Note also the AC power outlet on the right on the center stack, capable of supplying 400 watts, 2X-3X what most vehicles provide. The F-150 will also go heavy on tech options: adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, and multiple surround cameras. Reports have General Motors rushing aluminum body panels into its competing Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra pickups that made the current ExtremeTech 10 Best Tech Cars list. The new F-150 is expected to ship late summer or fall.Ĭhanges to Sync on the 2015 Ford F-150 are overshadowed by Ford’s announced plan to use aluminum panels to cut 700 pounds of weight and raise fuel economy to as much as 30 mpg highway with a V6 engine. Ford says, “Designers have optimized the physical interface for MyFord Touch to accommodate truck users who may be wearing work gloves.” As for MyFord Touch, the screen “interfaces for climate control, entertainment, navigation and hands-free touch are identical” to Ford cars, meaning it would get the simpler voice structure.
It is virtually the same center stack as on the 2014 F-150 because buttons never quite went away on pickups. The 2015 Ford F-150 carries the same MyFord Touch interface and almost 30 infotainment and climate control buttons below the touchscreen on this vehicle.
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