Microsoft out Blackberry in?

[dmspen]

Will Blackberry's QNX replace Microsoft in Ford cars? Too bad MS doesn't get its act together. SYNC problems still abound. Even with the latest release I've found bugs - like different outside temperatures on the center console and dash screen.


http://news.cnet.com/8301-32969_3-57619624-300/ford-not-married-to-microsoft-for-next-gen-sync-but-blackberry-isnt-necessarily-in/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57619452-94/blackberry-said-to-be-replacing-microsoft-in-fords-new-cars/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-22/ford-said-to-swap-blackberry-s-qnx-for-microsoft-in-sync-system.html

 

[jmueller065]

The interesting thing is a small sentence from a Ford press release:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1730

Industry-leading Ford SYNC® AppLink™ will be available on 3.4 million more vehicles later this year; free upgrade enables current Ford owners to access and control smartphone apps via voice command

Since Ford won't sell 3.4 million vehicles with Sync this year it is safe to assume that a Sync update is coming to enable Applink. The real question is: Is this update running on QNX or Windows?? (If you look closely at the 2015 Focus videos when they demo MFT it appears quite responsive. More so than our current MFT. That, however, could just be clever video editing instead of MFT on QNX.)

 

[pjam3]

Apple, Google, etc are pushing hard to get into the connected car markets. AT&T has a million dollar project going that partners with auto companies. Many people in the tech space find Msft to be legacy and out of touch with anything new. So with certain problems they've had over the years, it would be easy for other companies to come in and snatch away the contracts.

Will it happen? Who knows. Msft might be forced to give better deals or something just to stay in the space. My concern is that if BB or somebody else snatches away the deals, what happens to the existing cars "powered by Msft"? I've worked in the space long enough to know that companies don't exactly 'keep up to date' if it's for a product they aren't making money on anymore.

 

[JOEFRIDAY]

I'm not really an Apple guy except for the iPhone.

But why do I get the impression that if Apple had done the SYNC instead of Microsoft; that the dam thing would have worked really well?

The SYNC is typical Microsoft.

Joe