N-SYNC—Microsoft Takes on The Car World
You saw the commercials during the Superbowl -- “Anesthesia, ON,” and “Door, OPEN,” so you know that Microsoft has now made its way into the automobile industry. Recently, the very helpful Sharon Dash, Sales and Leasing Consultant of Paul Cerame Ford-Lincoln-Mercury on New Halls Ferry Road, invited us to test drive a Ford Focus with Microsoft Sync installed.
We went in with high expectations. The hype about Sync is very impressive, and positive reviews of it abound. In a very basic description, Sync is voice-activated software that lets you control your music and phone hands-free, with a few extra functions thrown in for good measure. In the past, we’ve tested voice recognition software, and it usually wasn’t very good. You had to spend time “training” it and speak very clearly, and even then it got many things wrong. Sync is touted to require no training, and still be able to handle accents and mumbles; as well as Spanish and Canadian French.
During our tests, Sync mostly lived up to those claims (though we did not speak Spanish or Quebecker). When it didn’t understand, it offered the most likely options and let us pick one. There is also “Help,” which lists all the options under each menu. Sync took some getting used to at first, but between the manual and some patience; Sync isn’t difficult to work with--Just be sure you’re comfortable with it before you start actually driving. As for driving, Sync tests out fine on the road with background noises. You also don’t have to worry about Sync interpreting normal conversation as commands, nor about kids trying to take over the music system from the back seat. In order to give Sync a command, you need to press the Voice Recognition button, conveniently located right at your thumb on the steering wheel.
So what are the advantages to Sync? Let’s talk about hands-free phone use.
If your phone is Bluetooth-compatible, Sync will connect to it. In fact, Sync can potentially connect to the phone of every person in your car if you like, which could be great for road trips. If a call comes in for any one of the phones it’s connected to, you can put the current call or music on hold, and answer the new call. When you end the call, Sync goes right back to the previous call, or to the exact second of the song you were playing.
To make a call, you can either tell Sync to call someone in your phone’s contacts, or you can tell it to dial a number. It’s that simple, and the sound was stellar. Just remember that Sync is a computer, and you have to give it commands a tiny bit slower than you would speak in normal conversation. Sync will allow you to use many of your phone’s features. Sync supports screen caller ID, call waiting, call history, and conference (3-way) calling. It will even show you battery and signal strength.
With one or two spoken commands, Sync will download your entire phonebook in a matter of seconds. If you’re on a call and want to continue the call outside of your car, your connection is uninterrupted when you switch to your cell phone. If you get text messages on your phone, Sync will not only read them to you, but also allows you to respond using one of several preprogrammed messages, like “I’m stuck in Traffic.” Sync is hip, too, understanding LOL, OMG, and other abbreviations and emoticons. Just be sure to test your particular phone at the dealership.
Okay, what about the music? We connected an iPod, an Archos, and a no-name $30 MP3 player we picked up at a convenience store. Sync worked beautifully with all three. We did have a moment of fun when Sync interpreted Meatloaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” as Styx’s “Mademoiselle,” but when we spoke a little more slowly the second time, Sync found it just fine. Also, Sync will charge your USB devices as you’re using them!
What if you’ve got a music player with no connection to USB? There’s a traditional jack, though you won’t be able to use voice commands. What if your music is on your phone? Sync plays it from there. Even if you’ve got a flash drive, it’s the same deal. You just plug it into the USB port, and you’re ready to rock. And Sync remembers where you left off on each device if you unplug it.
Starting later this year, Sync is also good for your car’s--and your--health. It will be able to prompt you to take care of regular vehicle maintenance items, but more importantly; if you are in an accident, and your airbag deploys, Sync will call 911 directly and track your location via GPS or triangulation. It gives you 10 seconds to stop the call, which is more than enough if you’re conscious and capable. There are other systems that do this, sure, but their calls go to a call center and then to 911. Even better, there’s no extra cost or monthly fees for these services.
Where can you get Sync, and how much does it cost? Sync is available in 12 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury products now, and in 2009, it will be available for the entire fleet. Sync will add $395 to the bottom line. In November of this year, Sync will be available to other car manufacturers, but at present, Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury have an exclusive deal with Microsoft. Sync comes in two configurations, depending on whether or not a vehicle has a navigational system (navigational systems feature larger screens; pictured here is the non-navigational system), and is harnessed to the car in such a way that installation into another vehicle is not an option at this time.
With Sync compatible with so many Bluetooth devices, CD players, music players, PDAs, and even flash drives, $395 is a pretty small price to pay for such a helpful product.
