Jaguar Land Rover has announced the first wave of third party apps for its innovative new smartphone integration platform - InControl Apps - which has been developed in conjunction with BOSCH SoftTec.
Jaguar Land Rover has worked closely with leading third party app developers to enable an initial suite of Android and iOS compatible applications that will greatly enhance the in-vehicle user experience for customers.
The platform will allow access to apps including: iHeart Radio; Inrix; Stitcher; Glympse; Sygic; Parkopedia; Hotelseeker; Cityseeker; Airmotion News; Winston and Mobile Day.
Nick Gionis, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Engineer Infotainment, said: "Our new InControl Apps platform delivers on our vision to provide customers access to familiar, branded third party applications from their smartphones safely and conveniently in their vehicles.
"Jaguar Land Rover and our technology partner BOSCH SoftTec will actively continue to add further applications to the InControl Apps portfolio throughout 2014 and beyond, providing our customers with a continually updating experience throughout their vehicle ownership."
InControl Apps will become available in new Jaguar and Land Rover models during 2014.
The new apps include:
'iHeartRadiofor Auto' is Clear Channel's made-for-driving application that offers a simple, safety-minded interface designed to provide seamless access to iHeartRadio's digital music service. iHeartRadio for Auto brings more than 1,500 live radio stations, plus user-created custom stations inspired by favourite artists and songs right to the vehicle's dashboard. The app also offers a variety of other iHeartRadio features, including thumbs up/thumbs down, station scan and a music discovery tuner. Plus, drivers can access the new Talk feature which gives users the best on-demand news, talk and entertainment content available.
INRIX is a leading provider of traffic information and driver services worldwide. The company's breakthrough crowd-sourced traffic app, INRIX Traffic, takes the guesswork out of the daily commute for millions of drivers worldwide. INRIX Traffic includes several time saving benefits including the fastest routes, real-time traffic maps and traffic forecasts.
The INRIX Traffic app has been optimised for InControl Apps with key features including optimized font, in-app icon and button sizes optimized for in-car use and customized interaction using the in-vehicle display making the experience much more driver friendly.
Stitcher gives talk radio and podcast fans a simple way to listen to the best of over 20,000 news, sports, talk and entertainment shows from premier sources like NPR, Fox, BBC, Wall Street Journal, TEDTalks, comedians like Adam Carolla and Joe Rogan, and more. Stitcher is the leading on demand radio app for smartphones, in cars, and on the web.
Glympse is the pioneer of temporary location sharing, and the company's technology enables users to share their movements with anyone in real-time. With Jaguar Land Rover's InControl Apps drivers can access Glympse through the car's display, to share their location and estimated time of arrival (ETA) while en route to their destination.
Sygic. Thanks to In-Car Connectivity, users of Sygic GPS Navigation are able to mirror application from their Android device or iPhone directly into their in-dash solution. In-Car Connectivity is available as an in-app purchase.
Sygic GPS Navigation is the most downloaded GPS Offline Navigation with more than 33 million of users. Unlike other map services, map data in Sygic: GPS Navigation is stored on the user's phone instead of streamed from the Internet, which means that Sygic users don't have to worry about running up against their cellular data caps by using GPS navigation or getting lost in an area with poor cell reception.
Parkopedia is the world's leading parking information provider used by millions of drivers every month online, on their phones and in their car navigation systems. It allows drivers to find the closest parking to their destination, tells them how much it will cost and whether the space is available. Jaguar and Land Rover drivers will be able to safely access Parkopedia inside their cars and find detailed information on over 28 million parking spaces in 40 countries around the world.
Hotelseeker / Citiseeker. wcities has been providing location based services to the world for over 15 years with the information that allows the end consumer to book a place to stay, find something to do, and enjoy everything a city has to offer. Our consumer application in-car apps, hotelseeker, eventseeker and cityseeker, turn your vehicle into your own concierge with the touch of a screen.
Airmotion has developed its News on Board app to make it suitable for use in Jaguar Land Rover vehicles. The Android version was launched in December 2013 and the iOS version will be available in the App store for download from February 2014.
Via the smart phone connect-to-car system the News on Board app provides a full news service in six categories and is accessible via Jaguar Land Rover's on board vehicle entertainment system.
The app is the first news app available on a global basis equipped with a so-called reader function. It also functions without compromising vehicle safety in traffic. Text-to-speech enables both driver and passengers to stay informed with up to the minute breaking news from the worlds of politics, business, sport, technology and entertainment. News is delivered as both text and image.
Winston is a critically-acclaimed personal assistant that transforms your personalized news and social feeds into a delightful speech-enabled experience. Leveraging the InContro Apps platform will enable Winston's users to enjoy a first-of-its-kind in-car listening experience for personalized news summaries and social content - yielding a more enjoyable and safer on-the-go information experience.
Mobile Day is an easy one touch connection into any conference call. All busy executives on the road should download the app that will auto-detect meetings in their iPhone and Android calendars and connect their calls without having to think about dial in codes and PIN numbers - just making life easier. MobileDay's enterprise level service, Least Cost Dialling (or LCD), automatically updates the phone number to be dialled based on the mobile device's location at the time of the call. Executives love the global cost savings and employees love the one touch ease of the LCD service.
Driver safety and security are of the upmost importance. With the MobileDay app as part of the InControl Apps platform, drivers can stay focused on the road while joining calls and not worry about their privacy because the InControl App leaves their data on their device.
