Kia will break Ford's monopoly in North America on the Sync technology with its launching of UVO at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from January 7-10, 2010. Kia's UVO, similar to Ford's Sync, is based on Microsoft's auto software platform as Ford's exclusive agreement with Microsoft expired in 2008. The two systems are based on the same platform but Microsoft and Kia spokespeople say the Kia system will have several unique features missing from Sync. Sync currently enables users to do a few things in the car that won't require them to take their hands off the wheel. These include making a call, changing songs on their iPod, getting directions, hearing real-time traffic information, etc. Sync debuted in 2007 and since then, Ford has added several features to it. Kia says however that similar features should appear on Kia's UVO. Ford now sells twice as many vehicles with Sync as it does without. Fiat offers a popular feature, called Blue & Me, based on Microsoft's auto platform in Europe. UVO will be used in 2010 on an as-yet unnamed Kia vehicle.
Kia UVO: the best competitor to Ford’s Sync technology?
by Andrew Christian, Email, 27 Aug, 2010
Kia UVO
