Volkswagen unveils new ‘iBeetle’ with integrated iPhone dock

By Cody Lee on Apr 22, 2013

This is kind of interesting. Following a press release this weekend, Volkswagen has just unveiled the ‘iBeetle’ at the Shanghai Motor Show in the city’s Pudong district. The vehicle is expected to launch early next year, and will come in both coupe and convertible models.

Why is it called the iBeetle? The car will feature a custom built-in iPhone docking station, as well as a companion app, that will allow you to sync your iPhone with its entertainment system for making phone calls, streaming music and more. More details after the fold… Read More

 

Apple looking to bolster its iOS vehicle integration team

By Cody Lee on Mar 7, 2013

This is pretty interesting. A series of new job listings have been discovered on Apple’s website, calling for applicants to fill a variety of positions related to iOS device integration with in-car stereos.

The listings are particularly relevant, given this week’s report that Ferrari and Apple are in talks to “broaden their partnership.” Could Apple be looking to get into the in-car entertainment space? Read More

 

Ferrari in talks with Apple to broaden their in-car entertainment partnership

By Cody Lee on Mar 5, 2013

This is kind of interesting. Ferrari unveiled its latest hybrid supercar today, the “LaFerrari.” And not only does it come with support for Siri’s Eyes Free feature, it also includes two iPad minis for your passenger’s entertainment.

But the automaker’s love for Apple runs even deeper than that. In addition to its new car, Ferrari also announced today that it plans to strengthen its partnership with the Cupertino company over the next several months… Read More

 

Steve Jobs wanted to take on Detroit with iCar

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 11, 2013

Before he died, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was dreaming about building an Apple-branded car, an iCar if you will, a Sunday newspaper report has briefly reasserted. Conveniently, Apple’s head of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, is on the board of Ferrari. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Apple was considering building a car.

Apple board member Mickey Drexler said at a conference last year that Steve at one point was keen on having Apple build a car, having even reportedly met with German car-maker Volkswagen back in 2007 to discuss the project.

And then there is SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller’s testimony during the monster August 2012 Apple v. Samsung trial where he said that Apple, after it had gotten its wind back from conquering the music biz with the iPod, considered all kinds of things it could do, among them “make a car”… Read More

 

Before the iPhone, Apple considered building…a car?

By Cody Lee on Aug 3, 2012

Apple’s high-profile patent trial with Samsung kicked off this week in a northern California courtroom. And in the 5 short days, it’s already yielded some pretty interesting information.

We’ve seen early prototype designs, of both the iPhone and the iPad, and have learned some other previously-secret stuff about the company. And today, we find out about the iCar… Read More

 

Nuance launches ‘Siri for cars’

By Christian Zibreg on May 22, 2012

Nuance, which provides world-class voice recognition technology behind Apple’s Siri personal assistant, today announced its entrance into the fast-growing connected cars market.

Their new automotive platform combines Nuance’s Dragon software and natural language understanding technologies to allow drivers to dictate messages, search for content, control music playback, navigation and more.

Was this an iCar solution Steve Jobs was dreaming about in his final days? Read More