feb 25

Ford loads up Spotify as the first apps make it through its open dev program

Generale, Hardware Upgrade, iPhone, Mobile No Comments »

Spotify has made its first connected car appearance. At Mobile World Congress, Ford and Spotify announced that the subscription music service will soon be available over the Sync AppLink platform and integrated with the Sync’s voice command system in Ford vehicles in the U.S., Europe and Australia.

According to Spotify Global Head of Hardware Partnerships Pascal de Mul, the updated iPhone and Android apps will soon be able to pair with the dashboard AppLink system, streaming music through the car’s entertainment systems. Users will be able to play their songs, playlists and radio stations and even be able to create new radio stations on the fly with simple voice commands, he said.

Ford has been loading up on music streaming apps in AppLink, making it a key initial focus of its connected car strategy. Its library of supported services includes Pandora, Amazon Cloud Player, MOG Music, Slacker, and Rhapsody as well as multiple radio station’s digital apps.

Ford CTO Paul Mascarenas said digital music streaming figures right into Sync’s sweet spot. Ford doesn’t have to explain the utility of the services to the driving public since music is already the most popular form of entertainment in the car. The integration of a streaming service into Sync is relatively simple. And since the content is audio only and can be manipulated through Sync commands, the apps all easily meet Ford’s requirements that no connected car app distract a driver from the road, he said.

At the show Ford also revealed it is adding AppLink connectivity to its EcoSport crossover SUV (pictured at top) just in time for its European debut. For also brought several apps Europe that were previously available in U.S. cars: Kaliki, Glympse and Aha Radio.

We got a chance to sit down with Mascarenas for a few minutes at MWC to get a quick update on Ford’s new open development platform, originally unveiled at CES. Though the program is barely more than a month old, 2500 developers have already signed up and downloaded the SDK. Many of those devs have already completed apps and have submitted them to Ford, and a few those apps actually received final approval, Mascarenas said. Mascarenas said Ford plans to announced those apps in the coming weeks.

Spotfiy doesn’t count since it began working with Ford before the development program was launched, Mascarenas said, but the program has opened up Sync to a lot of smaller developers who wouldn’t usually get Ford’s direct attention. Ford is now faced with a distribution and discovery issue. “If you go into an app store, there’s no easy way to find the apps that AppLink-enabled, Mascarenas said.

When the number of Sync apps was small, Ford could promote them individually. But there are now 63 AppLink-optimized apps, and that number will grow significantly as the apps start emerging from the developer program. Ford is working on ways to catalog them. Whether that means creating its own app store or portal Android or working with Apple and Google to spotlight connected car software, Mascarenas didn’t say. Ford could also go with the approach, GM appears to be adopting and create a catalog in the dashboard itself.


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gen 10

Forget apps, Ford’s OpenXC project will produce open-source car hardware

Generale, Hardware Upgrade, iPhone, Mobile No Comments »

Ford’s revelation this week that it would open up its Sync Applink connected car platform to third-party developers was apparently just the beginning of its plans to evolve its vehicles. On Thursday, Ford announced it is taking its OpenXC open-source hardware program out of beta, making the deepest inner workings of the car open to engineers who want to design apps and even modular hardware components for the future automobiles.

OpenXC is a joint project between Ford and open-source hardware developer Bug Labs to bridge the gap between the highly specialized and proprietary world of automotive computing and the world of open development. As part of that collaboration, Bug Labs demonstrated it could design new aftermarket hardware components like a solar-powered heads-up display that could be easily installed and yet integrate seamlessly into the car’s communications network.

Ford Sync AppLink TeleNav ScoutBut the primary goal of the project was to create is a vehicle interface module based on the open-source hardware platform Arduino It plugs into car’s internal communications network and gains real-time access to vehicle performance data like speed, acceleration and braking as well as vehicle sensor data. The module then translates that information into a format an Android smartphone or tablet can decipher. Developer are then free to build smartphone apps that can read the vehicle data or use the interface as the basis for a new hardware that integrates directly into the car.

“Ford is committed to innovating with the help of software and now hardware developers,” Ford VP and CTO  Paul Mascarenas said in a statement. “By connecting cars and trucks to wireless networks, and giving unheard-of access to vehicle data, entirely new application categories and hardware modules can be explored – safety, energy efficiency, sharing, health; the list goes on. OpenXC gives developers and researchers the tools they need to get involved.”

While there are some similarities between OpenXC and the new Ford Developer Program, it’s easiest to think about the former as an R&D platform for future technology and the Sync program as a commercial platform over which apps can be designed and distributed to millions of cars today. While Sync is primarily an infotainment platform – apps can play music, access Sync’s voice command system and use the in-vehicle displays, but they can’t figure out how fast your going or whether a semi is bearing down on your bumper.




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lug 05

Newly installed and updated apps reportedly crashing on launch due to corrupt App Store binary bug

iPhone No Comments »

Corrupt App Store downloads reportedly causing crashes-on-launch for iPhone, iPad users

If you've downloaded or updated an app from the iPhone or iPad App Store in the last day or so, and it's crashing every time you launch it, you might have gotten a bad binary from Apple. At least that's what Instapaper developer Marco Arment began trouble-shooting last night on Twitter, and has now posted in detail about on Marco.org.

At first blush, it sounds like Apple has corrupted copies of app update files on their content distribution network. Whatever the cause, if you're experiencing the problem, try deleting it and installing it again. If the problem persists, wait a while and try again later -- wait a day if you have to.

Needless to say, this has also resulted in a slew of bad reviews for Instapaper and other afflicted apps. It's important to stress -- this isn't the developer's fault, this appears to be a problem on Apple's end in the App Store system. Developers are victims here. If you left a bad review, please consider going back and amending it. If you haven't reviewed Instapaper or any of the afflicted apps in a while, and you like them, consider giving them a review right now to help make up for the deluge of misdirected negative reviews they're suffering from at the moment.

Update 1: The Early Edition 2 is also getting caught and have posted a warning on GlasshouseApps.com advising users not to update until Apple resolves the issue.

Update 2: GoodReader seems to be experiencing the same App Store issue and they've put up a tech support article GoodReader.net explaining how to make sure you don't lose any GoodReader files or data.

Update 3: Based on some screenshots sent our way, it looks like FairPlay, Apple's DRM (digital rights management) wrapper, might have been improperly applied on some copies of the afflicted apps, causing the bad binaries.

If you're a developer and you want to avoid experiencing the problem yourself, or if you simply want more information on what Arment has managed to piece together, hit the link below.

Source: Marco.org



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lug 03

iCloud beta for developers back online, includes Notes and Reminders

iPhone No Comments »

iCloud beta for developers reveals web versions of Notes and Reminders

A developer preview of iCloud, including the new Calendar, Notes, Reminders web apps, and Find my iPhone is once again online. They popped up briefly a while ago, only to quickly disappear, but this time they seem to be stable and in working order.

The iCloud beta and developers sites are intended to let developers test against the Documents in the Cloud feature gaining increased support in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, and other features introduced in iOS 6.

Based on reports by MacRumors, current functionality includes the ability to see all the notes saved on iOS devices, while Reminders shows your fully-synced to-do list, complete with search and status change. Find my iPhone has had a bit of a polish, but nothing insanely new (it still seems to use Google Maps tiles, for example), and by the looks of it, the only thing new in Calendar is the removal of Reminders.

We're also expecting to see Notification Center-style pop-ups when the final version is ready.

iOS 6 promises to bring a few new features to iCloud, such as synced browser tabs, and potentially photo and video sharing with commenting. 

MobileMe was recently shuttered, setting the stage for Apple's next generation of remote storage and services.

Once upon a time, Steve Jobs said of Android that Apple didn't go into the search business, while Google went into the Phone business, but the fresh emphasis on iCloud is a clear shot across Google's bow. Odds are only hardcore Apple fans will opt for iCloud solutions over Google's, but that's certainly a good start.

Developers, are you getting involved with iCloud for your apps? Is it any better than using an in-house syncing solution? End-users, do you prefer using iCloud to Google solutions? Why or why not?

Source: MacRumors



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