CES 2009

Our heads are still spinning a bit from the onslaught that was the in-car electronics hall of CES 2009. From every direction, there were speakers the size of extralarge pizzas and flashy video displays vying for your attention. Amidst the cacophony, our (ahem) skilled Car Tech editors were able to spot a few gems and a few diamonds in the rough.

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

As evidenced by our Car Tech category Best of CES finalists, we predict that the next big thing in in-car entertainment is connectivity. Our winner, Gracenote CarStars, puts a star's avatar in your reasonably priced car by pairing a music concierge service with a subscription-based music service and beaming it all into your dashboard.

Our runners-up, AT&T CruiseCast and Ford/Microsoft Sync 3.0, also use their own forms of connectivity to the vehicle cabin experience. CruiseCast, which we got a peak at during SEMA 2008, captures 25 channels of satellite television using only a roof-mounted receptor about the size of a large mixing bowl. Sync 3.0 utilizes the ubiquitous Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone to deliver turn-by-turn directions with Internet-based traffic, weather, and point-of-interest searching.

(Credit: Blaupunkt)

While we were there, we also took note of Blaupunkt and MiRoamer's Internet radio streaming service, which also makes use of a Bluetooth-paired mobile phone with data connection.

Just announced during the show was Audiovox/Jensen's partnership with MediaFLO to bring the live mobile TV service FLO TV to Audiovox ceiling- and headrest-mounted displays. Details of the service are still coming together, but so far it looks exciting.

Don't forget to check out our First Look videos from the Car Tech Mobile Testing Lab in the center of the Car Electronics Hall, where we test the lastest from Alpine, Audiovox, JVC, Kenwood, and Sony. We even had a celebrity guest to drop by!

Ford Sync 3.0 offers turn-by-turn directions.

(Credit: Microsoft)

We've been pretty impressed by Sync's Bluetooth phone and MP3 player connectivity, but Version 3.0 of Sync gains a whole new dimension with an array of connected services that includes navigation, traffic conditions, business search, weather, and other information sources. To use these services, you hit the voice command button in a Sync-equipped car and request services. The system uses your Bluetooth paired phone to connect with a server where you can request, by voice, directions, traffic conditions, a local business search, and other services.

The really innovative aspect of this system is that Ford can easily add new services, because they are loaded into a centralized server. For new services, car owners may need to update their version of Sync, but that can be as simple as downloading an update file from Ford's SyncMyRide Web site, putting it on a USB drive, and hooking it up to the car. However, this new version of Sync requires a GPS chip, which wasn't installed with earlier versions of Sync, so there won't be backward compatibility.

Sync can use this simple monochrome display for a variety of services.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The system doesn't require an LCD screen or factory navigation system, either. When you request directions to an address, Sync uses the GPS chip to send your location to the server, which computes your turn-by-turn directions and sends them to the car. If you get off the route, you can ask the system to update the directions, and it will send down a new set based on your current location. Likewise, with business search, you can request a business type by saying florist, or hardware, and it will find the nearest business of that type and send it to the car. With the traffic conditions feature, the system will advise you of any bad traffic on your route, and then suggest an alternative.

Ford will make this new version of Sync available on almost all 2010 Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln models. There is no subscription fee for the first three years of ownership. Ford will determine any future fees at a later date.

Steve Ballmer joins Alan Mulally at the keynote.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

Last year, GM CEO Rick Wagoner showed up to bring Detroit a little closer to CES, and at this year's show, Ford CEO Alan Mulally made an even stronger commitment to bring the kinds of electronics on show here into cars. Nothing could have set the tone of his keynote better than having Microsoft's Steve Ballmer come out at the beginning for a quick handshake and talk about working with Ford on Sync. Ballmer pointed out that Microsoft and Ford share a vision of making the car a connected environment, while Mulally said that Ford is learning to think and act like an electronics company.

Afterward, a parade of Ford executives came out to highlight different aspects of Ford's new cabin tech. Doug VanDagens, Director of Product and Business Development for electronics, announced that Ford would be offering HD radio in its cars by 2010, through a partnership with Ibiquity. Then he followed up with the big news, Sync 3.0. This latest version of Sync is greatly expanded in functionality, taking the simple cell phone and MP3 player connectivity of the prior version and adding a whole raft of services. With a paired Bluetooth cell phone, Sync 3.0 lets you connect to the Ford Service Delivery Network, which offers traffic conditions, weather, and business search, the last letting you look for businesses nearby using a keyword, such as flowers. All of these services come from an external source, so the information available is almost limitless. This new version of Sync will come with a GPS chip in the car, and make turn-by-turn directions available. Ford will offer all of these services for free during the first three years of car ownership, although there is no current word if they will start charging a fee at a later date.

Sync 3.0 uses a paired cell phone to bring services into the car.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

Jim Buczkowski, in charge of interface development, came out next to talk about some new designs for instrument clusters in Ford vehicles. He first showed off the SmartGauge system, just now being launched in the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid, which helps people drive more economically by giving them gauges that can coach them to greater fuel efficiency. Buczkowski mentioned principles Ford is using in designing a new generation for the Sync interface, then showed off a very conceptual new dashboard design with an electronic assistant dubbed EVA. The demo film showed a woman driving a Lincoln, and speaking to the EVA avatar in a conversational voice. The woman was able to ask for directions, place a phone call, have EVA read a news story and an e-mail out loud, and put an appointment on her calendar. Automakers long have shown off wild concept cars at auto shows, but this is the first time we've seen a concept dashboard from an automaker at an electronics show.

The EVA avatar suggests some music.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

Mulally came back on stage for some final comments, saying that with Sync, Ford is now on the same clock cycle for development as electronics companies. He virtually invited all in attendance to develop devices and services that could use Ford vehicles as a platform. Winding it up, he announced that Sync will now be launched worldwide, starting with seven European countries, followed by Japan and Australia.

The remote PC access product LogMeIn is getting into trucks. A branded version of the software, "LogMeIn for Ford Work Solutions" will be included in the new F-150 trucks (and a few other models) equipped with the optional Ford Works Solutions suite, a collection of options that includes Internet access, a dashboard monitor, and a wireless keyboard and pointing device.

Remote desktop.

(Credit: Ford)

LogMeIn spokespeople, in a CES announcement, said they envision construction contractors and other mobile workers using the remote access product to work on billing and other office documents without requiring them to carry a laptop in their vehicle.

I'm a LogMeIn user and can vouch for the product. For remote networking software, it is extremely simple to set up and use, and its performance is fast enough over a wireless connection. It works on both Windows machines and Macs, and cross-platform as well (you can control a Mac from a Windows desktop, and vice versa).

No news as to whether the feature will be disabled for the driver while the vehicle is in motion, or if LogMeIn running on a desktop PC or Mac will be able to tap into the truck's on-board Windows-based computer.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally will be giving an afternoon keynote at CES today. CNET News and Car Tech will have a full report.