Your Newest Mobile Testing Device? A Ford
That mobile app you’re testing looks great on your phone, but how does it perform when you sync it up to Ford’s new in-vehicle platform AppLink? That’s a question some testers might have to start asking themselves if developers adopt Ford’s new API. And don’t think you have plenty of time to plan for this situation, AppLink is now live and supported in 1 million Fords. From TechCrunch:
The AppLink API allows developers to link their mobile apps to Ford’s SYNC platform and lets drivers manage the apps through voice controls and radio buttons on their steering wheels. The platform is still invite-only and some of the supported apps include Pandora, TuneIn, Slack Radio and NPR News.
Though the platform isn’t public yet, Ford is actively trying to build up its collection of supported apps. The car company hosted a contest at last year’s San Fran TechCrunch Hackathon and the winner now has their app available on AppLink. And Ford is doing the same this year.
As Ford tells us, the company is mostly looking for participants who have experience developing for mobile platforms and who can develop an app that can use the current set of SYNC/AppLink APIs and “is relevant for use in the vehicle while in motion, and lends itself to voice recognition for command and control.”
Read the full article at TechCrunch >>>
As of right now, AppLink is available in the 2013 Fiesta and Mustang, the 2012 Expedition, Fusion, F-150 and Super-Duty and a few more 2013 models are slated to get the feature by the end of this year. So if you’re in the market for a new car and you’re interested in expanding your testing reach, Ford might be the way to go.






