02-24-2014, 09:02 PM
When Bill Gates announced a new partnership with Ford Motor Co. (F) in early 2007, he declared: “Our ambition is to give you connected experiences 24 hours a day. We’re going to have Ford cars leading the way and showing you how to do that.”
It didn’t quite work out that way. The Sync system Ford developed with Microsoft (MSFT) did become one of the most advanced systems for controlling mobile devices, such as phones and music players, through a vehicle’s dashboard controls. It wasn't exactly what consumers were looking for, however, which is why seven years later, Ford is dumping Microsoft for technology powered by BlackBerry (BBRY), the former smartphone maker that has become a poster child for disruptor-turned-disrupted.
But Sync has never been as seamless as Ford and Microsoft promised. Many drivers find it inherently awkward to talk to their car, much as some iPhone users reject the mild-mannered services of Siri, the computerized concierge. Getting full use out of Sync requires memorizing dozens of voice commands. Making a mistake can lead to computerized dead ends, like giving the wrong answers when prompted to choose an option on an automated customer-service call. Sync users frequently complain about abandoning the confusing voice-command system and reverting to the touch screen, which can be confusing itself -- defeating the purpose of a hands-free system in the first place.
Consumer Reports may have been the most prominent critic of Ford’s Sync system and an upgrade known as MyFord Touch. In 2010, CR praised Ford for “pushing the connectivity envelope” with Sync, but also complained that “not one of us to date has ever been able to make it work.” As the magazine’s auto testers got more familiar with the system, their criticism intensified. One review questioned whether Sync represented “intuition, or insanity?”
Consumers complained too, with Ford falling sharply in J.D. Power quality ratings in a single year -- almost entirely because of frustration with Sync. In the latest Power quality survey, Ford ranked well below average, and Lincoln ranked average. In Consumer Reports' latest reliability ratings, Ford came in third from last and Lincoln second from last.
It did always amaze me that quality ratings for a vehicle could suffer so badly based on just a sound system. And, good luck to BB.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-excha...23367.html
It didn’t quite work out that way. The Sync system Ford developed with Microsoft (MSFT) did become one of the most advanced systems for controlling mobile devices, such as phones and music players, through a vehicle’s dashboard controls. It wasn't exactly what consumers were looking for, however, which is why seven years later, Ford is dumping Microsoft for technology powered by BlackBerry (BBRY), the former smartphone maker that has become a poster child for disruptor-turned-disrupted.
But Sync has never been as seamless as Ford and Microsoft promised. Many drivers find it inherently awkward to talk to their car, much as some iPhone users reject the mild-mannered services of Siri, the computerized concierge. Getting full use out of Sync requires memorizing dozens of voice commands. Making a mistake can lead to computerized dead ends, like giving the wrong answers when prompted to choose an option on an automated customer-service call. Sync users frequently complain about abandoning the confusing voice-command system and reverting to the touch screen, which can be confusing itself -- defeating the purpose of a hands-free system in the first place.
Consumer Reports may have been the most prominent critic of Ford’s Sync system and an upgrade known as MyFord Touch. In 2010, CR praised Ford for “pushing the connectivity envelope” with Sync, but also complained that “not one of us to date has ever been able to make it work.” As the magazine’s auto testers got more familiar with the system, their criticism intensified. One review questioned whether Sync represented “intuition, or insanity?”
Consumers complained too, with Ford falling sharply in J.D. Power quality ratings in a single year -- almost entirely because of frustration with Sync. In the latest Power quality survey, Ford ranked well below average, and Lincoln ranked average. In Consumer Reports' latest reliability ratings, Ford came in third from last and Lincoln second from last.
It did always amaze me that quality ratings for a vehicle could suffer so badly based on just a sound system. And, good luck to BB.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-excha...23367.html