WMfA.
Microsoft describes Windows Mobile for Automotive as an in-car software platform that provides hands-free communication, voice-activated digital music playback, and navigation in a "cost-effective package."
Microsoft says it will release the WMfA platform in three versions, offering three levels of increasing functionality and application support, in order to allow vehicle manufacturers to choose an appropriate platform for different vehicle segments.
- The base version includes basic Bluetooth functionality and speech recognition with both text-to-speech (speech synthesis) and speech-to-text (speech recognition) engines, according to Microsoft. It also includes a digital media player that supports various media formats such as MP3 and WMA and connects mass storage devices to the media player through USB.
- The second variant includes all functions of the base version, plus an integrated global positioning system (GPS) receiver for navigation and location-based applications, Microsoft says. Additionally, it will be configurable for three different types of navigation applications -- on-board, off-board, and hybrid navigation.
- The third version, according to Microsoft encompasses all functions of the second variant, as well as an integrated phone function that supports emergency calling as well as remote diagnostic and upgrade functionalities.
Fiat
demonstrated the first commercial system based on the WMfA platform at the Geneva Auto Show in February. Fiat says its Blue&Me product provides hands-free mobile phone support for over 140 models of mobile phones, portable media player integration via Bluetooth and USB, and voice-guided navigation. The software is easily upgradeable to support future generations of mobile phones and portable devices, according to Fiat.
Other examples of both dealer-installed and after-market products based on Windows Mobile for Automotive, as well as Windows Automotive, were
demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics show in January.
"People spend a large amount of time in their vehicles, and telematics is changing part of peoples' lives for the better," noted Ven Pedro, event director for Telematics Detroit 2006. "The more the industry matures, the more this technology will filter down from the high end into the mass market and change driving for everyone, forever."
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