Frost & Sullivan contends that the costs of developing proprietary telematics and infotainment software are prohibitive. A common platform such as WMfA offers a cost-effective way to bring telematics and infotainment to mass-market vehicle models. It also serves as a gateway for connecting multiple consumer devices to the vehicle.
Microsoft says it will release the WMfA platform in three versions, offering three levels of increasing functionality and application support. This allows vehicle manufacturers to choose an appropriate platform for different vehicle segments, according to the company.
The base version includes basic Bluetooth functionality and speech recognition with both text-to-speech (speech synthesis) and speech-to-text (speech recognition) engines. 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 it plans to introduce three different types of navigation applications -- on-board, off-board and hybrid navigation.
The third version 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.
Last week, Microsoft and Fiat jointly announced
Blue&Me, the first real product based on Windows Mobile for Automotive to be exhited later this month at the Geneva Motorshow.
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