Honda Showing Sync Competitor this Summer

By Damon Lavrinc of www.wired.com

Honda has been playing it safe in the infotainment game, as competition from Ford and General Motors push ahead with ambitious systems that leverage driver’s devices and the cloud. But next month the Japanese automaker plans to reveal its next-generation infotainment solution, HondaLink, before it becomes available on the 2013 Accord this fall.

A cursory glance at Honda’s current navigation and infotainment offerings leaves a lot to be desired. Most of the functionality is still stuck in the mid-2000s, primarily comprised of basic navigation functionality and a complete lack of streaming audio solutions, outside of satellite and terrestrial radio.

That’s about to change with the introduction of the revamped HondaLink system, which debuts first on the Fit EV, an electrified version of the brand’s popular sub-compact hatchback.

Honda is in the midst of moving many of its connected services away from satellite data, although Honda representatives speaking with Wired haven’t determined if the automaker will move towards a built-in, always-connected modem in its vehicles or rely on driver’s smartphones to provide data services.

At CES this January, Honda announced a partnership with Aha Radio to begin providing streaming audio services in its 2013 models, and the first vehicle to benefit from that tie-up will be the all-new Accord.

The Aha Radio app – available for both iOS and Android devices – allows drivers to access thousands of streaming audio feeds, including podcasts, NPR, Rhapsody and MOG integration, through the vehicle’s head-unit.

Honda’s infotainment initiative won’t be fully disclosed until the middle of July, and that gives the automaker time to get its data situation sorted and possibly bring other content partners on board.

Source;
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/06/hondalink-summer/