integrity

Automakers embrace online music apps

Just about every new car comes with a USB port and Bluetooth streaming, letting you bring in digital-audio devices and play music through the car's stereo. But many people have already moved from stored media to online music services.

Automakers are just beginning to keep up, integrating existing online music services with new models.

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Not only can a built-in interface for an online music service make a car more attractive to a devotee of that service, but it also provides a safer interface. Where a Pandora fan might hook … Read more

Apple plans 'aggressive' move into car integration -- report

Apple is already making some inroads into the vehicle market, but the company has much broader plans, according to a new report.

Apple is currently working with car makers to integrate iPhones and perhaps iPods into car consoles, 9to5Mac is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans. Apple envisions a way for iPhone owners to plug their devices into cars and then use specially optimized versions of Siri and Maps for in-vehicle use.

Last year at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced "Eyes-Free Siri," which was designed for car makers to integrate the … Read more

Google to integrate app activities into Search

NEW YORK--Google plans to integrate information on app activities into its Search page, giving users insight into what peers are doing and linking Google+ more closely with Google's other offerings.

The company in February launched its Google+ sign-on service that allows Google accounts to be used when logging into third-party apps and Web sites. Users taking advantage of the Google sign-in also can instantly download the Android app version without having to turn on their phones. The move was viewed as a way for Google to weave its accounts more tightly into the fabric of the Internet and a … Read more

Born in the U.S.A.: Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum amplifier

A lot of audiophiles love tube amplifiers, and I've owned my share, but I don't currently have tubes in my main hi-fi system. I instantly remembered what I was missing when I hooked up the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum integrated amplifier with my KEF LS50 speakers. They're good together.

Before founding Rogue Audio in 1996, Mark O'Brien worked for Bell Labs and other companies doing electronics development, lasers, and transformer design. Like so many audio designers I've met over the years, O'Brien started building amplifiers when he was a little kid. Audio is a … Read more

BMW adding Rhapsody and Audible to app roster

NEW YORK--Adding to its existing roster of app integration, which currently comprises Pandora and Mog, BMW announced its next four apps to work with BMW cars at the New York International Auto Show. Music fans will be able to easily use Rhapsody and TuneIn, book lovers can listen to Audible, and Glympse lets drivers share their current whereabouts and destination.

Each app shows up on the LCD in BMW models equipped with the app integration feature, in a format similar to other car applications, such as navigation or the hands-free phone system.

Rhapsody subscribers will get a similar feature set … Read more

Six tech features that should be standard in every new car

Air bags, antilock brakes, and stability control. CD players, power locks and windows, and air conditioning. These are all features that at some point were optional (and sometimes costly) in vehicles, but over time we've come to expect them in every new car on the road -- whether that's due to legislation or changing buyer tastes. As cars continue to evolve, so grow our expectations of what should be included in the sticker price. I've rounded up a few optional car tech features that I'd like to see make the jump to being standard equipment.

Bluetooth … Read more

Ford, GM, open up to developers at CES 2013

LAS VEGAS--Ford and GM both surprised the automotive and technology worlds by announcing developer programs for their in-car software platforms, essentially replicating the ecosystem of the smartphone on the dashboard. The two launched Web sites with nearly identical URLs, developer.ford.com and developer.gm.com, to support independent development of apps for their cars.

Ford already boasts about 20 apps integrated with its Sync AppLink system, with nine new apps announced at the show. GM is behind in the dashboard app game, but the open development program should give it a jumpstart.

The programs are designed to encourage developers … Read more

Starbucks: We'll be Passbook-ready before October

Starbucks says it will be integrated with Apple's Passbook by the end of the month.

The company announced the news on Twitter this morning, providing no further information about features or carryover for current Starbucks card holders.

A Starbucks spokesperson told CNET that an update to the company's iPhone app will let current Starbucks Card owners add their account to Passbook.

Passbook, which went out as part of iOS 6 earlier this week, is a new application from Apple designed to store membership cards, tickets, coupons, and boarding passes -- a bit like a digital wallet. As an … Read more

Kindle Fire 2 may hit as soon as July

What's next for Kindle hardware?

Well, a credible source has told CNET that Amazon will unveil a second-generation Kindle Fire this summer and that it's targeting July 31 for a launch event.

While we can't confirm the date, there's been plenty of chatter about new Kindles coming soon. Most recently, DigiTimes, which has been pretty spotty on the rumor front, reported that Amazon was "considering launching" a new $199 7-inch tablet with a higher resolution 1,280 by 800-pixel display "at the beginning of the third quarter."

The DigiTimes article cited the … Read more