Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The two largest carmakers in the US have confirmed that they are to integrate Google Mapping into their vehicle navigation devices.
Ford and General Motors both announced June 8 that customers will be able to send route maps from Google into their vehicles by the end of this month.
Ford drivers who are already using the brand's Ford SYNC with Traffic, Directions & Information (TDI) equipment will be able to select their destination and route on Google Maps before uploading it to the vehicle via a cloud-based app.
Users of General Motors' OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation Service will be able to use the OnStar eNav software to do the same thing.
However, whilst OnStar navigation is provided free for a year with nearly all General Motors vehicles, it requires a subscription thereafter - perhaps giving the free Ford SYNC service the edge in the eyes of consumers.
Convergence of in-car navigation and the offline world is becoming more common in today's vehicles, with Google becoming a de facto partner for many automobile manufacturers.
Last month, General Motors showed off an app based on Google's Android operating system, which allowed the handset to perform functions such as remote charge start, charge level display and remote start on the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt.
However, in his June 7 keynote speech at the Apple World Wide Developers' Conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs used a Nissan LEAF to show off his new advertising platform iAd on the iPhone 4 - leading some commentators to speculate that Nissan could be becoming the "official car" of Apple.
http://www.ford.com
http://www.gm.com
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments