Nokia Car Mode drives fusion of cars with smart...
Increased industry momentum for MirrorLink within Car Connectivity Consortium
Frankfurt, Germany - Today at the IAA (Internationale Automobil Ausstellung),
Nokia announced Nokia Car Mode, a standalone application optimized for the in-
car use of Nokia smartphones. Nokia Car Mode features an optimized user
interface simplifying the access and use of Nokia Drive (voice-guided car
navigation with Nokia Maps), traffic updates, music and voice calls while
driving. Nokia Car Mode, built with Qt, will be available for download from
Nokia's Ovi Store in Q4 2011 for Nokia smartphones based on Symbian Belle - such
as the recently launched Nokia 600, Nokia 700 and Nokia 701 - as well as the
Nokia N9.
Nokia Car Mode is the first commercially available solution supporting
MirrorLink, formerly known as Terminal Mode. MirrorLink is a standard
smartphone-to-car connectivity platform driven by over 20 major global brands
from across different industries within the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC).
With MirrorLink, smartphones can be connected to in-car displays, car controls
systems, and car audio systems. Thus consumers can control their smartphones via
the car dashboard, as if the device and its apps were integrated into the car
itself.
MirrorLink is increasingly gaining industry momentum. Among the first
commercially available products presented at IAA besides Nokia Car Mode is
Alpine's new ICS-X8, a dashboard-mounted unit that lets drivers of supported
cars retrofit MirrorLink capabilities and Bluetooth hands-free phone. After
connecting their Nokia smartphone with the Alpine ICS-X8, consumers are able to
intuitively and safely use smartphone applications from the ICS-X8's large 7-
inch high-resolution display.
As a founding member of the Car Connectivity Consortium, Nokia is striving to
introduce mobile innovation to the automotive industry. The integration of
smartphones and their capabilities into cars is playing an important part in
Nokia's Location & Commerce business strategy, extending the existing ecosystem
and thus providing benefits and opportunities for consumers, automotive
companies, application developers and advertisers alike.
"MirrorLink and Nokia Car Mode are a big leap forward in allowing car drivers to
access their favourite smartphone services," said Floris van de Klashorst,
Director Automotive Services of Nokia's Location & Commerce business. "Via
MirrorLink users have comfortable and safe access to maps, music and telephony
on their phones when they're in their cars even while driving. In the future,
MirrorLink will enable plenty of other popular features since we're only at the
beginning of what we can do by linking smart devices with vehicles. We expect
developers to come up with innovative new applications optimised for use in
cars."
"As a member of the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), we are very excited to
introduce the world's first in-car infotainment solution based on MirrorLink -
the all new ICS-X8 App Link Station," said Ingmar Heck, Manager of Sales and
Marketing, Alpine Electronics Europe. "The ICS-X8 featuring MirrorLink allows
users to create a digital ecosystem of mobile applications and the vehicle's
infotainment system. Users that own a compatible Nokia smartphone can connect it
to the ICS-X8 and navigate using Nokia Drive, as well as enjoy all their music
stored on the phone while driving using Nokia Music. Nokia Drive even connects
to the car's GPS receiver, allowing accurate navigation in areas of weak signal
strength."
 "Safe and seamless access to web-apps via an integrated smartphone is critical
in accelerating the evolution of the connected vehicle," said Thilo Koslowski,
VP and Automotive Practice Leader at Gartner. "A standardized smartphone-to-
vehicle integration solution allows automotive companies to simplify their
connected vehicle offerings and focus resources on extending consumers'
connected lifestyles to the vehicle."
The Alpine ICS-X8 will be available in November at Alpine authorized dealers.
Please visit www.alpine-europe.com to locate a retailer.
Demonstrations of the world's first in-car infotainment solution based on
MirrorLink from Nokia and Alpine can be seen at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdHBFsy930A
About Nokia
Nokia is committed to connecting people to what matters to them by combining
advanced mobile technology with personalized services. More than 1.3 billion
people connect to one another with a Nokia, from our most affordable voice-
optimized mobile phones to advanced Internet-connected smartphones sold in
virtually every market in the world. Through our services, people also enjoy
access to maps and navigation on mobile, a rapidly expanding applications store,
a growing catalog of digital music, and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in
comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, and Nokia Siemens
Networks is one of the leading providers of telecommunications infrastructure
hardware, software and professional services globally.
About Car Connectivity Consortium
The Car Connectivity Consortium is dedicated to cross-industry collaboration in
developing global standards and solutions for smartphone and in-vehicle
connectivity. Car Connectivity Consortium members are among the world's leading
automotive, mobile communications and consumer electronics industry companies
including Alpine, BT Software and Research, Clarion Co. Ltd., Daimler, Delphi,
Denso, Garmin International, General Motors, Honda R&D Co, Ltd., HTC, Hyundai
Motor Company, Ixonos, J & K Car Electronics Corp., jambit GmbH, KDDI
Corporation, LG Electronics, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Motorola Mobility,
Nokia, Panasonic, PSA Automotive, Samsung, Sony Corporation, Sony Ericsson AB,
RealVNC Limited, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Toyota and Volkswagen. The Car
Connectivity Consortium is open for any industry member to join. For further
information, please visit www.carconnectivity.org
MirrorLink is the recently announced commercial trademark for the technology
previously known as Terminal Mode and owned by the Car Connectivity Consortium
who are responsible for the development of the specification, certification and
branding of MirrorLink type of smartphone to vehicle integration.
About Alpine Electronics
Alpine Electronics is an automotive electronics manufacturer that supports
drivers in over 60 countries and provides the world's leading auto makers with
audio, video, navigation and driver assistance products. The company specializes
in system integration solutions with innovative vehicle entertainment and
information technologies. Alpine's R&D and manufacturing facilities in Japan,
China, Europe and North America ensure that all products address the real world
requirement of drivers in each market. The company is committed to developing
products that are safe, easy to use, and eco-friendly for the automotive
environment.
For more information about Alpine Electronics, visit www.alpine.com. For more
information about Alpine's aftermarket product, visit www.alpine-europe.com.
Media Enquiries:
Nokia
Communications
Tel. +358 7180 34900
Email: press.services@nokia.com
www.nokia.com
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Source: NOKIA via Thomson Reuters ONE
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