Mercedes-Benz, having recently showcased DICE, its new gesture control interface supported by augmented reality at the CES 2011, has taken the inevitable next step. Never before seen levels of integration of an iPhone with a car. Daimler’s in-house developed ‘Digital DriveStyle App’ works with the ‘Drive Kit Plus’ for the Apple iPhone and lets you access all the key content of the phone and view it on the in-vehicle display operate the device via the Controller on the center armrest.
What would be the point of iPhone integration without Siri? Mercedes-Benz went all the way and also engineered Siri integration into the system. Now if you buy the new A-Class after its debut at the Geneva Motor Show you can have Siri interacting with you through the audio system, even the entry-level Audio 20 System.
For the uninitiated, Siri is of course, Apple’s idea of a personal assistant. Siri can recognize natural speech patterns and can respond to your request with further questions if it needs more information to fulfill your request. This means, if you would like to play a playlist called ‘Rock mix’ all you have to say to Siri is ‘Play Rock mix’. SMS text messages can be dictated or read out, and emails sent and more.
The iPhone is connected through an interface developed by Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH. This allows content to be fed directly from the graphics output of the device to the display of the vehicle. While this is happening the iPhone is also charged.
The “Digital DriveStyle App” and the “Drive Kit Plus for the Apple iPhone” will be making their debut in the new A-Class, at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, and are also planned to be available from autumn 2012 for the B-, C- and E-Class.
Other highlights of the Digital DriveStyle App include:
Personalised internet radio by AUPEO! Personal Radio, which offers radio stations that compile an individual program for listeners and recommend similar music by genre or artists based on personal taste.
The advanced navigation software from Garmin, with internet-based real-time traffic information, online POI searches and 3D map display, all of which work even in combination with the entry-level multimedia system Audio 20
A socially interactive experience involving “sharing”, “posting” and the integration of music and other content from social networks including text-to-speech.
An intuitive ‘Car Finder’ which automatically stores the vehicle’s location. Pedestrian navigation makes it completely easy to find your way back to the car.