Apple collaborates with Ford, General Motors and Mazda to promote iPod integration in Cars
August 3rd, 2006 Leave a comment Visited 50 times, 1 so far today
Apple collaborates with Ford, General Motors and Mazda to promote iPod integration in Cars
iPod maker Apple Computers has announced that they are collaborating with auto giants Ford, General Motors and Mazda.
This deal would promote seamless iPod integration to the majority of their brands and models.
Apple said that this deal would see these automakers selling 70% of their units in the market with iPod support from next year.
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing added: “This is a very broad announcement. For GM it’s their entire line-up — that’s millions of cars.â€
With this, the company has now deals in place with auto giants including BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, Infiniti and even Ferrari.
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Manuj Kumar
Category: News
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August 4th, 2006 at 2:28 am
This is a pure monopolistic practice pure and simple. Only Apple’s devices work with these docks, and nobody else can copy the iPod dock interface without being stomped into the ground by dubious patents. If another company like Nokia or Motorola asked and got car makers to make adapters for their cars just for their cellphones, the SEC likely would start stepping in.
Either have the iPod dock an open hardware port standard like USB, FireWire, or even old serial, or not have it at all.
Apple is in an extremely enviable position right now. They have a halo effect, and appear to people that they can do no wrong. However having interfaces in cars, stereos, atop computers, and other places that only work with their devices and nobody else’s, is predatory and monopolistic practices, pure and simple, regardless how “cool” Apple is.