Latest Gear Live Videos
Ford is first to introduce Spotify in-car integration
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Music, Transportation,
Ford and Spotify have announced a partnership that sees the popular streaming music service make an appearance in Ford vehicles. Spotify is now compatible with Ford SYNC AppLink, streaming its catalog of over 20 million tracks over the car radio. You'll need to download the new iOS or Android Spotify apps to take advantage of the new hotness. You be able to access your songs, playlists, and custom stations, and can even control things with voice commands. Aside from Spotify, Ford SYNC AppLink allows you to access other service, like Pandora, Amazon Cloud Player, MOG, Slacker, and Rhapsody.
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| Ford
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SideCar ride-sharing service comes to LA, Austin, and Philadelphia
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Transportation,
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SideCar, our favorite on-demand ride-sharing service, has just launched in three new cities. If you're in Los Angeles, Austin (right in time for SXSW!), or Philadelphia, grab the SideCar Ride app to grab a ride. The launching cities will have active SideCars from 5:00pm on Friday until 3:00am on the weekend days. Once demand goes up, they'll move to weekday service as well. Chicago, Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. are up next. Read more about how SideCar works.
By the way, if you enter promo code ANDRU1 in the app, you'll get a free $10 credit!
Read More | SideCar Ride for iOS
Amazon MP3 integration comes to Ford SYNC
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Music, Software, Transportation,
Ford and Amazon have announced that Amazon MP3 for Android has been updated with Ford SYNC support, which means that you can use your Android device with Ford's admittedly awesome infotainment system to access all your tracks stored in your Amazon Cloud Player. As is typical with SYNC, you can even control playback with voice commands. Amazon MP3 2.8 for Android also includes the typical bug fixes, and the store has been redesigned to show more search results.
Read More | Amazon
2012 Ford Focus Electric review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Product Reviews, Transportation,
The 2012 Ford Focus Electric is the very first all-electric car released by the company, and is marketed as America's most fuel-efficient five-passenger vehicle, what with it's 110 MPGe city rating (99 MPGe highway) and up to 76 mile range on a single charge. We were able to spend a week with the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, and we're here to report back with our thoughts. Is it a worthy contender in the electric car movement? Read on.
Click to continue reading 2012 Ford Focus Electric review
GM reveals the Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid EV
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: CES, CES 2013, Corporate News, Transportation,
General Motors unveiled the long-awaited 2014 Cadillac ELR this week, the first plug-in extended range EV hybrid for the brand. For all intents and purposes, the ELR is a Chevy Volt that's been souped up with Cadillac luxury touches. Originally revealed as the Cadillac Converj, the ELR will feature a redesigned interior cabin that will supposedly define future Cadillac models, with features like Regen on Demand buttons on the steering wheel that let the driver capture the energy generated by the vehicle's momentum, conserving it for a bit more battery juice. The ELR also packs in the awesome Cadillac CUE infotainment dashboard system. The vehicle puts out 207hp, more than 25% more than the Chevy Volt. No final word yet on EV range, though, but the Volt gets about 35 miles before gasoline kicks in, and the ELR is a bit heavier. GM says that production on the ELR is set to begin later this year in preparation for a 2014 North American launch.
Click to continue reading GM reveals the Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid EV
Read More | GM
Siri’s Eyes Free Integration coming to Chevy Sonic LTZ / RS and Spark
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Portable Audio / Video, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi,
GM is the first to announce Siri integration with two new car models: the Chevrolet Spark and the Sonic Drive. The feature was dubbed "Eyes Free" and was announced at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June by former iOS chief, Scott Forstall. Basically, "Eyes Free" will be integrated via the car's Bluetooth functionality and the iPhone itself. The user can then initiate Siri's voice command by tapping a button on the steering wheel, and Siri's responses will be played over the car's audio system. Other car manufacturers such as Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Jaguar, Audi, Land rover, GM, BMW and Mercedes are slated to incorporate Siri's "Eyes Free" as well. Check out the full press release after the break.
Click to continue reading Siri’s Eyes Free Integration coming to Chevy Sonic LTZ / RS and Spark
Read More | GM
Bleeding Edge TV 458: 2013 Ford Taurus Active Park Assist
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Podcasts, Transportation, Videocasts, Videos,
In this episode we give you a look at the 2013 Ford Taurus Limited, focusing on the Active Park Assist feature. With Active Park Assist, the car takes car of parallel parking for you. That's right - THE CAR CAN PARK ITSELF! You simply hit a button to let the car know that you are looking to park, and it uses its sensors to find a space you'll fit into. Once it does, you're in charge of the gas and brake pedals, while the Taurus steers itself into the spot with perfection. Definitely a feature from the future that you can get on your Ford today.
[Camera credit: Eric Vitolo]
Lexus CinePrint ad uses iPad to merge print and digital to promote 2013 Lexus ES (video!)
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Misc. Tech, Transportation,
Lexus calls it CinePrint, we call it brilliant. The luxury auto maker has created a very nifty interactive marketing ad, which utilizes a user's iPad to bring a 2013 Lexus ES to life in a magazine. From a marketing standpoint, the illustration is very impressive and gets the reader involved in the process of merging print and video. This is surely lacking when just reading a static page or watching a traditional car commercial on TV, at which point we usually just turn the page or tune out. It's still an ad, but it's pretty freaking cool. Check out the video after the break.
Chevy and GM agree to replace our faulty 2012 Volt with new 2013 model!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Transportation,
Remember our 2012 Chevy Volt that failed while driving and almost got me in an accident? We updated the story with the details about trying to work with Chevy and GM to get a replacement Volt since we no longer felt safe driving the one we had. After all, it had been in the shop for repairs every two weeks since we had picked it up the first time. Well, we are please to report that Chevrolet and General Motors did right by us, and agreed to replace our 2012 Volt with a newer, similarly-equipped 2013 model. Since this was a lease, it was a bit more complicated than a simple trade. Instead, we did what's called a VIN swap. The result? We keep the same lease terms and paperwork, with the VIN being the only change on the documents. It took a while since the 2013 Chevy Volt wasn't available until very recently, and once it arrived, we needed to wait for all the paperwork to be completed. Still, it was worth the wait. Stay tuned for our 2013 Chevy Volt review.
NYC taxi driver returns over $13,000 in lost gadgets to forgetful owner
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Misc. Tech, Transportation,
Have you ever left anything in a cab? We know plenty who've lost iPhone and Android devices, tablets, laptops, and other expensive gadgetry, but Casey Neistat accidentally left over $13,000 in expensive technology in his taxi. After going through the frustrating process of filing reports with the taxi company, making calls, and getting a police report filed, he wondered if he'd get his stuff back at all. Seriously, how likely is it that you leave something expensive in a taxi and expect to get it back? Normally the item is found by another passenger, or the taxi driver himself, and then disappears for good. Not this time.
Click to continue reading NYC taxi driver returns over $13,000 in lost gadgets to forgetful owner
