Apple gets GM, Ford and Mazda to go with iPod
Apple Computer has scored big with automakers, announcing today that 70 percent of all new 2007 models sold in the US will now have iPod integration, allowing users to play them through the vehicle’s stereo system.
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing, told me in a phone briefing that the new deals with the automakers means the iPod “is the future of audio in the car, replacing the CD, just as the CD replaced the tape player.”
Ford and General Motors will feature iPod integration in the majority of their 2007 models in the US beginning later this year, while Mazda’s entire global 2007 lineup of cars and SUVs will offer iPod
connectivity.
The in-car iPod connections work with all but the iPod Shuffle and early models. The hookups also charge the players while conveniently storing the iPod in the glove compartment.
The announcements are bound to further solidify Apple’s stunning 70%-plus market share for the iPod. More than 60 million iPods are now in use, said Joswiak. The partnership wth GM, Ford and Mazda also serve as a major hit for Microsoft, which is rushing to get an iPod-like device called the Zune to market by the fall. Also affected will be satellite and terrestrial radio broadcasters, which will likely find their already hyper-competitive markets eroded by more iPod use in the car.
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:27 am
Where is Toyota? Can you ask Greg Joswiak?
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:46 am
Great…another group of people who won’t buy GM/Ford - iPod haters. The trendy, superficial types who buy iPods when there are better, cheaper MP3 players out there are the same ones who buy trendy imports. Trust me, they won’t be buying GM, Ford or even Mazda cars b/c of this.
This seems to me another type of panic attack. “Let’s attach ourselves to iPod…they’re doing really well”. I say, design and build exciting new models of, you know…CARS. That is the key to the future success of GM/Ford, not a stupid little, trendy music player.
August 3rd, 2006 at 12:42 pm
What about a safe car getting 100-200 miles to the gallon instead!
Joan
August 3rd, 2006 at 2:24 pm
While I agree with some of the previous comments I find it hard to understand why there has to be animosity towards a successful brand such as Apple and ipod. This is a great development for those of us (most of us) who own
what is clearly the best designed mp3 player ever made. Right now any good news is good news and the people who have posted need to lighten up! The world is full of negative people we dont need more.
August 3rd, 2006 at 3:07 pm
@Chris - most of us? I don’t think so… Welcome to Apple’s marketing hype!
I agree that building great cars is important, but consumers want features that are useful to them. For many, this would include iPod integration.
I wish there would be a way to make ‘universal’ integration, so that for those that don’t have iPods, they can find the feature useful.
August 4th, 2006 at 6:35 am
Universal integration? How about instead of a propietary iPod adapter in the glovebox, a 12v outlet and 1/8″ stereo input? I just bought a new Saturn and love that the stereo has a 1/8″ input right on the front, and 3 convenient placed 12v outlets.
August 5th, 2006 at 9:55 am
Who’s the culturally disconnected moron that wrote the headline to this blurb? It makes no sense “Apple gets GM, Ford and Mazda go with IPod” ? Even worse when try to find the differentiation between the Apple and the IPod. It’s no wonder the newspaper industry is in decline.
What happened to literacy?
August 5th, 2006 at 11:45 am
To Steve: a miniplug + power adapter will not carry the information to the radio head. You’d still need to switch songs on the player, itself, which happens to be in the glove box.
What’d need to happen is a USB connection in the glovebox to carry audio and power, but are these other players “smart” enough to interact with the head?
There is a reason, beyond market share, why there is a proliferation of iPod accessories with its dock interface (speaker systems, the Nike running thingie, etc.): the iPod software is more robust (or why wouldn’t Bose, harmon+kardon, etc. just put a USB port on the speaker systems, so a Dell DJ, Creative Zen, etc. would be able to use them?).
Pure spec on my part, I’ll admit.
August 5th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
With a cell phone in one hand and a cigarette and pop in the other how am I now suppose to hold the Ipod?
August 6th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
It’s Deja Vu all over again. Apple is first, innovates (if only by branding a verifiably cool concept as COOL! ™) and leads the market & mindshare. The problem is they defend the lead with walls. Microsoft’s Zune is going breakdown the walls and probably take markeshare lead w/in a couple years. I say this with no great love for Microsoft, but knowledge of history and knowing that technology like this is the antithesis of the barriers Apple has put up with the Ipod+Itunes
On topic. The auto companies always manage to be right on the curve 5 years ago. They really have no clue about this stuff, and my guess is that the knowledge about this comes from the dealers screaming at some annual meeting, rather then directly meeting the customer. If GM had a clue they could compete with Apple & MS. The auto has as much to do with where portable media/iPod players are going, as the PC, TV, XBOX or the toaster does.
August 8th, 2006 at 8:04 am
Auto executives wrangle obscene salaries for their skills in planning for the future of their companies. Years after digital music files overwhelm the market, these sages demonstrate their grasp of the obvious. My IPod dock was just one of the many features that drew me away from domestic (Mexico) vehicles to foreign (Tenessee, Alabama).
August 24th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
Don’t put an ipod connection in my (potential) next GM vehicle! I don’t own an ipod (and never will). I do have a GM product (for now). Why would I pay a premium for a connection that is basically useless to me? How about a USB connection for my Lyra (I want my MTV, I mean MP3) or maybe a bluetooth connection (maybe not)?
To Steve:
“Even worse when try to find the differentiation between the Apple and the IPod. It’s no wonder the newspaper industry is in decline.
What happened to literacy?”
Huh????
December 31st, 2006 at 11:32 am
I got this zune download that is a blast. i am glad microsoft is catching up. I know they get a lot of flack but i like them
May 26th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
You don’t have an Apple, huh? I suppose you maintain that crappy 80’s wireless phone that was the size of a military brick phone, too…The thing that makes the IPOD distinctive is it’s ability to be a multi-faceted entertainment center in the palm of your hand. Movies, Tv Shows, Streamed music, Downloaded music. And considering the cost of each individual function that the IPOD can manage, it is super-cheap.
Zune is ok if you are searching for a limited function. But the problem with zune is that it’s technology is vastly limited to the abilities of the IPOD. If you are unwilling to spend 100 or more on considerable quality technology, and only care about hearing music, then then the zune is great for you. There is nothing wrong with that at all, other than the fact that now, because you were not willing to drop the extra cash, you have limited your scope IT use–which in this day in age is alright if you were born before it.