Ford SYNC sprecht strine

Ford's small car, the Focus, is now built in Thailand for the Australian market, as we reported early last month.

The upgraded model introduces to Australian consumers Ford SYNC, which is described by the car company as an "integrated communications and infotainment system". Ford and Microsoft have collaborated on the new system, which features voice recognition capability developed by a leading specialist in the field, Nuance Communications – well known as the developer of voice transcription software 'Dragon Dictate'. Nuance has tuned the SYNC system to comprehend Australian modes of speech when commands are delivered, as was explained to the media by Ed Pleet, Director of Ford’s Connected Services group, based at the company’s APA headquarters in Shanghai, China.

"SYNC is being rolled out globally, in a number of languages we're announcing today – and one of those languages is even Australian English..." Mr Pleet told journalists attending a media event at Ford's HQ in the Melbourne suburb of Campbellfield.

Voice command systems have been around for some years now, but this one is more sophisticated than most in this sector of the market and can work out the Australian pronunciation of names of singers and bands or contact names, in addition to the 150 standard commands. For instance, the user can press the voice command button on the steering wheel and wait for a tone to indicate the system is listening for a command before uttering the instruction 'Call Fred'. The system acknowledges the driver wants to phone Fred, who is one of the contacts stored in the driver's smartphone, and places the call automatically.

SYNC will stream music from a smartphone either wirelessly (by Bluetooth) or via a USB lead. The system accepts commands to play individual tracks or artists by name, Kylie Minogue being one example provided. Furthermore, the system can relay information about the music being played in response to a voice command from the driver. So, by querying the system, the driver is informed of the title of the track or the name of the singer or band.

The system can read out SMS texts and download contacts from a smartphone on the fly, as well as managing music, according to Mr Pleet.

It is "a smarter, safer and simpler solution, allowing our customers to stay connected, while keeping their hands on the steering wheel and their eyes on the road," Mr Pleet told the press.

SYNC is standard across the Focus range now.

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...