General Motors plans integrating Apple's Siri in some cars

Sydney, Nov 29 (ANI)

General Motors has planned to integrate Apple's voice-recognition software Siri into some of its cars next year.

The move will allow iPhone users to perform hands-free tasks.

According to the Herald Sun, GM announced at the Los Angeles International Auto Show it would use the Siri intelligent assistant in the Chevrolet Spark and Sonic LTZ and RS.

"Through the cars' standard Chevrolet MyLink infotainment system, customers with a compatible iPhone running iOS 6 can direct Siri to perform a number of tasks while they safely keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel," GM said in a statement.

"To further minimise distraction, Siri takes hands-free functionality even further with an eyes-free mode that enables users to interact with their iPhone using nothing more than their voice while keeping the device's screen from lighting up," it added.

According to the paper, drivers will be able to use the system to make hands-free calls, play songs in the iTunes library, or switch music sources from radio to iPod mode.

They may also listen to, compose and send messages to people in their contact list, the report added.

--ANI

View the original article here

Toyota Confirms Electric RAV4 Will Be Sold to General Public, Scion iQ EV to Fleets in 2012

July 19, 2011 at 3:42pm by Alexander Stoklosa

At last year’s Los Angeles auto show, Toyota showed off the electric RAV4 EV that it developed in collaboration with Tesla, and the company stated then that it planned to bring the electric crossover to market in 2012. Today Toyota confirmed that the RAV4 EV will definitely go on sale in 2012, and that it will definitely be sold to the general public. Note that Toyota explicitly says “sold,” which implies that getting your hands on one won’t be a lease-only affair, like, say, the Mini E. Toyota also will bring an electric Scion iQ to market in 2012, but the tiny runabout won’t be offered to private owners, instead being reserved for torture in vehicle fleets and via car-sharing operations. (The RAV4 EV also will be available to these clients.)

At the RAV4’s L.A. reveal, we described the rig’s 2012 on-sale target as “a bit nebulous” given the vagueness of Toyota’s business model for the battery-powered RAV4, but today’s confirmation means the automaker is apparently on track to meet its stated on-sale date.

Tags: Electric Vehicle, EV, Scion, Scion iQ, Scion iQ EV, Toyota, Toyota RAV4, Toyota RAV4 EV |

View the original article here