Ford has unveiled the world’s first tweeting car at CES 2010. Alan Mulally, Ford’s CEO, said the company will produce a range of vehicles which can read motorist’s twitter messages to them as they drive down the street – via their Sync technology. Drivers may even be able to Tweet replies as the cars will feature voice recognition technology. The technology, developed in partnership with Microsoft, works by connecting an on-board computer to a mobile phone with 3G internet browsing capabilities. But composing Tweets will not be possible on the first models, due out in the US later this year, because of safety fears.
Responding to concerns of driving danger while Twittering, Doug VanDagens, Ford’s global director of connected services, said people currently read Twitter feeds while they are driving anyway, and the new system would increase road safety by enabling motorists to keep both hands on the wheel.
“We take what people do – they talk on the phone, they fumble with mp3 players, they look at maps. We take these activities and make them safer,” he said.
Ford also announced at CES drivers will also be able to stream music live from Pandora. That’s also been announced at the show from Pioneer Electronics, which will be selling a jazzed-up car navigation system.
