Autoblog

The mousetrap and mouse are locked in a constant battle for supremacy. The same is true with laws prohibiting texting while driving and the drivers who simply must text behind the wheel. Enter the capitalists: Microsoft and Nuance. Nuance makes voice recognition software and, combined with the Microsoft Sync system available in many Ford models, the driver would be able to dictate a text message to the car, and perhaps eventually do the same with e-mail.

A Nuance spokeswoman said "We are aiming for natural communication between car and driver, which will have benefits for concentration and safety." The way things are going, there are simply so many more things you can do in a car that we wonder how the increased ability to multitask, even if by voice, will ultimately aid concentration on actual driving. But we'll wait to see how it all shakes out before issuing judgment...

[Source: Auto Express]

Ford is touting SYNC's popularity at CES, where attendees voted to give the technology the CNET People's Voice Award, while Popular Mechanics magazine gave SYNC their Editor's Choice award.

While at CES we got a personal demonstration of the technology from Scott Porter, lead program manager for Microsoft Auto. The system did everything it is advertised to do, from taking voice commands, to integrating Bluetooth phones with the car to reading text messages received on your mobile phone. The most impressive thing it did was work just as well with Apple's iPod as it did with Microsoft's Zune. None of those tricks are anything different from what dozens of other electronics and even automotive companies are currently offering. One difference is the lack of GPS on SYNC. Could the Microsoft and Ford PR campaign pushing SYNC be the biggest reason for the People's Voice award? Then again, maybe we just don't "get" being able to have " :) " read out loud to us by a feminine digital voice as "smiley face," or the usefulness of taking 30 seconds or more to interrupt the music to ask SYNC what song is currently playing. We're looking forward to reading Popular Mechanics reasons for liking SYNC. Perhaps they saw something we didn't.

For the full Ford press release, click through to the jump.