Drivers to get Instant Football Scores as Ford Announces 6 New Voice-Activated Apps for AppLink in Europe and Asia

Ford Motor Company at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain today announced six new apps for Europe and Asia Pacific that have the ability to be voice-activated by the customers using Ford SYNC with AppLink technology, and stay connected on the move.

The global leader in football scores and news Goal Live Scores app will now be available in Europe for real-time football updates from 750 leagues worldwide. Other apps that will be available in Europe are CaixaBank; AppLink’s first finance app and Soundtracker for personalised radio stations.

For China, Ford announced Kaola FM that offers access to more than 1 million hours of copyrighted audio; and Xiami Music that offers a library of more than 4 million songs. News, talk and sport highlights will be delivered by Fairfax Radio from the Fairfax Radio Network for Australia.

“Across the world AppLink helps customers integrate their devices and the apps they know and love into their car,” said Don Butler, Connected Vehicle and Services, Ford Motor Company. “These new apps, ensure drivers won’t have to wait to know when their team scores, can easily access music and radio shows, and even find a cash machine, while keeping their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.”

The new apps were announced by Ford at Mobile World Congress during the panel discussion “Is it possible to change the way the world moves?” Hosts Butler and Erica Klampfl, future mobility manager, Ford Research & Advanced Engineering, were joined on the panel by Meg Divitto, vice president, IBM Analytics, and John Gleasure, chief commercial officer, Perform Group.

AppLink in Europe

Ford’s AppLink technology in Europe already enables drivers to voice-activate thier smartphone apps such as ADAC, Audioteka, AUPEO!, Cityseeker by Wcities, Cyclops, DetektorFM , DIE WELT, Eventseeker by Wcities, Glympse, Radioplayer, Roald Dahl Audiobooks, and Spotify.

The new available apps will widen the range of information, entertainment and services and will now include:

Goal Live Scores: It will enable drivers to follow the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A, and international tournaments including the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Champions League. Users can set favourite teams and leagues, and follow matches chosen by them. This app is available for Android in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

Soundtracker: It will enable drivers to play radio stations and to listen to those created by their friends and other users. The app comes with more than 32 million tracks to choose from and also enables drivers to “like” or “dislike” a song. Premium account holders have the privilege to listen to charts from around the world. This app is available for iOS and Android in English.

CaixaBank: It enables drivers to find the nearest branch or ATM, provides addresses, opening hours, and voice-activated direct-dialling telephone numbers. Caxia Bank has twice been awarded the “Most Innovative Bank of the Year”. CaixaBank is the leading financial group in Spain. This app is available for Android in Spanish.

AppLink in Asia Pacific

Ford already offers apps including AutoNavi, Baidu, Douban, Pandora, QingTing.fm, Sina, Sogou, Tencent and TuneIn Radio in Asia Pacific.

Kaola FM is among the leading audio applications in China and allows drivers to choose from nine channels, including for music, news and talk shows. Xiami Music; a music service application from The Alibaba Group has tens of millions monthly active users, and it will now enable the drivers to listen to local music, top hits and playlists selected from the driver’s history and favourites.    

The Fairfax Radio Network app in Australia plays live and recorded news, talk and sport from stations across the Fairfax Radio Network, including Sydney’s 2UE, Melbourne’s 3AW and Magic 1287, Brisbane’s 4BC and Magic 882, Perth’s 6PR and NTS. Fairfax Radio will help drivers listen to live radio, switch to hourly news updates, and even call the selected station via voice command.