Infotainment systems are nowadays the name of the game in the automotive industry. No matter the segment, each manufacturer offers at least one, either as standard or optional, with features that make BMW’s first-gen iDrive seem like it belongs to the Stone Age.
Customers of premium brands, naturally, demand the latest in infotainment and connectivity. Jaguar Land Rover teamed up with CloudCar to develop justDrive, an app that integrates multiple smartphone applications in one, voice-activated “industry leading experience”.
JLR and CloudCar have optimized justDrive for its InControl Apps infotainment platform for Apple iOS8, with services like Twitter, Spotify and Yelp as well as navigation, media, voice search and information to provide the driver with an easy, free to download app which minimizes distraction. The new app, which joins 17 others at the InControl system, will also be available for Android smartphones from early 2015.
Dr. Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Our InControl system already allows the driver to plug their smartphone into the vehicle and then safely control their apps through the vehicle’s touchscreen. The apps are enhanced for in-car use, so it is like having your smartphone installed in your dashboard.”
The InControl Apps system is already available on the 2015MY Jaguar F-Type and all Land Rover vehicles, with the rest of the JLR models being set to receive it for the 2016MY.
Jaguar Land Rover also announced the opening of its first-ever overseas Research and Development facility in Portland, Oregon. The Open Software Technology Center will focus on developing advanced infotainment and connectivity solutions for future JLR models and employs 30 infotainment specialists, including 16 software engineers.