Apple Insider is reporting Apple will introduce an Bluetooth-enabled iPod, to broadcast music wirelessly through car audio speakers. Moreover, one Motorola exec says users will be able to answer incoming phone calls without having to fiddle with their mobile phone handset. Does that mean an brand new Apple- or Motorola-based car-audio component is nigh?
We already know Motorola and Apple are working toward integrating the upcoming iTunes phone into Motorola's iRadio system. But AI also infers a dock or 'pod' that will allow an iPod with Bluetooth and a mobile phone device, either Apple or Motorola-based, to communicate with car stereos is also in the works. Are they one and the same? From Apple Insider:
According to a description provided by [Bogdan] Nedelcou [an automotive product manager for Motorola], when a Bluetooth phone receives a call, the device will switch the automobile's audio stream from the iPod's music over to the phone's audio feed. A hands-free Bluetooth accessory will reportedly handle outgoing communication.
We're not as keen on the phone portion of Motorola's equation, though a partnership between Motorola and Apple for phone-based digital distribution of music via the Apple Music Store feeds the hungry Apple Computer (AAPL) investor in us. Still, tighter integration of the iPod into car stereo systems is inevitable, whether in this form or as some other application, considering cars are the last, and to some, most important, link in the music portability chain.
Apple to add Bluetooth to iPods, car audio device to follow? [Apple Insider]
Related:
Motorola s Car-Based Music Service to Compete with Satellite [internal]