CSR and Livio Radio say they have re-invented the car radio. The new system will be able to receive thousands of Internet radio streams from a smartphone and can be controlled without the driver touching the handset or radio.
CSR and Livio Radio claim they have teamed to re-invent the car radio. It will now be possible for next-generation in-car infotainment systems to receive thousands of Internet radio streams wirelessly from a smartphone and be able to control and play them without the driver having to touch the handset. In doing so, the collaboration has solved two major problems that have hampered in-vehicle Internet radio access: harnessing the large number of Internet radio content providers and creating a well-defined way for the in-vehicle entertainment system to control and play the content, allowing greater driving safety.
‚CSR is the only wireless connectivity chipset vendor in the automotive market to go beyond simply supplying hardware by eliminating as much of the integration burden as possible, and through this collaboration, we can now deliver in-car Internet radio access and control for the next generation of in-vehicle systems,‚ said Thomas Carmody, head of connectivity marketing of the Automotive Business Unit at CSR. ‚While this solution will be available first in the RoadTunes software for the BC5MM Bluetooth solution, CSR intends to eventually support Internet radio access and control in all of its automotive connectivity software products.‚
A live demonstration of an in-vehicle infotainment system with an embedded CSR BC5MM Bluetooth device running the CSR RoadTunes software with the Livio Connect API will be available in the Livio Radio booth (34) at the Telematics Munich 2011 conference and exposition, November 9-10 at the Hilton Munich Park Hotel. Attendees will be able to see how this solution is able to pause, play, create presets, forward and otherwise move seamlessly among Internet radio content sources as the Internet radio stream is transmitted wirelessly over the Bluetooth link from a smartphone. And they will see how this content is controlled more safely by manipulating the in-car system instead of the handset.
‚Instead of having to fumble with the smartphone to browse through, select and control your preferred content, the Livio Connect API allows the in-vehicle system to be used to do it remotely, seamlessly and safely,‚ said Jake Sigal, CEO and founder of Livio Radio. ‚This collaboration with CSR puts all the pieces in place to make this happen, giving makers of in-vehicle systems a solution for adding this capability to their products quickly and easily.‚
The collaboration combines expertise from each company to solve the two major problems that have stymied in-vehicle Internet radio access. Livio brings its expertise in aggregating leading Internet radio content providers (such as 977 Music, AccuRadio, Digitally Imported, Grooveshark, jacAPPS, Live365, the Livio Car Internet Radio App and Rdio) and supplies the Livio Connect API, which make it possible to access and direct the smartphone operation via the controls on the in-vehicle infotainment system. CSR brings its extensive experience with Bluetooth technology to incorporate the Livio Connect API and create the wireless bridge to the Livio app on the smartphone that controls the internet radio streaming.
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