Honda announces cloud-connected car

HondaLink will be smartphone driven
HondaLink will be smartphone driven

For a car company as techy as Honda, its in-car infotainment clobber is pretty pedestrian. But not for much longer. Honda has announced that its overhauled Accord saloon will be the first car to get the new tech-tastic HondaLink cloud-connected system.

HondaLink hinges on a smartphone app that provides both internet connectivity and a range of app-based functionality. Core features of HondaLink will be streaming media, social networking and IP-driven services, hence the cloud-connected pitch.

The idea is that tight integration will mean you'll be able to move seamlessly from smartphone to Hondamobile, with features such as streaming media picking up where you left off.

An early glimpse of the HondaLink interface.

Another major element will be Aha Radio, an internet radio application that sports Facebook and Twitter integration.

It's a little early to say whether HondaLink will give the Japanese firm the edge over the in-car tech competition when it comes to connectivity and entertainment. But just being truly connected would be a big step forward.

All we know for sure is that it will first be seen in the Accord in the US. As for UK availability of HondaLink, watch this space. We've put out the feelers and we're waiting from word from Honda UK.

Meanwhile, check out the official HondaLink video.

Contributor

Technology and cars. Increasingly the twain shall meet. Which is handy, because Jeremy (Twitter) is addicted to both. Long-time tech journalist, former editor of iCar magazine and incumbent car guru for T3 magazine, Jeremy reckons in-car technology is about to go thermonuclear. No, not exploding cars. That would be silly. And dangerous. But rather an explosive period of unprecedented innovation. Enjoy the ride.