Samsung Develops Android App to Simplify Smartphone Screens for In-Car Use

Samsung said that the Drive Link application conforms with the standards of the Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association, one of the world's strictest driver's safety regulation standards.

Enlarged buttons are complemented by a simple menu structure that makes navigating through the options easy and intuitive. Upon loading the App, the user is presented with a welcome screen displaying time and weather information for the current location. Upcoming appointments saved in S Calendar are also displayed and, if they contain address information, a link is displayed and set directly as the destination.

If present, Drive Link can connect smartphones to a car's In-Vehicle Infotainment system, or head unit, via MirrorLink. MirrorLink is the new standard connectivity protocol between smartphone and car head units from the Car Connectivity Consortium, an industry body comprising most major smartphone and vehicle car manufacturers.

Staying in touch during journeys can often be important. With this in mind, Drive Link incorporates a feature called Text-To-Speech, available in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish, which enables all incoming messages, emails and updates from social media websites to be automatically read via the car's speaker system. All personal contacts saved in the phone are loaded to Drive Link and users can also make a phone call directly by dialing on the keypad.

Drive Link is launching on the Samsung GALAXY S III and will be made available on other smartphones running Google Android 4.0 in the near future.

The app is downloadable from Samsung Apps.

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