Trends

I receive daily e-mails called the Trendcentral Newsletter.  You can (and should) sign up for them at trendcentral.com.  Basically the title tells what it does, keeps you current on current trends.  Some days it suggests new and trendy restaurants, cafes, spas, hotels, etc.  And other days it highlights current youth marketing trends (great youth ministry resources).  The e-mails are quick to read or easy to dismiss (not everyday is interesting).

 

So today they sent this article.

 

TECHNOLOGY TAKES THE WHEEL

When you take the consumer obsession with technology and put it inside an automobile, you have a potential recipe for danger. Fortunately, new, high tech in-car features—including reading text messages, controlling MP3 players and accessing the Internet—are safely offering drivers entertainment and useful information for an enhanced driving experience.

Recently, we've been hearing major buzz about Ford's SYNC technology package (developed with Microsoft). SYNC recognizes voice commands, enabling drivers (and passengers!) hands-free control over Bluetooth-enabled phones and MP3 players: shout "Play artist M.I.A." for some serious tunes, yell "Call Mom" for a heart to heart, and hit the phone button on your steering wheel to have incoming texts read aloud. New additions to the SYNC technology package will include fee-free 911 Assist, which connects drivers through their mobile phones directly to 911 if an airbag is deployed, and SIRIUS Travel Link, which provides access (through the car's GPS system) to info such as the closest gas station (or the station with the lowest price), game schedules and current scores, weather forecasts and up-to-the-minute traffic reports. These additions will be available in a number of 2009 Ford and Mercury Models.

With an increasing traffic problem, and a growing number of long-distance job commuters, the demand for full tech connectivity in cars will only grow and we expect these new perks will become expectations among drivers.

 

What do you think?  Are we trying to hard to hard to integrate technology into an activity that already has enough distractions and difficulties (San Antonio has the worst drivers)?  Or is this new technology just too super cool to pass up?

 

I think Sulu had an easier time maneuvering the Star Ship Enterprise than today’s current vehicles.