GM is not about to let Ford Sync (along with Microsoft) steal all the publicity (and corresponding profits) around voice control of automotive features. Later this month, it is adding several new features to its venerable OnStar service, transforming it from a vehicle tracking, diagnostics and safety feature to a speech-enabled social medium that supports texting and social networking.

The OnStar service turns fifteen years old this month and is already available on more than 40 2011 model year vehicles from GM. In regulatory filings, the company claims 5.7 million subscribers (though many are taking advantage of the the fact that the company offers the service free-of-charge for the first year of ownership.

GM’s competitive spirit was sparked when Ford (largely with Microsoft promotional dollars) began aggressively marketing Sync in 2008. Together, the companies adding new features and functions as the driving public looks for hands-free, eyes-forward options for navigation, entertainment and communications. Earlier this year, through a partnership with Google, OnStar began offering “eNav”, which enabled subscribers to upload turn-by-turn navigation instructions to their vehicles based on a look-up on Google Maps.

Yesterday, GM execs announced that they the transformation from safety to social networking would continue with the introduction of new services that enable drivers to dictate and text messages or update their status on Facebook. They can also listen to posts from facebook thanks to text-to-speech synthesis.

As described in this article by Christina Rogers in the Detroit News, GM will aggressively promote the social and mobile aspects of owning a GM car. It appears to be part of the Verizon Wireless/Google camp when determining how to mashup of navigation, communications and vehicle control. Verizon has been serving as the core wireless network provider since the service “went digital” four years ago the links between smartphones and OnStar is the product of a partnership with Google. Few details were provided on the Facebook/OnStar mashup, but we will be monitoring the development closely. Today, after the “first year free” offer expires, GM offers OnStar on a subscription basis with prices varying from $299 to $399 per year.

As for Ford, it makes Sync available as a $395 option for selected models, but it is offered as a free feature for high-end automobiles. According to an article in Bloomberg, Ford said in January it plans to bring social networking, Web browsing and thumb controls similar to those on Apple Inc.’s iPod into 80 percent of its models by 2015.

Categories: Articles

Tags: Microsoft, Google, Cloud-based telephony, mobile speech, Recombinant Communications