CES: It's a digital experience

The night before the Consumer Electronics Show opens its portals to the world’s technogeeks, there is a sort of preshow called the Digital Experience! (They added that exclamation mark to the name, not us.) Still, the relatively small, ancillary consumer-technology show does set the stage for the massive CES juggernaut the next day. This year, as always, we wandered the aisles of Digital Experience looking for car-related tech. While there was nothing game-changing there were many items that were game-evolving, or at least game-mutating.

For instance, Ford showed off the latest improvements to its MyFord Touch in-vehicle communication system, the original version of which debuted on the 2011 Edge. The upgrades make the existing software faster, simpler and easier to use with bolder, larger fonts and a streamlined layout of the screens. There also is an update of the 3D nav system with more and better 3-D buildings. The best thing about the changes might be the ease with which they can be installed. Ford is mailing USB thumb drives to owners of cars that have MyFord Touch. Owners can either install the upgrades themselves or have their dealers do it.

Aha, the cloud-based infotainment platform that promises “tens of thousands of stations of Web content” announced partnerships with Honda, Subaru and Kenwood to match an existing deal with Pioneer. Subaru had a BRZ at the Digital Experience to show off the new platform. Right now there are about 2,000 stations of content, Subaru said, from Slacker for music to the Hungry Channel for food. The platform will be in cars “very soon,” we’re told, with more details coming at the New York auto show.

Kia announced an improvement to its voice-recognition management system UVO called UVO eServices. The new app offers 15 different features that manage everything from service alerts and fault-code explanations to systems that tell you whether your teen driver really did take the Optima to the library at 25 mph. It will even guide you back to your car if you’ve lost it in the parking garage. Look for UVO eServices to appear on Kias in the 2013 model year.

Chevrolet's MyLink brings many of the helpful features of the more expensive Cadillac CUE and other platforms into the coming 2013 Spark in June and the 2013 Sonic in September. To keep costs down, MyLink connects to infotainment apps such as Pandora and Stitcher through the owner’s smartphone. Results are displayed on an LG-sourced seven-inch screen. Prices weren’t announced, but if you were thinking $200 or so, you might be close to right.

SiriusXM satellite radio showed a new function of its Showcase games that allows you to touch a game on the scoreboard and be taken directly to that game’s live broadcast. There now are 21 million subscribers, by the way, and the company says that number is growing. Visit www.siriusxm.com for more.

OnStar will show two concept cars at CES showcasing streaming content. Each of the Chevy Volts will have three screens that can get individual content for display. OnStar also announced that it is opening up its API (Advanced Programming Interface) to developers who want to channel their apps through the OnStar cloud. One early adapter of this technology is RelayRides, which is a new car-sharing program that lets people share their own cars with other drivers. It’s about time that OnStar used its interface for something other than panicked pleas from people who’ve locked themselves in the car. See www.onstar.com.

Telenav debuted its new Scout app for iPhones that integrates navigation and POIs from your phone to the screen of your nav system. The iPhone app is available now, and Scout will appear in cars later this year. Visit www.scout.me for more.

Radar maker Escort debuted the Android app for its popular Escort Live feature that lets users share information about radar and speed-trap locations. The iPhone version of the app has been on the market for two months.

And finally, for the racer who wants to record everything about each on-track session, GoPro debuted the WiFi BacPac, a wrist-mounted controller for up to 50--yes, 50--GoPro cameras mounted all over the car (or helmet or monkeycam). That way you can turn on and off the cameras without having to get out of the car. A little screen on the wristband shows what each camera is seeing. So now you can record each crash in spectacular detail.

CES starts in a couple hours, so we’re going to sleep now. There is no app for that.

By Mark Vaughn