Google Announces Partnerships with Ford and General Motors

Google announced that it has extended its Google Maps Send-to-Car service to Ford and GM vehicles. This applies to Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in the US that are enabled with Ford SYNC, as well as OnStar equipped GM vehicles, which include models from Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn.

Users of the Send-to-Car service can send business listings or addresses found on Google Maps directly to their cars. The expansion of the service is great news for local businesses, and perhaps makes it all the more important to hone their Google Maps presence. "Drivers can then use their car maker's turn-by-turn navigation system to be guided to their selected destination. With today's additions, drivers can send destinations from Google Maps directly to their connected vehicles in 19 countries and more than 20 different brands," says Markus Mühlbauer, Engineering and Product Manager. "In the US alone, Send-To-Car is now available on more than 15 car brands and we hope to see even more partners join us soon."

"We think this is a great convenience for drivers - Prepare your route at your desk, send the destination to your car, and safely enjoy your ride - hands on the wheel, eyes on the road," he adds. "We also like to think that in the age of green driving, not having to print paper directions anymore is a great start of a green trip!"

Now imagine if Google gets Android into that many vehicles one day, and consider the potential for apps that cater to the driving experience.Also consider that app-making is getting simpler.

Google, Bing Search Engines Turn to Music

Internet search engines pride themselves as being neutral providers of information.

But as competition mounts to own the connection between fans and online content, tech behemoths like Microsoft and Google increasingly are turning to their search engines to help drive their entertainment content strategies.

In June, Microsoft launched a new entertainment vertical to its Bing search engine, which among other things aggregates full-track streaming from Zune, details on upcoming tours and buy links within the results for any artist, album or song search.

Google put together a similar package last year and is now building a music download service of its own that would be tied to its search engine and Android mobile operating system.

Given the high volume of entertainment-related queries that the search engines handle, it was only a matter of time before they took bold steps into the space. According to Microsoft, 10 percent of all Internet search queries are entertainment-related, with music lyrics alone accounting for 70 percent of those searches.

With the Bing upgrades, Microsoft is trying to position itself as a better entertainment discovery tool than Google. While both Google and Bing have links to stream full songs found in search results, Bing has the more complete package with additional details on tour dates, lyrics and buy links.

However, all that may change once Google gets its music act together. Sources confirm that later this year Google will launch a music download service that's tied to its search engine. Currently, music searches on Google link to full-song streams provided by MySpace Music, as well as Twitter feeds and other information, which it launched late last year.

Exactly what Google has planned is unclear, but a hint was given during a developers conference for the company's Android mobile platform in May. At the event, Google announced the acquisition of Simplify Media, a content-synching technology that the company demonstrated can be used to automatically synch and stream music purchased online to any Android phone containing the technology.