Parrot and Ford in Bluetooth Music Fiesta

Parrot and Ford announced that the new Ford Bluetooth Music Fiesta model, available in Spain, will carry Parrot’s music streaming technology developed in partnership with Sony-Ericsson.

This solution originates from Parrot’s MK6000, a Bluetooth car-kit which integrates audio streaming functionality and allows drivers to listen to tracks stored on mobile phones, PDAs or MP3 players wirelessly through the car’s speakers. This was the first of Parrot’s new generation of music kits designed for the car, adding to the advantages of hands-free Bluetooth car-kits with the ability to wirelessly stream music.

Ford Bluetooth Music allows hands-free control including answering, hanging up, navigating through the phone’s menus, turning the music on or off and selecting a track. When a call comes in while the music is playing, it will automatically mute and resume once the call is ended.

The kit also integrates the Text-To-Speech (TTS), using voice synthesis that maximises ease-of-use while driving, reading out contact names in the mobile’s phonebook. There’s no need for a screen as the driver can easily find the right contact thanks to the voice synthesis, with no need to handle the mobile device.

The Parrot technology in the new Ford models is based on its new Parrot P5 ASC 32 bit processor, developed by Parrot’s in-house R&D team. The P5 processor makes it possible to capture an audio streaming signal and decode it in order to reproduce it flawlessly. Parrot’s audio streaming technology works with all Bluetooth stereo (A2DP) devices allowing the continuous transmission of an audio signal, whether it is a mobile phone, PC, MP3 player, PDA etc. and with minimal sound quality loss.

Founded in 1994, Parrot has rapidly established itself as a pivotal global player for wireless mobile telephone accessories. Drawing on its tried-and-tested expertise on voice recognition and signal processing technologies, Parrot was one of the first companies to produce Bluetooth-based wireless hands free car kits, having identified this standard’s vast potential as early as 1999. In 2006, Parrot sold about 3 mln units.