With navigation devices, iPods, smartphones and screens, there is no shortage of items that can distract drivers. So much so that it is now illegal in most provinces to manipulate a handheld electronic device, like a cell phone or GPS, while driving a motor vehicle. The infraction is punishable by fines, and, in some spots, demerit points. Numerous studies have backed up the notion of driver distraction, and the increasing role that technology, particularly mobile phones, plays in contributing to that.

Technology is also playing a greater role in other forms of driver safety, from back-up sensors, to security alarms.

But along with these growing product categories, manufacturers and retailers are faced with two major issues: being able to facilitate the convenience these gadgets provide while ensuring they don't impede on the actual act of driving; and competing with factory-built, OEM products and installations.

The increasing propensity to use mobile devices whilst driving combined with recent legislation has pushed Bluetooth products to the top of the list for providing growth opportunities in the 12V sector.

Ford Canada has partnered with Future Shop and Best Buy to provide training on its SYNC system to employees. This will allow salespersons to better help customers select products, like mobile phones, that are compatible with SYNC, then aid in setting them up in the vehicle.

Hands on the Wheel: Bluetooth Opens Up New Doors

Hands-free legislation has, not surprisingly, had a tremendously positive inpact on sales of Bluetooth products that allow consumers to continue chatting while still upholding the law. Bluetooth headsets, speakerphones, and built-in systems enable drivers to stay in touch without sacrificing control of the vehicle, and sales have been known to increase 10-fold when legislation passes, especially in high population spots like Quebec and Ontario. This point hasn't been lost on dealers and retailers, including those on the 12V side of the business, who can now reap the rewards through the sale of portable gadgets and/or installed systems. The sheer level of choice and price points have made it easier for retailers to push products to consumers who would otherwise be unsure or unwilling to spend the money. While a customer can opt for an OEM upgrade that might cost a few hundred bucks, he can also buy a very affordable $30 headset.

"We typically see the greatest spikes in sales in the weeks immediately leading up to and following the activation of hands-free laws," says Jennifer Cauble, Vice President of Marketing at BlueAnt Wireless. "Retailers tend to increase inventories the month before a law takes effect. Consumers, on the other hand, often wait until the last moment to take action, so we often see a frenzy of activity over just a few days and more moderate growth over the following months."

What's interesting, Cauble adds, is that Canada differs from the U.S. market when it comes to preference. "When it comes to hands-free compliance, we find that car visor speakerphones are the leading option in Canada over headsets; and Americans favour headsets over speakerphones."

"The headset is always the first hands-free purchase because it's the least expensive and because consumers think they'll get used to it," declares Mike Berger, Director of Sales and Marketing at Automobility, a Quebec-based distributor of 12V products. "In some louder vehicles, they might have difficulty hearing it when driving on the highway, so they'll eventually want to go to a more powerful visor mount that has a four-watt speaker."

One of the advantages of a Bluetooth speakerphone over a more expensive installed system, aside from the price, is that the customer has the ability to move the device from car-to-car, use it in a rental vehicle, or even use it as a desktop speaker. But Berger refutes this, stating that consumers would likely prefer to keep a gadget in the car when it was meant primarily for use in the car in the first place. "[Consumers] aren't going to want to move a visor mount from car-to-car," he opines. "They'll just buy another one for the other car."

A headset, he says, offers more options to talk hands-free outside the car's doors. But speakerphones, which typically cost around $150-$200, have longer talk times and can be easily recharged in the car using the cigarette lighter.

Portable Bluetooth speakerphones have finally managed to secure a viable spot in the market, and now manufacturers are working on features that will afford even more hands-free functionality in an effort to better compete with in-car OEM systems. For example, BlueAnt's latest S4 model can be entirely controlled by voice: just say "BlueAnt, speak to me," then proceed with any number of commands, from pairing, to voice dialing, to answering a call, and even checking battery status. (See an in-depth review of the S4 at the end of this article.) A software upgrade for the Australian manufacturer's Q1 and T1 headsets will allow text messages to be dictated aloud from compatible Android phones. Vlingo has created a free application called SafeReader that, when used with a compatible BlackBerry or Android phone, will read text messages and e-mails aloud. For $20, the step-up version will also let you reply to, compose, and forward e-mails or text messages by voice. Many of the latest speakerphones, including the aforementioned S4, will also dictate who's calling, either by name or number, so that you don't even need to move your eyes from the road to see the phone's call display.

All of those I spoke to agree that Bluetooth has come a long way from the first bulky headsets that offered tinny sound and paltry hours in talk time. In addition to better audio quality, the designs are also getting more creative. Consider items like Yada's Rearview Mirror, which offers Bluetooth functionality in a way that doesn't effect the look of car: it sits overtop the car's existing rearview mirror, so no one would even know it's there. This such placement can also help to deter theft, a concern consumers have with portable gadgetry. Scosche's motorMOUTH II stereo consists of a small speaker that connects to the auxiliary input in a car, than pairs via Bluetooth with your phone to stream music. But it also holds double duty as a Bluetooth speakerphone, pausing the tunes when a call comes through. The device can be paired with up to eight phones (but only one at a time.)

"We believe our voice-control technology is one of the greatest safety features out there, since it enables the driver to control their communications basically by speaking simple commands," says Cauble.

But what consumers truly want, she adds, is convenience.

Yada's YD-V16 Bluetooth-enabled rearview mirror clips overtop a car's existing mirror, then acts as a speakerphone. Caller information is displayed on a small LCD, and phonebook contact information is stored within the 8 MB of flash memory.

Ford SYNC

Portable Bluetooth gadgetry is opening up new doors for 12V retailers, and the added niceties like voice control justify their purchase over a built in system. But the reality is that built in systems still threaten to impact the sale of third-party Bluetooth products. Ford's SYNC system (read our review) has arguably changed the way OEMs looked at integrated hands-free systems. In a nutshell, SYNC, which is built into select Ford vehicles, offers Bluetooth and USB connectivity, speech recognition and voice-to-text, as its three core pillars.

Though it was once considered a premium feature exclusive to Ford and Lincoln luxury vehicles, the SYNC system will be in other models. "The goal of the system is to provide a seamless connection for customers bringing mobile devices into the car using the safer means of voice control," says Alan Hall, Ford's Technology Communications Manager in the U.S. That goal, he adds, will eventually extend to anyone who can afford a Ford vehicle at any level.

SYNC has also proven to be adaptable: drivers can register their systems on SYNCmyride.com, download firmware updates to a USB stick, and load them into the system by plugging the stick into the car's USB port. This is part and parcel of the "open architecture" Hall describes when it comes to the system's ongoing development. And as it rolls out to more and more vehicles, the factory cost lowers.

"Drivers can access all of the contacts in their phone's address book and all the songs on their MP3 players with simple voice commands," says Hall. "They never have to take their eyes off the road or hands off the wheel in order to access their music and talk to who they want."

This includes a "Private" mode that a driver can choose to send the phone's audio back to the handset if he or she wants to speak without others in the car listening. However, SYNC will only communicate with a Bluetooth headset if the phone can handle more than one Bluetooth connection at a time.

Another benefit Hall points out is the fact that SYNC can read text messages aloud, even though not every phone is compatible with the feature. He wouldn't comment on whether that will be improved, or if e-mails will eventually be included in future upgrades as well.

Thus, built-in systems like SYNC prove to be a serious challenge for third-party manufacturers and dealers that focus heavily on in-dash Bluetooth installations. But there are areas where retailers can find a way to get involved. For example, Best Buy and Future Shop have teamed up with Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd. to help customers understand how to get the most out of the SYNC system, which mobile devices are compatible with it, and how to, well, sync them. Future Shop and Best Buy employees are given ongoing training about SYNC, and thus become experts in the eyes of new car buyers on how the system works, and how it works specifically with a variety of Bluetooth-enabled gadgets, from portable media players to mobile phones.

Factory built systems for things like Bluetooth hands-free calling pose stiff competition for the aftermarket. With the Ford SYNC system, which is built into a number of Ford vehicles, customers can control things like music playback and incoming phone calls by voice, or via steering wheel-mounted buttons.

Note, also, that since SYNC is a Ford-exclusive technology, the widest exposure it will ever get is the 15% marketshare Ford currently holds in Canada. But if Ford starts licensing the technology out to other car makers, or other OEMs start following the lead and create comparable systems, the aftermarket for hands-free devices could eventually be squeezed out. Clearly, we have a long way to go before we reach that point, and plenty of sales opportunities lying in between.

"The success and consumer recognition of the Ford name and the SYNC technology shows that if we lead and produce cools things that add real value and function, even at a higher price, then people will be interested, and it's up to us to sell it to them," says Tony Dehnke, Owner of 604 Autosound, a 12V retailer in Abbotsford, B.C. This, he adds, mean offering the services and features that other carmakers don't install from the factory; or, as Future Shop and Best Buy are doing, finding ways to ensure that different devices can communicate with one another.

"We need devices now that can read back e-mails and texts to you, especially if we consider how many kids would be coming through the door for those features," Dehnke says.

These products, however, would need to be upgradeable to give them a longer shelf life that falls in line with a built-in system. "Even if every manufacturer was using the same software on the back end," opines Dehnke, "they could fight it out on the quality of the hardware."

He uses AutoPC as a good example. The device, launched in the late ‘90s from Clarion, was based on the Microsoft Windows platform, and offered the basics of MP3 playback and e-mail. According to Dehnke, the feature-rich system was "more than a decade ahead of its time."\

What's more, David MacKinnon, OEM and Specialty Product Manager at Clarion Canada, points out that "aftermarket companies like (Clarion) can offer solutions (similar to SYNC) to market much faster than OEMs can. So if someone wants a feature, even in an older car, all they have to do is visit a car audio shop."

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