Microsoft, Siemens Collaborate On In-Car Entertainment

Microsoft and Germany-based Siemens VDO Automotive will work together to develop in-vehicle communication, information, entertainment and navigation products. Siemens, which develops in-vehicle multimedia and infotainment systems, will use Microsoft's software technology platform, Microsoft Auto, to create multimedia units and interfaces to connect portable electronics. Siemens plans to have the first products based on Microsoft Auto in production by 2009. "The extremely flexible and modular nature of the Microsoft Auto platform makes it perfectly suited to provide a range of innovative infotainment solutions that transform the driving experience by connecting drivers seamlessly to the people, information and entertainment they care about while they are on the road," Martin Thall, general manager of the Automotive Business Unit at Microsoft, said in a statement. "Working together, we will make both current and future multimedia and infotainment solutions, some of which are still under development, available to current vehicle generations," Helmut Matschi, board member of Siemens VDO, said in a statement.