Backers of HD Radio and song tagging have been pushing for a greater presence for their respective technologies on the menu of factory options available to consumers who buy a new vehicle.
Both camps hope to get a boost with an announcement from Lincoln. An available feature on the 2011 MKX luxury crossover is a factory installed HD Radio receiver with iTunes Tagging.
Lincoln says this is the first time anywhere that car buyers can get a factory-installed HD Radio receiver with iTunes Tagging.
(Other available features in the fancy-schmancy car model are a blind-spot information system; ambient lighting with choice of seven colors; rear camera; and a heated steering wheel.)
With tagging, the user pushes a button to “tag” a desired song heard on the radio; when he or she docks an iPod to the car’s SYNC system, the tag information will transfer to it. When the iPod is later synced to Apple iTunes, a playlist of tagged songs will appear, and the user can choose to buy songs from the iTunes Store.
Related:
“What’s the Outlook for Tagging?” (May 2010)
