Aha, the app that gives car radio users easy access to 30,000 radio stations, Facebook, Twitter and podcasts, will soon be available on Alpine car radios as well as 10 leading car OEM systems such as the Ford Sync and Chrysler Uconnect.
Kenwood will also expand Aha compatibility to a dozen car radios in 2013. Pioneer also offers Aha-ready radios, said Aha Mobile.
Owned by Harman, Aha Mobile’s “super app” lets you create presets on certain car radios so that your favorite podcasts and Internet radio stations are easy to access. The system will also read your Facebook and Twitter posts to you. Through your smartphone it accesses the Aha cloud server to deliver your content in a format suited to your particular car radio. On many radios it can be accessed similar to a radio mode like AM/FM/XM/Aha.
On the OEM side, Aha appears to be spreading fast. Subaru now plans to roll it out to 100 percent of its cars and will begin offering it on select models this quarter.
Aha is already offered on the Honda Accord and on a model or two from Porsche. As of Tuesday, Ford Sync users may tap into an Aha app for iPhone or Android phones. And Aha can be controlled by Ford’s voice control with natural speech.
The service will appear on select Acura vehicles this quarter. More auto makers are expected to announce infotainment systems that work with the app at the New York Auto Show in April, said Aha’s Robert Acker.
And finally, Hyundai will demonstrate it at its booth at CES, although it hasn’t committed to a commercial implementation.
Even accessory maker Griffin will show at CES a $59.99 FM modulator/charger that works with your smartphone to deliver up Aha from a phone through many car radios.
Aha also plans to add to its content as it grows more popular. The service might eventually be viewed as a rival to Sirius XM or possibly Pandora.
“I think this does put us out there second to Pandora and as far as an aggregator, there’s no one who has a platform close to us,” said Aha General Manager Robert Acker, who was formerly a VP of Product Development at XM Satellite Radio.
Source: Aha Mobile