Harman Connected Car Ecosystem Expands with New Service Delivery Platform

At the Mobile World Congress 2016, Harman International promoted their new connected car ecosystem with a new service provider program which allows automakers to provide drivers and passengers with a wide range of new vehicle-centric services over Harman’s new Service Delivery Platform. Harman also announced the launch of its new Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 3 portable Bluetooth speaker, distributed exclusively by Sprint and Brightstar.
 
While many of the companies attending the Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona are focused on pushing mobile platforms forward, others have a vision to truly transform mobility with services, standard with connected cars. And we all know there’s a lot of potential for audio technologies inside the car, which can be further expanded in this age of streaming, connected devices and services. And if there’s a company which is clearly leading the concept is Harman International.

Only two months after introducing its Harman Service Delivery Platform at CES 2016, Harman International Industries announced further advances towards leading the connected car ecosystem by making it easier for automakers to introduce and launch a variety of enterprise- and vehicle-centric services from leading providers. At the MWC 2016, the company announced 10 new workflow, content and data service providers for the company’s Open Service Delivery Platform for the connected car. These service providers can provide automakers and drivers with a wide range of accurate, context-based and relevant services including real-time traffic and location based services, shopping, parking, streaming audio and live news.

Service providers include TomTom, Parkopedia, AccuWeather, Yelp, INRIX, CustomWeather, Deezer, AccuRadio, Wcities, and NPR. The new services will be available to automakers for their diverse connected car configurations. Deezer allows access to its music streaming catalogue with algorithmic recommendations to help users discover and tune music to their personal preferences. AccuRadio is a personal Internet radio service, featuring over 975 channels, spanning over 50 genres. Wcities offers travel and entertainment content for cities around the world, including information on current events for concerts, theater, sports, attractions, shopping and more. NPR (National Public Radio) offers NPR News and NPR One apps, online streaming of local radio stations, podcasts, iTunes radio and connected car dashboards.

“Automakers now have the ability to provide drivers and passengers with the unique and relevant services that will improve the in-car experiences while continuing to focus on improving driver safety, convenience and infotainment.” says Sanjay Dhawan, President, Harman Connected Services. “We’re working closely with the top partners in the industry to bring together these services to automakers and drive innovation for drivers and passengers.”

The Service Provider Program is a worldwide initiative available to workflow, content, data and service providers who are looking to bring their services to automakers, vehicles, drivers and passengers faster, while focusing on near-term opportunities in the automotive industry. By leveraging the industry’s leading enterprise cloud services platform, automakers can deploy a variety of services including infotainment and navigation, new software features after vehicle sale, vehicle data to predict part failures, forecasting for preventative maintenance, and analysis of warranty claims. The Harman Service Delivery Platform combines core services, third party services and management features, fully integrated with vehicle systems and updated seamlessly over the air.

Recently, Harman joined the Intelligent Car Coalition (www.Intelligentcarcoalition.org), the leading advocacy group for pro-innovation connected car public policy, which is already supported by AT&T, the Auto Alliance, CTIA, Global Automakers, MEMA and Verizon. The organization advocates on public policy issues critical to the advancement of connected cars, like driver attention, data privacy, cybersecurity, autonomous vehicle technology, innovation policy and more.


Harman and Brightstar
At the Barcelona event, Harman also announced that it will expand its relationship with Brightstar Corp. (SoftBank Group), the world’s largest specialized wireless distributor and a leader in innovation and diversified services for the wireless industry. Following a successful two-year collaboration, including the distribution of JBL products and exclusive Harman Kardon Products (Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 1 & 2 and Harman Kardon Aura Studio) to mobile operators and retailers worldwide, Harman will continue to leverage Brightstar to launch exclusive products in the wireless speaker and headphone space.

“Today’s consumer is cutting the strings for an audio experience that is simplified, portable and, of course, always connected,” says Michael Mauser, President of the Harman Lifestyle Audio Division. “Brightstar’s global infrastructure, deep wireless experience and strong channel relationships make this a critical partnership as we look toward the future and expand the global reach of Harman’s superior audio solutions for today’s mobile lifestyle.”

Harman is working with Brightstar to expand distribution of wireless audio solutions further into new consumer electronics segments, as well as into the telecommunications market. Additionally, Harman announced the launch of its new Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 3 full-featured, portable Bluetooth speaker, which will be available exclusively through SoftBank Group companies Sprint and Brightstar in May 2016 ($449.99 MSRP).

Crafted with high-end materials, the third generation of the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio is a full-featured, portable Bluetooth speaker that delivers powerful audio with an iconic spherical design. It supports up to 5 hours of playtime with a rechargeable battery and connects wirelessly to Harman Kardon’s Wireless Dual Sound enabled speakers to expand coverage, while allowing incoming phone calls over the speaker with its built-in microphone and noise and echo cancelling technology.

The Harman experience showcase at MWC 2016 includes demonstrations of the company’s full portfolio of connected car and lifestyle audio systems. For more details about the Service Provider Program and HARMAN Service Delivery Platform visit services.harman.com/sdp
www.harman.com