Honda to link smartphones to cars

TOKYO, July 20 (UPI) -- Japanese automaker Honda says its "connected car" system will provide drivers with content such as Facebook newsfeeds, audiobook libraries and Internet radio.

Set for release this fall in the 2013 Honda Accord, the main entertainment features of the HondaLink system will utilize a driver's smartphone, not just for its lifeline to the Internet, but to host the applications, GigaOm reported.

The platform's operating system lies in part in the dash, in part in a smartphone app and in part in the cloud, Honda said.

Drivers will download the HondaLink app to their phone and then register it to their specific vehicles, linking the phone to the car and providing channels, controlled from the smartphone, that can be anything from a text-to-speech rendering of a Facebook news feed to Pandora Internet radio presets, GigaOm reported.

Drivers can activate channels through a touch of a button on their smartphone or by voice command.