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2008 Sync question


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I have been researching the sync option for the 2008. It appears that the 2008 Limited's come standard with Sync. Does the amount of usability that the Sync provides depend on other options? I saw a video the demonstrated how the Sync worked, my main interest was with the IPOD. It showed how to plug it in using the IPOD USB connector and the IPOD information (title, artist, playlist, etc) could all be displayed on the touch screen. As far as I know you only get the touch screen if you order the NAV package. If this is the case are you severly limited if you just get the Audiophile package? Or can everything still be done, it is just a more involved process because of the limited display of the Audiophile radio.

 

Also can you do voice commands without the NAV on the Audiophile system?

 

Clayton

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I have been researching the sync option for the 2008. It appears that the 2008 Limited's come standard with Sync. Does the amount of usability that the Sync provides depend on other options? I saw a video the demonstrated how the Sync worked, my main interest was with the IPOD. It showed how to plug it in using the IPOD USB connector and the IPOD information (title, artist, playlist, etc) could all be displayed on the touch screen. As far as I know you only get the touch screen if you order the NAV package. If this is the case are you severly limited if you just get the Audiophile package? Or can everything still be done, it is just a more involved process because of the limited display of the Audiophile radio.

 

Also can you do voice commands without the NAV on the Audiophile system?

 

Clayton

 

Clayton,

Sync works great either with the Nav system or without.

 

I should point out that the whole idea of sync is that you can keep your hands and eyes on the road while driving.

 

Having said that, The ipod or other digital media player will perform all the same functions wether you decide to go with the standard (non-nav) system or the touch screen/nav option. You can verbally tell the sync system to play anything on your ipod by "song title, album, genre, playlist, artist, similar" the sync recognizes those words. It will also autoplay upon plugin if you so desire. If I'm not mistaken you can also use the normal controls on your ipod itself, and you can scroll through music with the "seek" buttons on your radio head unit, much like if you were listening to a conventional CD. While these are all nice options to have, and may be faster than using the voice commands in some cases, again whole idea is to be able to drive without looking away from the road and/or taking your hands off of the wheel. sync is not just about convenience, but more importantly, SAFETY!

 

Snyc will essentially do whatever your bluetooth enabled phone or ipod will do. So the biggest limitation is your phone's or your cell provider's capabilities.

 

check out syncmyride.com to find out which features are available from your cell carrier and your specific phone.

 

I hope this helps. Enjoy!

 

Chris

:stats:

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The dealer gave me the training book that each salesman receives to train on the new Sync system. I have read through it cover to cover and there is virtually no difference between the capabilities of the Nav based system and non-Nav system. In fact, it almost seems as if the Nav system would be more distracting than the non-Nav because of the amount of touch-screen steps required to make things work. Either way they can both be controlled with voice commands (both phone and iPod) with both systems. This is the whole reason I'm ordering an '08 just this afternoon...wish me luck!

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My fingers hold the cellphone.

 

My fingers press the buttons on the radio/Ipod.

 

thanks for explaining... :reading:

 

once again, SYNC allows you to use your phone and your ipod HANDS FREE! that is the whole point. :banghead: You can now keep your eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel for SAFER DRIVING. Your fingers, however free of charge they may be, can't do that if they are busy holding your phone or selecting your favorite track on your ipod.

 

keep in mind, talking on the cell phone while driving is becoming illegal in many places. do you suppose your fingers can get you out of a ticket as well?

 

SYNC certainly isn't a necessity, but it is a nice new feature to enhance driver safety and convenience.

 

sounds to me like some folks have "sync envy".

 

later,

Chris

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thanks for explaining... :reading:

 

once again, SYNC allows you to use your phone and your ipod HANDS FREE! that is the whole point. :banghead: You can now keep your eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel for SAFER DRIVING. Your fingers, however free of charge they may be, can't do that if they are busy holding your phone or selecting your favorite track on your ipod.

 

keep in mind, talking on the cell phone while driving is becoming illegal in many places. do you suppose your fingers can get you out of a ticket as well?

 

SYNC certainly isn't a necessity, but it is a nice new feature to enhance driver safety and convenience.

 

sounds to me like some folks have "sync envy".

 

later,

Chris

 

You funny guy.

 

I..um...know exactly what the sync does. My posts were an attempt at humor.

 

Some got it.

 

I think others..as yourself..may be smelling jet fuel.

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I usually use my fingers to tap my left chest and say, "We'll need everything you've got." The male Nav voice, in a Scottish broke, replies, ""Aye. Warp drive standing by."

 

And once you hit your speed limiter?

 

Same male voice, "I've giv'n her all she's got captain, an' I canna give her no more."

Edited by Good_Hands
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Clayton,

Sync works great either with the Nav system or without.

 

I should point out that the whole idea of sync is that you can keep your hands and eyes on the road while driving.

 

Having said that, The ipod or other digital media player will perform all the same functions wether you decide to go with the standard (non-nav) system or the touch screen/nav option. You can verbally tell the sync system to play anything on your ipod by "song title, album, genre, playlist, artist, similar" the sync recognizes those words. It will also autoplay upon plugin if you so desire. If I'm not mistaken you can also use the normal controls on your ipod itself, and you can scroll through music with the "seek" buttons on your radio head unit, much like if you were listening to a conventional CD. While these are all nice options to have, and may be faster than using the voice commands in some cases, again whole idea is to be able to drive without looking away from the road and/or taking your hands off of the wheel. sync is not just about convenience, but more importantly, SAFETY!

 

Snyc will essentially do whatever your bluetooth enabled phone or ipod will do. So the biggest limitation is your phone's or your cell provider's capabilities.

 

check out syncmyride.com to find out which features are available from your cell carrier and your specific phone.

 

I hope this helps. Enjoy!

 

Chris

:stats:

 

 

Chris,

 

Thanks for the great info. I am hoping to be able to afford the NAV but was hoping that it was not necessary. Good to know that you can take full advantage of the SYNC option without it. I really think the hands free operation is a valuable saftey feature. I know I sometimes get a little too involved picking out songs on my IPOD or using my cell phone.

 

Clayton

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The dealer gave me the training book that each salesman receives to train on the new Sync system. I have read through it cover to cover and there is virtually no difference between the capabilities of the Nav based system and non-Nav system. In fact, it almost seems as if the Nav system would be more distracting than the non-Nav because of the amount of touch-screen steps required to make things work. Either way they can both be controlled with voice commands (both phone and iPod) with both systems. This is the whole reason I'm ordering an '08 just this afternoon...wish me luck!

 

 

Jmitchell,

 

How big is the training book? Did you get to keep it? Would love to see some scans of the pages if possible.

 

Clayton

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I just wanted to comment considering my 2008 has Sync and Nav.

 

I have been using Sync now for almost a week. When I ordered it I was not sure how much it would actually get used. Voice quality, ease etc. was all a big question, I knew if callers complained about the way I sounded... I would never use it.

 

I have a Motorola Razr V3xx with AT&T/Cingular. Here is what I have figured out so far:

  • All my phone contacts show in Sync.
  • Voice dialing works well and will prompt you if you have more then one number for a contact.
  • Text messaging works well, and will read the message to you. There are a ton of "canned" responses to choose from, it WON'T let you tap out a response while driving, for safety.
  • The phone seamlessly connects to Sync and disconnects when entering and exiting the vehicle.
  • I have spent lots of time talking now via Sync, to folks on land lines and other cellular users. Everyone says I sound really good and can barely tell I am hands free.
  • You have the option of Sync ringing with one of three built in lame ringers or ringing using your current ringtone on your phone, which will come over your speakers.

I think I mentioned before in another post... if you have MP3s on your phone, stored in the proper file/directory format, the BlueTooth phone will be an option for one of your media sources. So yeah, you could play MP3s from your phone if you don't have an IPod or USB Memory Stick.

 

Also at least with the NAV Audiophile unit, it remembers the volume level when switching to the phone from Sirius or FM etc. At least with my setup, I find I turn the phone volume near 50%-60% for normal conversation with the AC running. Normal audio at regular listening levels is maybe at 20%-25%. So when I get a phone call or place one, it will remember the last volume level I used with the phone.

 

For as cheap as Sync is, I would not hesitate for a moment to equip a new vehicle with it. Ohh yeah, and it can have at least 6 pairing profiles (maybe more). Ya know, IPod, Phone, Wife's Phone etc.

 

One last story. The second night I had the new Edge home my neighbor stopped by to check it out. It was in the garage. Our house has living space above the garage, namely our theater room where I had been before the neighbor stopped by. I had my Cell phone sitting on an ottoman upstairs. When he sat in the Edge he wanted to check out the Nav system. So I went and retrieved the keys, started it up and guess what??? Yup, it Sync'd with my cell phone upstairs in the house!!! LOL My car answered a call to my cell, with the phone 20 feet away and a whole layer of house in between!

 

Rayo

Edited by RayoVac
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So, what if I don't have an Ipod or a bluetooth phone? What will Sync do for me!?!

 

well, come to think of it, not alot... EXCEPT, you can always get a USB Flash Drive card (for what maybe $5.00?) and put your favorite songs on it and use that instead of buying an IPOD. the usb stick will work exactly the same way.

 

one of the neatest things about SYNC is that it is SOFTWARE. This means it is fully upgradable! For example version "2.0" is supposed to come out in the spring with some new features/improvements available! not to worry, if you have v1.0 you can simply download the newest version from the website to your usb flash drive and then upgrade your current version in your vehicle for free.

 

the future is wide open. as new cell phone technology becomes available, sync should perform the new features as well.

 

a couple of examples of possible future options:

 

Does your cell phone currently or a year or two from now offer GPS directions/navigation? If so the sync could read you those turn by turn directions even if you didn't choose the touch screen navigation option on your vehicle!

 

Does your teen driver's phone have GPS? you may be able to monitor their LOCATION, driving habits and/or SPEEDS! to see if they are safe, and responsible enough to borrow the car again next weekend! what parent wouldn't love to have this ability!

 

the possibilities are only limited by upcoming cell phone technology, which has come quite a long way in just a few years.

 

later,

chris

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I just wanted to comment considering my 2008 has Sync and Nav.

 

I have been using Sync now for almost a week. When I ordered it I was not sure how much it would actually get used. Voice quality, ease etc. was all a big question, I knew if callers complained about the way I sounded... I would never use it.

 

I have a Motorola Razr V3xx with AT&T/Cingular. Here is what I have figured out so far:

  • All my phone contacts show in Sync.
  • Voice dialing works well and will prompt you if you have more then one number for a contact.
  • Text messaging works well, and will read the message to you. There are a ton of "canned" responses to choose from, it WON'T let you tap out a response while driving, for safety.
  • The phone seamlessly connects to Sync and disconnects when entering and exiting the vehicle.
  • I have spent lots of time talking now via Sync, to folks on land lines and other cellular users. Everyone says I sound really good and can barely tell I am hands free.
  • You have the option of Sync ringing with one of three built in lame ringers or ringing using your current ringtone on your phone, which will come over your speakers.

I think I mentioned before in another post... if you have MP3s on your phone, stored in the proper file/directory format, the BlueTooth phone will be an option for one of your media sources. So yeah, you could play MP3s from your phone if you don't have an IPod or USB Memory Stick.

 

Also at least with the NAV Audiophile unit, it remembers the volume level when switching to the phone from Sirius or FM etc. At least with my setup, I find I turn the phone volume near 50%-60% for normal conversation with the AC running. Normal audio at regular listening levels is maybe at 20%-25%. So when I get a phone call or place one, it will remember the last volume level I used with the phone.

 

For as cheap as Sync is, I would not hesitate for a moment to equip a new vehicle with it. Ohh yeah, and it can have at least 6 pairing profiles (maybe more). Ya know, IPod, Phone, Wife's Phone etc.

 

One last story. The second night I had the new Edge home my neighbor stopped by to check it out. It was in the garage. Our house has living space above the garage, namely our theater room where I had been before the neighbor stopped by. I had my Cell phone sitting on an ottoman upstairs. When he sat in the Edge he wanted to check out the Nav system. So I went and retrieved the keys, started it up and guess what??? Yup, it Sync'd with my cell phone upstairs in the house!!! LOL My car answered a call to my cell, with the phone 20 feet away and a whole layer of house in between!

 

Rayo

 

 

Rayo...

I, for one, have done a TON of research on SYNC, but I wanted to let you know that this post, coming from a hands-on user, is a wonderful post full of awesome information!!!

I appreciate you sharing all this wonderful info with those of us that have not gotten out 2008's yet. It really helps create a broader picture of SYNC.

Now, I am even more excited!

:happy feet:

Thank you!!

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Hello Edge Owners: Here are a few links you may want to visit while you own a Ford product.

 

This one is for the new SYNC system

http://syncmyride.com

 

This one is for owners to register their vehicles. very helpful site

https://myford.fordvehicles.com/servlet/Con...wners/index.asp

 

This one is where all owners can learm more about resources available to owners.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/owners/index.asp

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Hello Edge Owners: Here are a few links you may want to visit while you own a Ford product.

 

This one is for the new SYNC system

http://syncmyride.com

 

This one is for owners to register their vehicles. very helpful site

https://myford.fordvehicles.com/servlet/Con...wners/index.asp

 

This one is where all owners can learm more about resources available to owners.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/owners/index.asp

 

 

This is why I am proud to have been a member of this forum for almost a year now.

It has grown, and people become more and more helpful all the time.

This has been a wonderful forum, and I am thankful to all that helps by giving info....

 

:hyper:

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Chris,

 

Thanks for the great info. I am hoping to be able to afford the NAV but was hoping that it was not necessary. Good to know that you can take full advantage of the SYNC option without it. I really think the hands free operation is a valuable saftey feature. I know I sometimes get a little too involved picking out songs on my IPOD or using my cell phone.

 

Clayton

 

I tested out an Edge with Sync this past weekend without the Navigation system. Working with the system in terms of setup and interfacing was a bit challenging using the regular audiophile radio display. From the screen shots I've seen of Sync on the navigation system's screen, I think it would be much more satisfying and simple to use with the navigation system.

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