10/23/13
Those were the words of Ford Global Product Manager for SYNC AppLink Julius Marchwicki (pictured) during his keynote address to open the Radio Ink DASH Conference in Detroit on Wednesday. Marchwicki dazzled the crowd with mobile statistics to back up his words, leaving no doubt about the role smartphones play in the lives of today's consumers and the impact that's having on his industry.
Marchwicki said the fundamental shift toward mobile devices started in 2008 with the iPhone and the growth of smarrtphones, and that today there is tremendous global scale. He said there are 6 billion mobile subscribers in the world today, 1.8 billion mobile devices were sold in 2012, and there were 63 billion app downloads in 2012. Marchwicki's job is to mesh those two industries.
"We need to introduce technology that allows people to use their devices in a safe manner." Marchwicki said. Seventy-five percent of smartphone users believe it's important to connect their phones to their vehicle, and 46 percent of young adults would prefer phone access over buying a car. "Kids expect constant on-demand access to their entertainment now," said Marchwicki. "We've pioneered in this space, but we have not done enough."
Marchwicki left the crowd with a pair of questions: "How do we educate consumers on how to find the content they want? How are they interacting with devices so you can deliver them what they want?"
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