The new A-Class vehicle will seamlessly merge iPhone 4S functions into the car's in-vehicle display via Daimler's Digital DriveStyle App and COMAND Online multimedia system. While docked in the car, the iPhone 4S will receive an automatic charge and offer access to the device's content as well as social networking applications, including Facebook and Twitter.
But the biggest win here for Apple is the fact that Mercedes-Benz is the first carmaker to offer Siri as a part of its voice control systems. Using Siri, drivers will be able to send SMS text messages and emails while traveling, check location and weather, schedule appointments on-the-go, as well as select from the full menu of music available on their iPhone 4S. This hands-free, mobile control of a device that many consider their primary computer gives us our first real glimpse at what traveling with a virtual assistant feels like.
This latest news may also explain why late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs seemed so closely tied to his famous license plate-free Mercedes-Benz – he may have been testing this integration out personally for the last couple years. According to reports, Jobs purchased a new Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG about every six months to avoid getting plates, but the reasoning behind sticking with one car particular brand of vehicle, year in, year out, perhaps had just as much to do with research and development as it had to do with personal taste.
Although the first rollout of this iPhone 4S pairing is limited to the brand's A-Class vehicles, Mercedes-Benz plans to introduce the Apple integration in the B-, C- and E-Class vehicles starting this fall.
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