jācapps Cracks The Connected Car Code For Radio

During a webinar Tuesday, mobile developer jācapps announced a major breakthrough for radio stations, podcasters, and Internet radio stations – the ability to appear in even more automobile audio entertainment systems via Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and the SmartDeviceLink system for Ford and Toyota vehicles.

jācapps President Paul Jacobs noted, “For us, it’s always been about how radio could have presence on the beachfront property known as smartphones. Today, that valuable real estate includes the car dashboard.”

“Over the past six years, we have focused on the changing in-car entertainment environment, and its impact on the radio industry,” remarked Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs. “Today’s entertainment systems provide drivers with myriad options, many of which are accessed from their smartphone. And now, we can get radio broadcasters on the valuable screens of these vehicles to ensure that millions of consumers can enjoy hearing their favorite stations while driving.”

jācapps has created App EverywhereSM, where mobile apps for radio stations can now be coded to appear in automobiles that have Android Auto, SmartDeviceLink, and pending approval from Apple, their CarPlay system.

“It’s exciting to be first. Our mobile app team has been dedicated to developing solutions that will ensure that broadcasters have presence in these entertainment systems,” commented jācapps COO Bob Kernen. “It’s a major priority for us. Jacobs Media has invested a lot of time in this space, including the DASH Conference. This is an incredibly important opportunity for broadcasters and we’re extremely pleased that we were able to crack the code.”

jācapps is in the process of releasing a beta app for Apple CarPlay for WMMR, the Greater Media-owned radio station in Philadelphia. The app is awaiting final approval and will be released in the iTunes app store soon as an update to their existing app. Videos showing how radio station apps appear in Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are available by emailing jācapps at sales@jacapps.com.

For more information about App EverywhereSM and how broadcasters can ensure their mobile applications are available in cars, contact Bob Kernen at bob@jacapps.com or Alex Burnstein at alex@jacapps.com.