Alpine announces partnership to get Nokia Ovi Maps integrated with its line of stereo

Owning a Nokia handset might prove to come in handy as Alpine announced a partnership with the world's largest cell phone maker to integrate Ovi Maps into Alpine's line of car stereos. This future standard being developed, called Terminal Mode, allows the interoperability between automobile electronics and mobile phones. Basically what it aims to accomplish is to be able to tap into Nokia devices for navigation, music, and weather information while still allowing phone calls to be routed through the car's stereo speakers. Outside of all the multimedia features it's expected to offer, location-based services are said to be integrated and will also allow for various pieces of information to be gathered – such as fuel levels and the engine status so that it could suggest locations for nearby gas stations. You can expect to connect your Nokia handset with the Alpine car stereo by either a USB connection or Bluetooth. This is looking quite promising so far as a group of automakers have pledged to promote the standardization of mobile device interfaces – these include VW, Audi, BMW, Daimler, and Porsche.

source: Alpine via Phonescoop