Good news, blabbermouths: Jaguar’s justDrive bundles in-car apps with voice control

By Andrew Hard November 20, 2014

Jaguar justDrive — Image used with permission by copyright holder

As in-car tech continues to develop and mature, integration will continue to be one of the biggest challenges for automakers to hurdle.

Most companies can reasonably manage fitting phone, music, navigation, and messaging systems into your daily driver, but presenting them together in an easy-to-use format is much more of a challenge.

Jaguar Land Rover’s ‘justDrive,’ a smartphone connectivity app designed by CloudCar, looks to do just that.

Tailored for use with the automaker’s InControl Apple iOS8 infotainment platform, justDrive bundles programs like Spotify, Twitter, and Yelp together in a hands-free, voice-activated package, one that was designed to improve connectivity while reducing distractions on the road.

Jaguar and Land Rover customers will already be familiar with the touchscreen functions of InControl, and justDrive will allow them to continue that experience while offering speech recognition as an option.

“CloudCar is excited to be collaborating with Jaguar Land Rover, a thought leader in bringing the connected car experience to their discerning customers,” said Luke Smithwick, VP of CloudCar Marketing and Business Development. “As the first to adopt justDrive, Jaguar Land Rover brings customers a thoughtful, connected experience that evolves with the driver and remains current throughout the vehicle’s lifetime.”

CloudCar’s technology differs from some other voice-controlled systems by using advanced plain speech recognition, which allows drivers to communicate with their car more naturally.

Instead of employing rigid syntax commands, “The driver can dictate and then send a tweet or SMS by simply saying: ‘Tell George I’ll be late’, with justDrive reading the content of the message back to you before it is sent,” Jaguar’s statement reads. “You can also ask justDrive to play a particular song just by asking for it.”

The app is available for 2015 model year Land Rover and Jaguar F-Type vehicles. It is also free to download on Android phones.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…

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