JLR Launches InControl Apps: A New Smartphone Integration Platform

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover today launched a new smartphone integration platform for its model range in Land Rover model range in India. Christened as, InControl Apps, the new innovation platform has been jointly developed by JLR and Bosch for both Android and iOS.

"InControl Apps will enhance the overall luxury experience of our vehicles and provide technology savvy customers a more convenient option to access their favorite apps. This is an exciting new technology addition to Land Rover vehicles, which have already become popular for their design, performance, craftsmanship and luxury credentials," said Rohit Suri, President, Jaguar Land Rover India comment in their new Smartphone Integration Platform.

On the other hand Vijay Ratnaparkhe, Managing Director, Bosch said, "I am often asked whether phones will integrate with cars or perhaps phones will replace navigation systems. This smart phone integration solution is the best of both worlds. We ensure that ultimately technology serves the consumer in a convenient and safe way. For the tech savvy consumer, our products are built to delight. We are excited to be collaborating with Jaguar Land Rover India because both of us endorse quality craftsmanship to benefit the customer."

According to the company's official statement, the new InControl Apps platform has been designed to transfer the smartphone's interface to the in-car touch-screen infotainment system. This will allow the user to access some of the most popular apps, thus significantly enhancing user experience.

Additionally JLR and Bosch have closely worked with some other esteemed third party app developers, specifically in India, to enable access to an initial suite of Android and iOS compatible applications. The InControl Apps platform will be available on 2016 Model Year Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Discovery Sport. Moreover the carmaker will subsequently roll-out the integrated platform for other Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles as well.

The India-customised platform will allow access to popular apps in India like NDTV, Hungama, MapmyIndia and Zomato. Commenting on this new association, Shouneel Charles, Chief Revenue Officer, NDTV Convergence said, "We are really happy to get into this partnership with Bosch and Jaguar Land Rover India who have been great partners over the development of this first of a kind in-car news app in India. This truly is an exciting deal and extremely unique in the Indian digital media eco-system." Siddhartha Roy, CEO Hungama.Com said, "As a company, Hungama has always been at the forefront of creating new music listening experiences and this has resulted in creation of Hungama Drive, an extension of Hungama Music for cars."

At the same time, Shivalik Prasad, Executive Director, MapmyIndia said, "Our alliance with Bosch and Jaguar Land Rover India to build a mobile phone based car-synchronized navigation solution is another step to show that MapmyIndia is further building new technology for the Indian navigation market," while Deepinder Goyal, Founder & CEO, Zomato said that with InControl Apps platform, users will now be able to search restaurants, view nearby restaurants and curated collections from the vehicle infotainment system.

Disclosure: NDTV has partnered Jaguar Land Rover in this project.