About 20 percent of people with smartphones use their device to listen to music in their cars by connecting them to vehicle speakers, according to new info from J.D. Power and Associates.
 
The 2010 U.S. Automotive Emerging Technologies Study also found that more than 40 percent of smartphone owners would like to do so in the future.
 
In keeping with what would be a logical assumption that smartphone owners are highly interested in connectivity, the study found that their interest levels for wireless connectivity systems in cars are higher than the industry average, both before and after price is revealed.
 
Before price is revealed, 77 percent of smartphone owners indicate interest in wireless connectivity systems for their vehicles, compared with the industry average of 64 percent.
 
Texting, receiving emails and getting directions are the other activities that smartphone owners use their devices for in the car. Systems and apps that enable them to use their phones more easily to perform these functions – such as a sound system that easily docks or connects with a device, an app that easily connects to a dash, or a program that reads emails aloud – are growing in popularity among this segment of the population.
 
In car listening is a critical touchpoint for radio, making these findings important to stations interested in providing offerings – both in terms of content and technology – that keeps these listeners happy and engaged.
 
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