Ford drops Microsoft, will use BlackBerry’s real-time OS for next Sync

Ford Motor Company has done a lot over the last few years to turn its Sync in-car “infotainment” system into a platform for innovation. Now, the company is reportedly changing its entire underlying engine for its next release, dropping Microsoft as its embedded operating system partner in favor of BlackBerry.

Bloomberg News reports that Ford will switch to BlackBerry’s QNX Neutrino real-time operating system and the QNX CAR “infotainment” platform for the next generation of Sync. According to Bloomberg, sources at Ford said the switch will reduce licensing costs and improve the flexibility of the technology.

The second generation of Sync, called MyFord Touch in Ford vehicles, has suffered from a number of technical problems since its launch. While Ford has patched many of the bugs in the system over the past year, the second-generation platform’s technology has turned out to be less flexible than even the original Sync, which has no touchscreen display.

Ford has continued to iterate on the first-generation Sync platform—and has even open-sourced its AppLink technology for linking mobile applications to Sync in an effort to make it an industry standard. But the second-generation system hasn’t gained those features. Meanwhile, General Motors and other car makers and aftermarket “head unit” vendors have moved forward with touch technology and their own application platforms.

The move to QNX’s CAR platform will provide Ford developers with a whole class of mobile platform capabilities that Sync currently lacks, including better support for touch displays, HTML5 and Qt-based applications, and a number of auto-centric interface enhancements that Microsoft hasn’t been able to bring to Ford—at least at the embedded level—all at a price Ford was willing to pay.

Given BlackBerry’s ongoing restructuring, the deal with Ford could be a major boost to the company’s future. QNX is already being used by Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Acura, Porsche, Saab, and Hyundai for their in-car systems. Shifting to QNX could also help Ford in its effort to turn AppLink into an industry standard for mobile device application integration.

Ford would not comment for Bloomberg's report. Ars has contacted a Ford spokesperson, and is awaiting comment.