Audiovox and Dice are pleased to announce that their MediaBridge 1500 line of products now has Siri Vehicle Integration. Siri commands iPhones to choose music content, place phone calls, find directions, and many other useful actions. Speak to Siri as if she were your personal assistant! MediaBridge with Siri Integration improves driver safety plus adds fun and convenient features. Kits are available for many different makes, from BMW  to Toyota.

HOW TO USE SIRI WITH THE MediaBridge 1500

For Siri to work with the MediaBridge 1500, your iPhone must be connected via Bluetooth to your MediaBridge 1500. Siri can control music played via Bluetooth streaming or through the MediaBridge 1500 USB dock connector. VW/Audi SAT and BMW MediaBridge 1500 users press the Voice Dial button on the steering wheel to summon Siri. All other MediaBridge 1500 users press the radio Scan button to summon Siri. After you hear the familiar chime, your spoken commands will be received through MediaBridge 1500 microphone.

Music playback can be sent to different paths on the MediaBridge 1500. To hear music in USB/iPod MediaBridge 1500 mode, select the Dock Connector option on the Airplay button in the iPhone Music app. To hear music via MediaBridge 1500 Bluetooth streaming, select the MEDIABRIDGE option on the Airplay button in the iPhone Music app.

MUSIC PLAYBACK COMMANDS

When Siri is used with Audiovox MediaBridge 1500, a person has complete control over music playback on his or her car audio system. With the press of a single button, your audio control wish is Siri’s command. Siri can tell the MediaBridge 1500 to Play, Pause, Skip, and Stop music. For example, to play a particular song, press the designated MediaBridge 1500 radio scan button or steering wheel button to summon Siri, listen for the familiar chime then say, “Play Sweet Child of Mine” and the song will play. To listen to a playlist say, “Play Club Mix” and your favorite club songs will turn your car to a party on wheels. Music can also be chosen based on other criteria such as Artist, Genre, and Album.

Having trouble deciding which song to play? Let the iPhone choose by commanding Siri to shuffle songs through your MediaBridge 1500. Press the designated MediaBridge 1500 radio or steering wheel button to summon Siri and tell it to, “Shuffle my music” and then you will then hear a random song from your iPhone collection on your car stereo. If you are in the mood to hear a song with a music genre but you don’t know where to start then tell Siri to, “Shuffle Jazz” for instance and all Jazz music within your collection will begin to play in random order. Similar music shuffle controls are available based on Playlist, Artist, and Album. If the currently playing random song isn’t to your liking then simply tell Siri to “Shuffle” and another song will be chosen at random.

Not only can you access your own personal music library with Siri’s help but in iOS6 you can also launch your favorite music streaming application. For instance, tell Siri to launch Pandora and the Pandora App will automatically open and begin to stream. Once a music streaming app is open, the control of music content must be performed using radio or steering wheel buttons.

USING SIRI FOR SENDING TEXT MESSAGES WITH MediaBridge 1500

Through the MediaBridge 1500 interface, Siri will enable you to dictate and send a text message without taking your eyes off the road. For example, to do this you must press the voice button, wait for the chime, then say, “write a text message to Bob.” Siri will then ask you, “What do you want to say to Bob?”Then you must press the voice button again and speak your message so it can be converted to text. Next, Siri will repeat the message back to you to make sure it is  orrect and then Siri will ask if you are ready to send the message. If the message is correct then you can press the voice button one more time, say the word “Send”, and your text message will be sent to Bob. Furthermore, Siri can be set up to read incoming texts as well so that there is no delay in communication with your loved ones and associates.

TIPS ON EFFECTIVE SIRI USAGE WITH MediaBridge 1500 IN CAR

There are additional measures you can take to ensure Siri understands your voice commands most efficiently. For instance, there are language preferences that can be set on the iPhone which configure Siri to understand different English dialects and languages like French, German, and Japanese. Also background noise should be taken into account so you may wish to roll up your car windows or raise the top on your convertible to eliminated noise caused by wind within your vehicle. (Only raise the top on  your convertible when you are stopped) Also to gain access to Siri she must be enabled. To enable Siri open the settings menu and tap “General”, look for and then tap “Siri”, now you should be in a Siri menu where you must switch Siri on. If you need to adjust language settings and other related features, this is all done in the Siri menu as well. When you are finished making changes, close the menu and Siri is ready to assist you.

SIRI FEATURES BASED ON iOS version

Siri has the greatest range of features and capabilities when used with the newest version of iOS which is iOS6 at the time this document was drafted. Therefore, it is best to ensure that your iPhone is using the newest version of iOS. For example, with iOS6 Siri can control music playback when the iPhone is connected to MediaBridge 1500 in locked where iOS5 users do not have this ability. Also iOS6 has a more extensive language support system including different Chinese dialects, Korean, and Italian. In addition, Turn-by-Turn Navigation is available beginning with iOS6 to help drivers negotiate unfamiliar territory or find a swift route to your destination. It is important to note that Siri is only available for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, the 5th-generation iPod touch, and the 3rd-generation iPad