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Ford Executive Chairman, Bill Ford, is scheduled to speak on the opening day of the Web Summit technology conference in Dublin on 3rd November. The conference runs until 5th November and is expected to attract more than 22,000 people from 110 countries.
Ford is also sponsoring a 24-hour challenge to design apps for SYNC, the company's voice-activated, in-car connectivity system. As well as a €75,000 prize, the winner of the SYNC AppLink Developer Challenge Dublin will get the opportunity to develop new apps with Ford.
SYNC AppLink Challenge Dublin starts at 09:00 on November 2nd; developers will get 24 hours to come up with new ideas or enable their existing iOS or Android apps to work with Ford's voice-activated connectivity system. Bill Ford will meet with the developers participating in the challenge to discuss his vision for the future of mobility and how technology will make people's lives better.
SYNC developer events have taken place in Australia, Brazil, China, and the US already; this is the first competition to take place in Europe. Developer teams will have access to SYNC via special technical development kits located on-site. More than 13,000 developers have registered for the automotive industry's first developer program since it started in 2013.
Ford's AppLink technology enables drivers to voice-activate a range of smartphone apps, including ADAC, Audioteka, AUPEO!, Cityseeker by Wcities, Cyclops, DetektorFM, DIE WELT, Eventseeker by Wcities, Glympse, Goal Live Scores, Radioplayer, Roald Dahl Audiobooks, Soundtracker, and Spotify.
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Paddy Cosgrave, CEO and co-founder, Web Summit commented: "Web Summit has grown from attracting 400 people in 2010 into being one of the most important gatherings of startups on the planet. Ford was the original disruptor - putting the world on wheels, and we couldn't wish for a more inspiring and relevant speaker than Bill Ford, who has long been a champion of technology and mobility".