Microsoft has just been awarded a patent for a car stereo, which on first thought seems a little odd for the computer giant. However, it's clearly a stab at the iPod's dominance in the in-car market, with everybody from BMW to Volkswagen building iPod connectivity into new models.
In a twist which echoes the philosophical difference between Redmond and Cupertino, the "Portable computing device-integrated appliance" the device will have a dock which will accept much more than just the Zune.
Drop any "handheld computer" into the dock and the make and model will be auto detected, allowing the Microsoft box to configure a matching interface on the fly. It's certainly possible that they could license the iPod dock connector to make this one compatible.
The ubiquity of in-car iPod options is certainly driven by the popularity of Apple's player, and also the cool-factor of associating with the iPod's halo-effect. But a universal dock like this one is much more future proof for the car makers, and although in classic MS fashion the first iteration is likely to suck, this will probably turn into quite a nice little accessory.
Expect this to show up in 2008, giving voice recognition and steering wheel control to several Ford and Mercury models.
Microsoft Car Stereo Patent To Challenge iPod? [Information Week]
Patent [Patent Monkey]
