Ixonos Experience Store(TM) for Automotive: A Customisable Digital Content Store for Connected Vehicles

HELSINKI, July 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Ixonos has expanded its app store platform services for the automotive industry. The Ixonos Experience Store™ for Automotive is a controlled channel for delivery of content and services to vehicles. The new product enables companies like automotive manufacturers and head unit manufacturers to push innovations to cars, build customer loyalty and help car dealers to better manage customer relationships.

Ixonos has been a leader in the design and development of mobile services for more than a decade. Earlier this year, Ixonos introduced Ixonos IVI Connect™, and now the Ixonos Experience Store for Automotive enhances Ixonos' unique position and its offering for the automotive industry. The Ixonos Experience Store for Automotive is a cloud-based service, which provides easy setup and cost-efficient maintenance as well as allows the store to adapt to sudden growth or changes in operations. The platform is also suitable for distribution of other types of digital content, such as video, music, e-books and online magazines. "Ixonos Experience Store for Automotive is the first usability driven store for vehicles, with safety as a key priority - this is one of the truly unique aspects of this new product", says Roope Suomalainen, head of the Experience business area at Ixonos. "Vehicles are getting connected and we are in the forefront of bringing internet services to cars", explains Mr Suomalainen.

"There are several similarities between the automotive industry and mobile communications, but there are also significant differences", says Timo Salminen, Director, Automotive & Home. "Ability to control the content to avoid driver distraction is essential. On the other hand, we also need to enable third parties to get controlled access to cars, such as for rear seat entertainment", Mr Salminen continues.

Analytics is an essential part of the Ixonos Experience Store for Automotive. The store allows customer relationships to be strengthened, for instance by using individual user information to provide targeted services and information. "If the consumer allows it, we can collect data about, for example, consumer behaviour or driving style. This enables dealers to understand their customers better and provide improved customer service", Mr Salminen, points out.

Part of the Ixonos Experience Store for Automotive offering is to provide the tools and frameworks to build apps and services designed for the car environment. "There is vast room for innovation, for example to enhance the navigation service and the overall driving experience. Our design team, together with our developers, has spent a lot of time to enable car manufacturers to take advantage of the competence that we have built in the mobile industry", states Esa Nettamo, Creative Director, Finland Design Studio, at Ixonos.

In the coming years, many new cars will be connected and apps will become a natural way to enhance the driving experience, communicate, enjoy entertainment and obtain other services in vehicles. Ixonos anticipates that connectivity will bring significant opportunities to the car industry. Ixonos IVI Connect and Ixonos Experience Store for Automotive enable proactive companies to provide their new innovations to enhance the driving experience. In addition, these products provide simple APIs (application programming interfaces) for all major smartphone platforms, allowing existing mobile applications to be used in vehicles.

Links:

• Ixonos' website, or follow Ixonos on Twitter and YouTube
• Ixonos Experience Store™
• Ixonos' automotive solutions

Ixonos is a creative mobile solutions company. We develop wireless technologies, software and solutions for connected devices and mobile services. Together with our corporate customers, we design products and services that let consumers enjoy inspiring mobile experiences. We enhance the competitiveness of our customer companies by enabling superior user experiences as well as faster time-to-market for their devices and services. We have offices in Finland, China, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Slovakia, South Korea and the U.S. Ixonos Plc is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd. In 2011, the company's turnover was 81.4 million euros and its operating profit was 1.9 million euros.

For more information, please contact:

Ixonos:

• Roope Suomalainen, Director, Experience, tel. +358-50-564-5988, [email protected]
• Timo Salminen, Director, Automotive & Home, tel. +358-40-745-6821, [email protected]  
• Esa Nettamo, Creative Director, Finland Design Studio, tel. +358-40-543-1195, [email protected]

SOURCE Ixonos