Here’s at least one reason that BlackBerry should be thankful that Ford CEO Alan Mulally didn’t take over as CEO of Microsoft. Unnamed sources tell Bloomberg that Ford’s Ford Sync in-car communications and entertainment system will soon be powered by BlackBerry’s QNX-based operating system and not Windows. This would represent both a huge win for BlackBerry and a humiliating defeat for Microsoft, which reportedly heavily courted Ford chief Mulally to be its next CEO. Mulally has also served as a close advisor to Steve Ballmer in the past and helped the outgoing Microsoft boss draft plans to restructure the company into a devices and services company.
Bloomberg’s sources say that Ford’s decision to dump Windows for BlackBerry for Sync comes at a time when it’s been “struggling with in-car technology flaws,” which implies that it hasn’t been happy with what it’s gotten from Windows lately.
“Improving Sync is crucial for Ford to draw car shoppers who are increasingly looking to be connected at all times,” Bloomberg writes. “In-vehicle technology is the top selling point for 39% of auto buyers, more than twice the 14 percent who say their first consideration is traditional performance measures such as power and speed, according to a study by the consulting firm Accenture released in December.”
