In a press release and live demos with a trio of big-name automakers, Apple re-released and re-branded iOS in the Car, which it had announced only last June. The new name is CarPlay, a calculated marketing reference to AirPlay, Apple’s proprietary system for streaming video, audio, photos and Web content from Apple devices to TVs and stereos.
Similarly, CarPlay will tap into a stack of Apple-owned technologies — Siri, iTunes, Maps — and its reputation for ease of use to differentiate Apple’s offering from its chief competitors: Google’s (GOOG) Open Automotive Alliance, introduced in January, Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Embedded Automotive, now in its 8th version, and the GENIVI Alliance, a nonprofit compliance program based on Linux.