If you’re looking to buy a new car in the near future, and you have a smartphone, you might want to consider a Toyota. The car maker has introduced a new system called Touch Life that integrates your iPhone (or other smartphone) with the vehicle’s central console.
The Touch Life system can mirror your phone’s display onto its own 7-inch touch screen, granting you access to compatible apps, such as GPS apps, and allowing your vehicle to access your entire music and video library directly from the center console.
The solution only works with compatible apps, and is powered by its own Application Launcher app which you must load on your device before hooking it up. Current compatible apps include Garmin StreetPilot, Facebook, and Twitter, and Toyota promises new features and support for more smartphones will continue to be added in the near future.
The new system is exclusive to the new 2012 Toyota Verso-S, Yaris, and Hilux cars, although it may come to other Toyota vehicles such as the Prius as time goes on. A full list of compatible cars, apps and smartphones can be found in the full press release.