Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12/06/apple_vw_icar_talks_off/
Discussions between Apple and Volkswagen have failed to result in a joint product-development deal, a German magazine has claimed.
According to a brief report (http://www.capital.de/unternehmen/100008798.html) in this week's Capital magazine, the talks - which began with a meeting between Apple CEO Steve Jobs and VW chief Martin Winterkorn in August this year - are now over.
At the time, VW confirmed the discussions, claiming the two companies had plenty of ideas to discuss but no specific product plans. Last month, images were posted of a VW dashboard with a built-in touchscreen sporting a very Apple-esque user interface, which many pundits chose to see as a sign that discussions had progressed rather further than ideas.
VW has been interested in connecting the worlds of motoring and information technology for some time. In February 2006, for instance, it showed off an in-car sat nav system based on Google Earth (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/02/06/google_earth_satellite_navigation/).
Europe too cynical for iPhone (6 December 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12/06/iphone_europe_sales/
TomTom shakes hands with Google (5 December 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12/05/tomtom_google_satnav_search/
Apple iPhones offered up for hire (3 December 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12/03/erento_iphone_rentals/
Mitsubishi presses play on iPod-inspired auto (17 May 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/05/17/mitsubishi_i_car/
VW preps Google Earth-based in-car sat nav rig (6 February 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/02/06/google_earth_satellite_navigation/