News.blog: Apple going into car tech?

Is Apple looking to compete with Garmin or TomTom down the road?

German magazine Focus has reported that Apple is developing something that would combine maintenance, entertainment, communication and navigation for cars into one device and that Mercedes will be the first to feature it.

A dashboard system for Mercedes from Apple, or an iPhone integration system for the Mercedes, seems like a logical probability given the fact that the two partnered on the first iPod integration kit for cars in 2006.

Apple refused to comment directly on either possibility.

"We have not announced plans yet," said Tom Neumayr, a spokesman for Apple.

DaimlerChrysler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, was not immediately available for comment.