When Ford unveiled SYNC in 2007, there was an exclusivity agreement with Microsoft that prohibited other manufacturers from using Windows Embedded Automotive in infotainment solutions. That agreement expired in November 2008, but it took a couple years before other manufacturers took advantage of Microsoft’s efforts.
Kia was the second vendor to hop on the Microsoft Windows Automotive train; it debuted UVO in the new-at-the-time 2011 Sorento and Optima. Availability of UVO expanded to the rest of the company's portfolio for the 2012 model year, including the Rio, Sportage, and Soul. Oddly, the trio of Kia Fortes (sedan, hatch, and coupe) is not available with the UVO option, but can be had with navigation.
At the heart of Kia’s UVO system is a Freescale i.MX355 system-on-chip, which succeeds Freescale's i.MX31L, found in first-generation Ford SYNC hardware. The i.MX355 is based on a single-core 400 MHz ARM1136 (ARM11) CPU core based on the ARMv6 architecture. This remains unchanged from the i.MX31L.
Unlike the i.MX516 Multimedia Applications Processor, featured in our look at SYNC with MyFord Touch, or the higher-end i.MX356, Freescale's i.MX355 lacks a graphics processor and instead relies on an IPU (image processing unit). The IPU handles display output and offloads deblocking, deranging, color space conversion, blending of graphics, video planes, and horizontal/vertical resizing tasks from the CPU core, yielding a fluid user interface. The company does offer an OpenVG 1.1-compatible GPU in its higher-end i.MX356, but we doubt it would have been useful in Kia's implementation of UVO.
Kia complements the Freescale i.MX355 SoC with 128 MB of DDR memory and 1 GB of NAND flash. The non-volatile memory is split up into 256 MB for the operating system and 700 MB of user storage for UVO's Jukebox feature. CSR provides its Bluecore4-Ext IC to enable UVO’s Bluetooth connectivity. The chip supports Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), facilitating hands-free calls and streaming audio.
When it comes to connectivity, Freescale's i.MX355 supports enhanced serial audio interface (ESAI) for audio output, USB 2.0 host, camera sensor interface, and more. The semiconductor company claims the i.MX355 ESAI interface supports 5.1-channel or multi-speaker audio, and Kia takes full advantage of it to drive the Soul's eight-speaker sound system (technically, it's a standard front/center/rear/subwoofer setup, but car vendors like to count discrete tweeters as separate speakers) and the backup camera's sensor.
Sitting front and center of the UVO experience is Microsoft's Auto 4.1, which is a member of the Windows Embedded Automotive family. The operating system is very flexible in terms of features it makes available, and we saw that from SYNC with MyFord Touch. But Kia scales down what its implementation can do to keep the system fairly simple.
- Meet Kia's 2012 Soul Exclaim With Premium UVO
- Kia UVO: Powered by Freescale i.MX355
- UVO's 4.3-Inch Display
- UVO's Entertainment Features
- Talking And Texting Through UVO
- The Soul's Backup Camera
- Hands-On With Microsoft Tellme Speech Recognition
- Nice Little Touches
- Benchmark Results: Boot And Bluetooth
- Kia UVO: A Solid, No-Frills Infotainment System

I see what you did there kia, but as a reader of toms i would be much more interested in you inspecting the tech around more advanced systems in higher end cars
Genesis Coupe's are nice.
Come on ya'll should do a Morning or Matiz. Or heck review a tricked out Daewoo Damas, just for kicks.
Well, welcome to the party Ford and KIA.
Kia costs less up front, but WAY more in maintenance. Buy a Hyundai if you're looking for a quality car on the cheap. They don't fall apart on you like Kias do.
Can you select a playlist instead of an individual song? or is it too basic for that?
Unfortunately that's how all new cars are unless you get a convertible.
Well, welcome to the party Ford and KIA.
Vehicle manufacturers work on a longer development cycle. This stuff has to be planned at least 5-years before the product hits a production vehicle for QA and a lot more testing than aftermarket manufacturers.
5-years ago I had a Pioneer AVIC F700BT, and a F500BT a year later, it did all of that but the UI was awfully slow (ran Windows CE), extremely buggy but the Parrot Bluetooth wasn't too bad. All current factory systems are a major upgrade from older after market systems.
I'd say its about the size of a double DIN. A 7-inch touchscreen would have probably fit but then it would take up the entire space of the area leaving no room for buttons. The 4.3-inch is perfectly adequate for your music and media playback. If it had navigation, then yes a minimum 6-inch is a must IMO.
New 2013 Nissan Altima's are shipping with 7-inch displays with Intel Atom
Kia costs less up front, but WAY more in maintenance. Buy a Hyundai if you're looking for a quality car on the cheap. They don't fall apart on you like Kias do.
Not sure which Kia you had. The early Sephia's with the 1.8L are Mazda/Ford I4s. The current ones share the same powertrain as Hyundai. The 4-cylinder being used now, including the GDI Turbo is a global motor design shared with Mitsubishi and Chrysler. My uncle still has a second generation Rio that's running fine, granted he beat the crap out of it.
The new Rio 5 is a decent looker. I keep seeing them around town and they look decent.
I need to get another Kia in to do a quick test on texting. It seems that Windows Phone is the only platform that supports Bluetooth MAP so I just got a Lumia 900 from Microsoft for texting tests.
1. It gets fingerprints
2. It's more distracting than the alternatives
I like the Audi/BMW approach with a scrolling wheel/touchpad near the shifter. Much easier to use while driving and very intuitive. I hate navigating through touch screens.
1. It gets fingerprints
2. It's more distracting than the alternatives
I like the Audi/BMW approach with a scrolling wheel/touchpad near the shifter. Much easier to use while driving and very intuitive. I hate navigating through touch screens.
I don't mind it. I like that manufacturers offer multiple input methods. My personal preference is towards steering wheel controls, direct source buttons, volume knobs and good voice commands for navigation input. I only touch the screen if I have to. The Audi / BMW scroll wheel / touchpad is a really good / cool idea since it places it where your hand would normally be.
There are soooo many other Articles that need to be done than 'stuff' like this and/or women with size D videos are making me wonder WTH TH is thinking here?!
There are soooo many other Articles that need to be done than 'stuff' like this and/or women with size D videos are making me wonder WTH TH is thinking here?!
I only cover automotive technology so it doesn't affect the hardware articles at all. Nothing is being pushed aside for automotive coverage. We still have articles in the pipeline.
I think this is a bit overboard; and distracting. Most people are barely capable of keeping a straight line in traffic as it is.
Ever had the pleasure of backing up a Ferrari?
I did (not mine unfortunately; or fortunately...). And I never heard anyone complaining :-)
Due to roof supports there will always be some sort of 'dead spots' in the rear. But it is not an 18 wheeler (talk about back rear view). So if backing up a tiny 4 passenger city car poses a problem I buss pass may be a better and less expensive solution :-)
I did (not mine unfortunately; or fortunately...). And I never heard anyone complaining :-)
Due to roof supports there will always be some sort of 'dead spots' in the rear. But it is not an 18 wheeler (talk about back rear view). So if backing up a tiny 4 passenger city car poses a problem I buss pass may be a better and less expensive solution :-)
Backing up isn't the issue most of the time. Its avoiding small animals and children that like to get behind vehicles in the blind spots that are the problem and why cars have backup cameras.