Always Connected – The New Seat Connect Range

• Ibiza, Leon, Toledo and Alhambra with Full Link and exclusive smartphone
• Exclusive SEAT ConnectApp in cooperation with Samsung
• Touchscreen gesture control activates wide-ranging functions
• Individual look, special equipment

Connectivity, being in constant touch with the digital world, is, for many people, a major part of a modern, urban lifestyle. The new CONNECT models from SEAT offer the highest levels of connectivity – with the latest generation of infotainment systems, the SEAT Full Link connection and the exclusive SEAT ConnectApp pre-installed on the Samsung smartphone delivered with them. The CONNECT editions of the Mii, Ibiza, Leon, Toledo and Alhambra thus offer innovative technology with intuitive operation and excellent safety. They also come with an individual look and exclusive features.

"SEAT's customers are younger than average and they have a fully intuitive and natural relationship with connectivity. We're offering them an intelligent, intuitively operated and inexpensive way to be online at all times," says Jürgen Stackmann, President and CEO of SEAT, S.A. "SEAT Full Link puts us in a leading position relative to our competitors. And we'll be able to build on that, thanks in part to our far-reaching cooperation with Samsung."

The new CONNECT range comes with a new generation of SEAT Easy Connect infotainment systems. These include high-resolution touchscreen displays and the very latest processors for much faster booting and rapid route calculation. And they offer a completely new level of connectivity – Media System Plus and the sat nav system can be connected with MirrorLink, Google Android Auto and Apple Car Play using SEAT Full Link. This forms the direct connection between the smartphone and the in-vehicle display and enables a large number of apps to be safely operated via the 6.3-inch touchscreen with the Alhambra and the 6.5-inch touchscreen with Ibiza, Leon and Toledo.

"Connectivity is a central innovation topic for SEAT. We use it to combine the latest applications with an operating concept that ensures the best possible driving safety," says Dr. Matthias Rabe, SEAT Executive Vice President for Research and Development. "With truly intuitive operating functions like the individually programmable touchscreen gesture control, the driver's attention remains fully focused on the road."

MirrorLink for optimum integration

MirrorLink is the perfect technology for safely operating smartphones and many of their functions and apps via the infotainment system. The corresponding elements of the smartphone operating interface are "mirrored" on the touchscreen. It functions easily and smoothly with a growing number of MirrorLink-compatible Android smartphones.

Exclusive solutions "powered by Samsung"

The Spanish car maker has agreed a co-operation with Samsung for the development of innovative connectivity solutions and, in a first step, will offer a Samsung smartphone with the preinstalled SEAT ConnectApp. "This co-operation is a meaningful deal for Samsung and SEAT's collaboration for the latest in-car integration of technology and future concepts," says Rick Segal, Vice President of the Mobile Communication Division at Samsung Electronics.

New SEAT ConnectApp – speak, don't type

The new SEAT Connect App makes perfect use of MirrorLink integration. The driver is always connected, yet retains full concentration on the road. Central functions include "Read to me" and "Voice Reply". The text reading function converts incoming messages from the likes of e-mail, text messaging, Facebook or Twitter accounts into speech, reading them out loudly and clearly. Answers to new posts can be "dictated" by voice, with no more distractions caused by typing onto the screen.

A new and exclusive function is gesture control. Functions such as calls or contact addresses can be called up onto the touchscreen of the SEAT Infotainment System using brief finger gestures. The welcome screen in the SEAT ConnectApp delivers information such as the current weather forecast or appointments from a Facebook account, all of which can be individualised to user preferences. For the Smart Tips feature, the app learns individual preferences such as frequently used destinations and can provide appointment reminders. A host of further functions will also be immediately available when the SEAT ConnectApp comes to market. Regular updates will refresh the range going forward.

Data security is absolutely guaranteed. The backend of the ConnectApp saves no personal data at all, other than the e-mail address and the vehicle specification. They remain completely and exclusively on the owner's smartphone.

SEAT Full Link provides maximum connectivity

However, SEAT's new world of connectivity applies to more than just users of MirrorLink-compatible smartphones. The SEAT Full Link connectivity solution also incorporates the functions of Android 5.0 and iOS 7.1 or newer operating systems. This means that new SEAT drivers are always connected to whatever smartphone they use and able to retain their full concentration on the road. Drivers have secure access to the enabled functions via the touchscreen. In the case of Apple, for example, these are currently the phone and messaging functions as well as music and maps. More are scheduled to follow.

Mii CONNECT with SEAT Portable System

The mobile all-in-one – the SEAT Portable System is an entertainment and hands-free system, a pan-European navigation system and an on-board computer in one. Mobile devices can be connected quickly and easily via AUX or Bluetooth, enabling users to have their favourite content, such as music, with them at all times. The Live Services deliver all sorts of important information, like traffic, weather or local search. The SEAT Portable System also supplies a broad range of vehicle information on its 5-inch TFT colour screen and offers the Eco Training for fuel-saving driving – all of it at an amazingly low price.

Exclusive design elements in CONNECT blue

As well as excellent connection, SEAT's CONNECT models also come with exclusive equipment. All are recognisable through their white door mirrors and exclusive alloy wheels either with a polished finish or painted in CONNECT grey. The door mirrors and wheels can also be delivered in blue as an option. The entry sills greet the driver with the CONNECT logo, while interior trim elements gleam in exclusive CONNECT blue. The black seat upholstery is likewise accentuated with elements in blue.

ends

SEAT is the only company in its sector with the full-range capacity to design, develop, manufacture and market cars in Spain. A member of the Volkswagen Group, the multinational has its headquarters in Martorell (Barcelona), exporting more than 80% of its vehicles, and is present in 75 countries. In 2014 SEAT's invoicing totalled almost 7.5 billion euros, the highest figure it its history, with worldwide sales of 390,500 units.

SEAT Group employs 14,000 professionals at its three production centres – Barcelona, El Prat de Llobregat and Martorell, where it manufactures the highly successful Ibiza and Leon, amongst other models. Additionally, the company produces the Alhambra in Palmela (Portugal), the Mii in Bratislava (Slovakia) and the Toledo in Mladá Boleslav (Czech Republic).

The Spanish multinational also has a Technical Centre, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2015. This 'knowledge hub', bringing together 900 engineers, aims to be the driving force behind innovation for the number one industrial investor in R&D in Spain. In line with its declared commitment to environmental protection, SEAT undertakes and bases its core activity on sustainability, namely reduction of CO2 emissions, energy efficiency, recycling and resource re-use.

For more information, please contact:
Juliet Carrington, Head of Press and Public Relations
01908 548 077; 07795 166 422; juliet.carrington@seatcars.co.uk

Mike Gale, Product Affairs Manager
01908 548 069; mobile: 07788 339 722; mike.gale@seatcars.co.uk

Holly Williams, Media Relations Manager
01908 548 078; 07738 897 319; holly.williams@seatcars.co.uk

Adrienne Pearson, Press Fleet Executive
01908 548 364; 07908 165 535; adrienne.pearson@seatcars.co.uk

http://www.seatpress.co.uk http://www.seat-mediacenter.com

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