Startups nurtured in the Verizon family include a company providing robots for home health monitoring and a company connecting all the devices in a home for remote access and control.

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However, if your vehicle doesn't have a factory-fitted USB port, connecting your MP3 player can often result in a maze of wires, inferior sound quality, and no remote control function.

ENGADGET: Ford USB Music Box adds mass storage playback, smartphone charging to AUX-enabled receivers