Apple-Volkswagen 'iCar' talks over

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 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.