Published on November 27, 2007
I’ve been using the Belkin Auto Kit for my iPod for a while now. The kit offers power while also pulling line-level audio from the unit’s dock connector. I rout this audio to rear auxiliary inputs on my Pioneer DEH-P6800MP. It’s a really great setup, as I get power and audio with one plug, and it’s a direct connection so I don’t have to mess with a FM transmitter (which is pretty worthless in the city I live in).
Unfortunately, I can’t take a call with the Belkin unit plugged in. If I try to answer, sound only comes out of the phone’s speakers (not the car’s sound system) and the call is horribly distorted. This has me really wanting a product that doesn’t seem to exist.
I’d like a car audio cable that charges, pulls line-out audio from the dock connector, and also routes call audio through the car’s sound system. The unit would have a mic built into the dock connector with noise-canceling circuitry used in current hands-free car kits. Or even better would be a mic on the end of a cord that could be routed up the A pillar to be closer to the driver.
I know that there are plenty of Bluetooth systems out there, but it seems like such a cheap addition to existing wired-audio kits to add the same functionality without spending hundreds of dollars and dealing with pairing / interference issues.
If anyone knows of such a product that already exists, please point me in the right direction. Otherwise, I’d love to see Belkin update their existing Auto Kit to provide hands-free functionality for the iPhone, or for another company to step up.
Published on November 21, 2007
Wired presents this image tour of Frog Design’s process. It’s a great look into the workings of a big-time design firm. It’s also great to see Industrial Design getting some more main-stream media exposure.
Gadgets aren’t immaculately conceived, in spite of what seems like lightning-speed development. That new gizmo you’ll love (or hate) for a few months before discarding received countless hours of attention and forethought from a sizable team of designers, engineers and researchers. Long before most products hit the retail shelf, a company’s design team or an outside design consultancy spends maybe a year on them, usually in complete secrecy.
Wired News peeks into product design with Frog Design, a Palo Alto, California, consultancy responsible for such hits as Sony’s first Trinitron and the case for the portable Apple IIc. The first six slides take you from the discovery phases to the final working prototype. The final five look at the machines and material used in the process.
Birth of a Gadget: Inside the Industrial Design Process
Published on November 21, 2007
I watched Ratatouille on DVD a couple nights ago, such a great movie. Before the movie started, there was a teaser for a new Pixar movie, Wall-E. The visuals in the very few rendered scenes shown looked amazing. The character design was also spot-on, as usual. I was reminded about Wall-E a few minutes ago, as I read Cabel’s Blog, where he recounts seeing a test screening of the film.
… as it was largely unfinished, we only later realized that we were fully engrossed and laughing out loud at what amounted to a series of still napkin sketches for at least half the film — that, my friends, is the power of the Pixar story.
I’m really looking forward to Wall-E, and continually amazed at Pixar’s ability to ferociously push all of the envelopes of visual presentation, technical accomplishment, and story telling, without ever letting one element overshadow the others.
Published on November 19, 2007
I recently posted about MyMileMarker.com, and how it filled a big void in my mobile life ever since I quit using the PalmOS with jMileage. Today I was filling up, logged onto MyMileMarker’s mobile site with my iPhone, and found a new Mobile Safari specific interface. The older mobile interface worked fine, but I had been hoping that they’d make this update. I’ll get some screenshots of this new interface and post them as soon as I can.
They have also updated the normal mobile version of the site, expanding compatibility to more phones. I love the site so far. I have a few datapoints in it now, so I can get line graphs of my mileage and miles driven, as well as forecasts of miles driven and cost to drive. If you have a car, you should give MyMileMarker.com a try! You don’t really need a data enabled mobile device either. It’s easy enough to jot down your stats at the pump on your receipt, stick it in your wallet/purse, and enter the information in at home.
Read the official post about the updates.
Published on November 12, 2007
This simple and clean watch design comes from Industrial Facility. The numbers are placed on the glass of the watch, in a font borrowed from many rulers. For many of us who work with measuring tools daily, the watch will instantly provoke a concept of precision and accuracy.
Via: Yanko Design Blog
