Today’s smart phones are pretty much the all-inclusive devices for tech-forward drivers. However, law enforcement (and your fellow drivers) aren’t too happy with your phone-fumbling while behind the wheel. iSimple may have a solution that will help drivers to access all of these devices’ navigation, calling, messaging, and music features without touching the phone or lifting a finger from the steering wheel.
The iSimple InSeam is a hardware module installed behind your car’s dashboard that gives the driver access to the voice actions already on his or her smartphone through the existing steering-wheel controls. At its core, InSeam is an FM transmitter with some intelligence built in, connecting to the factory radio by plugging into the antenna connection and sending its audio over an empty FM frequency. This gives it nearly universal compatibility by integrating itself with the older, existing radio technology as opposed to required the development of an entirely new communication web. However, connections to steering-wheel controls and power for the unit are slightly less plug-and-play. There is also a microphone included for picking up voice commands and relaying them to the handset.
Once everything is installed, paired, and set up, drivers will be able to tap a button on their steering wheel to issue voice commands to initiate calls, send text messages, get turn-by-turn navigation, or call up local or Internet-streamed music apps without looking away from the road or taking a hand off of the steering wheel. When listening to music, the music’s skip forward and backward controls are also accessible. Audio for calls, spoken directions, music, and more will be piped into the cabin through the car’s speakers, which are (in most cases) much easier to hear than a phone’s built-in driver.
So next time you are driving, either fumbling with your phone or holding it, waiting for that next red light to finish writing your email, remember the InSeam. Put it on your list of things to treat yourself with – you could even use it as a reward for patiently waiting for a safer way to drive.
