99-cent iPhone app could save your life

As I noted in my previous post on subjective sound quality, I primarily listen to my portable music players in my car. It's a 2010 Prius, and Toyota cleverly designed it to support portable music--under the armrest between the front seats, there's a small plastic container that's the perfect size to hold an iPod or cell phone, and below that platform there's an auxiliary input and DC outlet (cigarette lighters are so 1973) to plug it into. (You can see the set-up in the third photo in the "interior" gallery here.)

(Credit: Chilli X)

There's only one problem: the music controls on an iPhone or iPod Touch are not designed for driving. The pause, last song, and next song controls are the size of your fingertip, and you generally have to look at the screen to hit them accurately--not a good idea when you're speeding down the highway.

A new 99-cent app called PlaySafe is designed for just this problem. Before you start driving, you can select an album or playlist and turn shuffle on or off. As soon as you're done with your selection, the music starts playing, and PlaySafe overlays a simple set of controls on top of the touch-screen iPod. To pause (or resume playing), you touch a large arrow in the middle of the screen. To go back to the previous song, you swipe the screen to the left. To go to the next song, you swipe the screen to the right. Simple, elegant, and potentially life-saving.

[jonarosen]

Now, you'd think if there was a way to link-in to a car-system with bluetooth, wired, or whatever, that it would be able to take 'commands' from the car-stereo system itself. Any mp3-player, especially one which can bluetooth in with a car's system, should be set up to receive commands. It's basic, common sense. Though, most companies don't subscribe to common sense these days.

Given. This is Apple/ishmod. They don't tend to like non-apple/ipod products to actually work with their hardware. Case in point: I have a Samsung Juke, and I use a Motorola Rockr headset. Full stereo-bluetooth. Has VOX, volume up/down, play/pause, skip forward and skip back buttons. About the only thing I can't do for daily connection with people is text through it. Last I recall, the iPhone/iPod still doesn't support this piece of Bluetooth hardware, even though it's been out around a year+ now I think.

[bimpy46307]

Um yeah, it's illegal to have headphones on while driving. You wouldn't be able to hear the firetruck or train or another a cars screetching brakes in time to move or stop. So you would be dead. I think that's the point of this whole app.

[FireyIce01]

replying to bimpy. Illegal to wear earphones in BOTH ears. There are many states that require bluetooth handsfree devices to talk in the car, and many of these stereo headphones have mics too. you just don't wear them over both ears. Furthermore, this law is so STUPID, until they start arresting people that have STEREOS IN THEIR CAR that are so loud that the people next to them can't hear sirens...

[awesomerobot]

Hey there - my stereo actually has an iPod dock connector that allows me to control the iPod through the stereo head-unit itself. There are many models that have this feature, have been for a while. People tend to keep out-dated systems in their cars, which is the main reason you may not have noticed this. It's nothing extravagant these days, my stereo was only about $200 two years ago, and still works with even the newest iPhones.

Also, to correct you again, the 3.0 update allowed developers to utilize applications on the iPhone to directly interact with their hardware - so for instance, you can have an iPhone stereo dock that the phone recognizes when connected, and shows you on-screen controls specifically for the dock it's connected to. Not many have utilized the feature yet, though it's still somewhat new. The 3.0 update also included support for many A2DP bluetooth stereo headsets. It seems Apple may have started listening to what consumers want.

[deftdrummer]

This is really a sweet app, well designed and very functional. There is however one fatal shortcoming that differs from the ipod application, and that is the ability to run in the background. This app works well with its large buttons, but if you need to glance at an email real quick or read a text message your music abruptly ends which is unfortunate. It works great however if you only plan to set it on play and not use the phone at all while driving - which is your safest bet anyways.

[lil-yankee]

That might just be because they designed it to keep people paying attention to the front and not the iPhone/iPod.....
Reading and driving/talking and adriving/ etc ilegal so...

[csmithdesign]

Good idea, but as the commenter above pointed out, when you leave the app to do something else on the phone the music will stop. Don't blame the developers though - this is a flaw in the design of the OS.

Stick It - iPhone sticky notes for your lockscreen. Now you don't have to open your phone to view your reminders: http://bit.ly/wYWEN

[songvoo]

It is NOT a problem with the OS. The developer did not implement the player correctly. There are many apps on the app store that don't have this problem. Do a search for songvoo on the app store

[papa_delicious]

this would be worthwhile if it was free. any such simple functionality that requires me to pay money for is not worth it. I also don't have a particularly hard time hitting the buttons while driving - if you use them enough, you can figure them out without looking.

also, I think the whole wearing-headphones-while-driving-is-illegal thing is a myth. you can turn your car stereo up to the level of a lil wayne concert and still be legal (as long as you're not causing a noise disturbance in the neighborhood :P ) but no headphones? not logical, although lawmakers rarely are.

[btoast]

I drive an '08 Audi A3, this car has an ipod hook-up in the glove box. All I do is slide the ipod/phone in and that's it. The ipod is controlled via the steering wheel buttons and the play lists show up like a cd changer on the main head unit. I don't know why more cars don't have this feature.

[techguy51]

Papa, sorry that 99 cents is a deal breaker for you. I admit that the functionality is simple. While there are lots of free applications on the iTunes store, the author of this one decided to sell if for 99 cents. If you can afford $200+ for an iPhone or Touch, you can afford 99 cents for a decent, functional app. Otherwise, just admit that you're a cheapskate.