iPhone in a Dino

One of the problems in a Dino is how to talk on the phone while you're blasting down the highway at 4000 rpm+ with the windows open. Plus, there's no good place to put the phone without it jumping under the seat on the next corner.

Here's what I did. My iPhone is attached to the steering wheel by a couple of velcro dots. Easy to remove and put back into your pocket when you get out of the car. Attached right there, it's easy to see and tap the screen to make calls.

Sound also had to be solved. The Bluetooth earpiece in the picture is a Jawbone, which has some pretty good noise cancellation built into it. I was able to hear people just fine. They reported sound quality was a bit tinny, but that they could hear me at all was a miracle. Answering the phone is as simple at touching a button on the earpiece.

Of course, I could always pretend it wasn't working and go back to enjoying the drive.
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The standard earbuds and mike (in the cable) that come with the iPhone don't do any noise cancelling. I would not expect to hear a thing at either end of the conversation. The JawBone has an extra sensor that rests on your cheekbone. It uses conductance to recognize what sound signals are conversation and what are background noise.

By putting the phone some place where it is visible, I can see who is calling without having to fish for it. That way, I only answer calls I want to, instead of just playing "Do I feel lucky?" and answering. It doesn't get in the way of steering.

The noise cancelling really does work at 4000 rpm with the windows open.
http://www.jawbone.com/

Yes, that looks like a Mercedes fintail to me as well. Probably an S series.

 

Of course, a thread like this would not be complete until the photo had been tweaked for sharpness and color balance.
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I'm not sure this is on topic anymore. Moderator, feel free to delete or move these messages if they are too far off.

Apple seems to be a company that polarizes opinion. In defense of the iPhone:

- The current price is actually $399, not 500+, sold without subsidy from the phone company. The new iPhone will have subsidies from ATT (in the US) bringing the price down to $199. In other markets, a price of 0 is possible after subsidy. The subsidy locks you into the phone company for 2-3 years, depending on the market. I prefer buying phones without a lock in: it leaves me free to change phone companies, and to buy a new model of phone when I want without having to worry about a contract. BTW, the Blackberry Curve, subsidy free, is $524.95.

- People who have bought iPhones certainly don't feel like suckers. According to a ChangeWave study, 82% are highly satisfied. This compares to 51% for Blackberry, also very good: Motorola and Palm were 33 and 35%.

- Likewise, they don't feel like they're being treated like garbage. Apple's customer satisfaction score for the whole company is 79. Dell and HP are 74 and 76.

- Both BB and iPhone use the same EDGE network, so the speeds of email and browser will not be hugely different. The number 1 complaint among BB users is actually slow browsing. (ChangeWave, again). It should be noted that BB does not have a full browser, where the iPhone has a desktop quality app.

- Both the BB and iPhone use GSM, which certainly has the widest coverage worldwide. Verizon still uses CDMA (which BB also supports), not widely used outside the US.

- As far as carriers go, Verizon scores a 72 (ACSI, 2008), while ATT scores a 71. Not a lot between them.

I develop software for mobile phones: Symbian, Windows Mobile, Palm and iPhone. I'm pretty platform agnostic: all phones have their pluses and minuses. The iPhone, however, has really shaken the industry up.