Earlier today, we mentioned how the iPhone’s iPod Out feature will make it safer to play DJ while driving. But SoundMan Car Audio have taken it one step further by building a custom dash that allows an iPad become the centerpiece.
The Santa Clarita, California-based outfit’s custom dashboard module sits in the center of their Toyota Tacoma test vehicle’s dash, and allows the iPad to be slid in and out vertically — it looks pretty slick, with thoughtful details like a suede-trimmed back-panel to keep the iPad from getting scratched.
Once settled in, the iPad is controlled via a small Bluetooth system and controller (they’re using the Bit One by Audison).
Looks fantastic, and apart from a little trouble they seem to be having in coaxing a digital signal from the iPad, seems to work smoothly. Though with the iPad’s sprawling screen real estate, one can’t help but wonder why there isn’t a soft-control interface like the iPhone’s upcoming iPod Out for the iPad to control music, navigation or even the climate system.
When he was eight, Eli Milchman came home from frolicking in the Veld one day and was given an Atari 400. Since then, his fascination with technology has made him an intrepid early adopter of whatever charming new contraption crosses his path. He calls San Francisco home, where he works as a journalist and photographer. Eli has contributed to the pages of Wired.com and BIKE Magazine, among others. Hang with him on Twitter.
