Here’s one way to use your cell phone while driving without risking a ticket.
In his New York Times Bits blog, Nick Wingfield writes about in-dash apps like Glympse that let drivers route their iPhone programs to dashboard displays. In the process they bypass laws that ban cell phone use unless it’s hands-free.
Glympse allows people to share their locations with others for short periods and has deals with BMW, Ford and Mercedes to integrate the app into new cars. iPhones running Glympse can be plugged in with a cable, and in BMW products, drivers can use the iDrive control knob to switch between functions, according to Wingfield.
Drivers in many newer model cars already can link smartphone music programs to the car stereo either with a cable or wirelessly with Bluetooth.
“BMW is also announcing the plans to integrate several other apps — including Audible, Rhapsody and TuneIn — into its cars, including its Mini family of vehicles, on top of Padora, MOG and other apps that are already integrated with BMW displays,” Wingfield writes.
“For us, the ability to integrate a smartphone like an iPhone into a car to make operating it easier and safer is critically important,” David Bloom, manager of the app center of BMW Group’s technology office in Mountain View, is quoted as saying.
