Email ‘n Walk Lets You Multitask Without Getting Hit By A Car

@jquack: it also wouldn't help because the itouch doesn't have a camera.

Tyler Shutowick

@stultus_juventus: Might be good for ped traffic but doesn't help with the peripheral activity (obviously) that would be recognize with cars & the crosswalks. Walking in NYC, you need to be as alert as a driver (as I almost hit the lady on her cell phone walking across w/ a no crossing light). Maybe a fisheye lens can be placed over it for walking!

mados123

@banda: The lag is on the order of milliseconds.

silver-bolt

@SloYerRoll: You can't type without looking at the screen? Then yea, you should go back to a BB.

No, I'm being serious. If you can't type on the iPhone, then it's good that you use a phone that you can type on without looking.

@omegakumar: I like to think I do my bit to keep it going. Probably an offshoot of smoke and mirrors, I'd imagine.

@Phoshi: somewhere along the line "an elaborate system of mirrors" became a phrase, and I can't seem to find where it originated.

omegakumar

So. Cool.

ya2sabes

saw this on the register the other day. not good to copy off other sites guys....not good

mkr10001

@jerkstore99: I was scrolling thru the comments and you were the first one that also caught that.

Here's the source. [www.pocket-lint.com]

Astute readers of the sister site Gizmodo would remember this post which talked about it: [gizmodo.com]

@ffejie: Ya that's why I left the iPhone and went back to BB.

SloYerRoll

@Jason: Damn, you're right.

And yes, mirrors. That's the ticket.

Finally, I can email while driving.

wiedzmin

Say... have you tried using that phone for, you know... talking?

GlennA

@ddefranza: man do we think alike!

banda

Why use the camera only to take photos or videos? Should be implemented in every phone's OS. It's like using the videocall cam for gestures control. Wait for this.

BethanyGalolahere

it would also be great if we can somehow take images from the camera and paste them inline with the body of email with the text in one step. it will make writing interesting travel blogs simpler, commplete with multiple pov shots of whatever is being described

banda

Safe or not, this is totally clever. I love it!

Mav

@banda: My thoughts exactly!

@ddefranza: Whoops, missed the last paragraph of the comment above. Sorry about that.

How easy or safe this would make typing and walking, I don't know. However, it would be ideal for typing emails that require copying information from a piece of paper.

Wasn't this an April Fool's joke somewhere? It was a great idea on April 1st, and it continues to be a great idea today.

jerkstore99

Or you could look up and touchtype on the keyboard.... oh, right - touch screen. I knew there was a reason...

ffejie

what about the lag?,, you would trip from the whatever obstacle before the screen is able to display it (don't really know if the iphone has much of a lag anyways), but its still a very cool app.

another use i can think for this is to copy over some printed text more conveniently by placing it under the phone's camera rather than on the side and thereby saving your neck from the extra bit of exercise

banda

Brilliant... I had first seen this on some euro gps navs. About time something else rev-eng'red it!

If you wanna talk about a battery drains though...

...talk to the monkey in the closet.

wdonnell

@Jason: An elaborate system of mirrors.

@CnEY: I can't stand texting while walking, but every time I get a text - yep, I'm walking. This'd be awesome for people like me, who are unlucky. Basically, it'd ward of texts while I'm walking, meaning I only get them at home :D

That's a neat idea and I think I'll try it, but I can already imagine the headache it's going to give me as my eyes focus from text to camera to text to camera... :-/

And how quickly before people are using this to email while they drive? Hey, I can still see the road, right??

[www.commutesmarter.com]

Wait.... they will let this pass through, but you still can't do video?

DanGarion

@tok3n ninja; fell out of the ceiling: I was wondering how many comments I would have to read through until I found one like this. XD Same thought entered my mind as soon as I read the article.

I have to admit it's a clever use... but I also feel it's somehow sad... Are people really this preoccupied and tethered to their own smartphones that they can't even bloody walk down a street without pulling it out to text someone? Can't the texting wait? Is what you're going to text REALLY that immeasurably important?!

CnEY

People messing with cell phones or iPods walk half as fast as normal and it's so annoying. It's amazing how you can pull out your cell phone and instantly drop your walking rate so much that the person behind you nearly runs you over.

hxcpirate

do you think this will solve the train crash dilemma?

rambo3060

BAHAHAHAHAH... very clever use of the camera!

softsmyth

I really need this for text messages

ANOPRAX

As much as I'd like to write that that's a ridiculous app, I can't. It's too cool. That said, cars tend to hit walking emailers from the side, so the title is somewhat misleading -- you can email without tripping over the curb, but the car is still going to hit you before you ever actually GET to the curb. Sorry.

Jason

Intuitive. I commend them. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple tried to sneak that feature into a future firmware update. But at the angle I normally hold my itouch while I'm firing out emails, this probably wouldn't help. I'm a "look at my shoes" kinda guy.

jquack

Please remember this does NOT mean it's kosher to use this app while driving.

tok3n ninja; fell out of the ceiling

Best. Invention. Ever.

hmiles619

That is really clever.

cha0tic

Don't forget we new yorkers could find this extremely useful because of all the walking we do.

All I want to know now though is when they come out with an Android version.

stultus_juventus

freeking awesome. Same thing for the blackberry please?

icantreplyright

Wow... so simple, so much needed, very creative.

Micho

@jupiterthunder:

It's not that hard, really - looking from near to far takes a moment as the lenses in your eyes adjust, but looking between two objects in your near field is just a glance.

I've shot video while driving (In controlled conditions with my passenger spotting me and no civilians present) It kinda turns everything into a video game. Except you don't get points for hitting the pedestrians on the screen. :-)

David Clark

@GlennA:

Yeah. It's a pain in the ass.

David Clark

@ffejie:

Bingo. Until Apple comes out with a thumboard model, (a la HTC Excalibur/T-mobile Dash; Blackberry Curve) I'm sticking with my Dash.

On a somewhat related note: I can't believe the OpenMoko folks settled on a touchscreen design. A Linux phone with a touchscreen-only design. What the hell were they thinking?

"Hey, or user base will probably use a shell on their phone - let's make it a pain in the ass for them to do that!"

David Clark

I don't know about the rest of you, but I couldn't focus on the text and take any useful notice of the images in the bg. In the same way, I couldn't focus on the background and give attention to the text at the same time. As clever a concept as this sounds, it seems impractical to me. That's impractical in the same way that sticking flashlights onto everything (think great gift ideas for dad) is impractical.

jupiterthunder

@jerkstore99: I remembered that, too. Frankly, I think it's still a joke. NOBODY is so busy that they can't stop walking for 5 minutes to send a message.

@I'm a PC:

fourthed and a half, because I don't have a Blackberry.

@freddyfly: fourthed

Awesome.. any for blackberry user?

I saw many teenagers on the road busy with their gadget without seriously pay attention to their way.

cheers~
SuccessRevolution.com
All About Blogging, Business, and Life Success

@icantreplyright: Thirded.

freddyfly

The iPhone's just not blocking enough of my vision to make this seem worthwhile... also the camera is really laggy. If I really wanted to use a safer alternative, I'd use a Jott-like service.

Luke

@DanGarion: You can do video if you jailbreak... cycorder.

Luke

@icantreplyright: Seconded.

Geoff Johnson

@mados123: Maybe I give people more credit than they deserve, but I'd like to think that most people are smart enough to understand that crossing the street requires looking both ways first.

lowtolerance

also very useful for talking to people who don't like it when you don't look at them when they are talking to you, because you are busy with the phone

banda

I don't think Apple would release this in a Firmware update, I'm sure the states which mobile phones while driving are illegal in, wouldn't like a big phone right in front of your eyes, and we in England would have no chance with this app.

tylerf

@rambo3060: That's why they make the bumpy part at the edge of the platform.

This one was actually designed for the CIA and FBI, to spy more inconspicuously.

Aaron McClellan

@[articles.latimes.com]

@Fried_Brain_Cells: I know, using tissues to read camera images is just inefficient. We should be implanting this stuff by now until we can replace our biological cells completely.

orlo

its $.99 ....

Exactly what we need... more people walking and texting at the same time...

TheLouis

Ridiculous and unnecessary are two words that come to mind...I think the idea is clever, but also that it is one of those things that will never work in practice.

now you can type a mail while looking at the sidewalk go by...yeah, that's a winner.

Finally something that makes it easier to email and drive at the same time.

chapoec

It's sad that we've come to this.

Stupid. I'm not even going to go into detail why. This is the beginning of the end of real human interaction.

Gilbert Capulong

Wow. The day I need an application like this is the day I stop e-mailing people

programmer780

Hmmm, as someone else mentioned, this would be useful for text messages. I have hardly ever emailed anyone from my iPhone - it's mostly txt-ing. Good idea though.

da5id_nz

@ShakespeareGeek: your eyes don't care if they're focussing on text or images, it's the distance that counts; the text and the image are the same distance from your eyes so it'll be fine.

You do realise that this app doesn't actually make your iphone seethrought, right? ;0)

I wonder if they got their inspiration from Rick Mercer? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdzUZDDi5aM

AdaIshamael

@ShakespeareGeek: Eventually, they will integrate it into the windshield anyway... :)

Bart Post

Not showing as free on the iPhone UK store. :(

scgreg

Best use of mind! Brilliant use of components.

QuiterieDogg

That's nice. How about you just watch where you're going and email later? OR.. how about you take your pic, then do an email, then talk to somebody, all separately. The tech is amusing, but the kind of dipshits it will cater to, aren't.

paintbox

How can this be a "Top Download" It must have been a slow week ;-)

nka

@hmiles619: See kids, this is known as a hyperbole.

gauden44

It looks like this app is no longer free. :(

BriceLavitz

I don't have iphone but this looks great! ;)

didytz

In the future, people will laugh at apps like these. And then wonder why so much creative energy was expended on something so foolish.

DangerousLiberal

Why would anyone get hit by a car?

pvtryan2

@lowtolerance:
It's amazing sometimes just how little credit some folk do deserve...

jook

@endersdestiny: ya i know. They didn't give the public much review time for word of mouth advertising! =( Maybe if we speak up to the company that makes this they will make it free again! This is more of a novelty than a convence anyway, but still.

Michael Mantis

Is it no longer free?? I checked the app store on my phone and it's stating $.99

endersdestiny

The article says it is a free download for a limited time only. You would think that they would allow it to be limited until the end of the first work day of the week when I check my Lifehacker posts =(

It is now $.99 cents. I have yet to pay for a single iphone app that i couldn't find a similar app for free.

How about an extention on that free download so that we can give it a try before we buy! NOT COOL!

Michael Mantis

Augmented Reality here we come! Has anyone got one of those virtual-50-inch-TV-screen glasses that lets you watch your iPod video output on the big screen while sitting on the train/airplane? Hook up with this, and you're away!

Now how about a GPS location indication, a "you've got mail" icon and some RSS feeds...

steve.mcgahey

@Michael Mantis: They probably started charging once the LH post (free advertising) increased demand...

Jeffrey Bernard Yozwiak

@BriceLavitz: even at $.99 I would not buy this. An app like this would be more of a gimmic than anything and I would only use it a few times and show friends. Also I really do not see this as possible. A trial version would be nice. Anyone care on contacting this company and asking for a trial version?

Michael Mantis

@rambo3060: walking and or driving ANY kind of vehicle can get you killed!
Just this weekend I saw a guy walking on Santa Monica Blvd. in WeHo texting or writing a email and he walked right into a pole, he hit the pole so hard it knocked him off his feet and he fell and got a nasty gash on his forehead when he hit the curb, and almost got hit by a car. Now that beautiful face will have to have plastic surgery to remove the scar that surely will be left from the accident. He almost lost consciousness and had to be hauled away in an ambulance. I wonder if he had pushed 'send' yet? Will he learn?

jess90069

@stultus_juventus: Definitely wondering about an Android version of this myself!

Michael Beck

@ANOPRAX: My first thought as well. I used SMS much more than email when i'm on the go...would be amazing if you could have this work for all apps with a gesture combo for trans/opaque.

mahalie

@IvoryTheseus: I bet the did not get accross the patents at all. Apple oversighting it with the app review. I had a short e-mail conversation with the owner of the company that made the app and they are out to make money. I just hope they cover their ass. They wrote a huge e-mail reply back to my last reply. i sware he put more time into the e-mail then just giving me a free app and be done with it. In customer service if the amount of time it takes to stand your ground than to please the customer's worth and product amount you usualy just give in. They are really not using their heads.

Michael Mantis

@Jeffrey Bernard Yozwiak: And then they wondered why the downloads stopped :-)

Michael Mantis

We had the same Idea like a year ago. Did it for a user testing course... But we stopped looking into it once we came across some existing patents! Wonder how they got across that...

IvoryTheseus

this has my vote as stupid/smart idea of the year. Can't think of any app out there that can beat it.

Not free anymore... now it's $0.99.

Jake McMillian

@ANOPRAX:
Same here. It would make me a much safer driver!