Mobile Encyclopedia

Cell phone Ringtones tip up for your car

THE GUY who dreamt up the idea of adding ringtones to your car won the first annual D.O.C award here at CES, Las Vegas. There was some immediate dispute as to how original the idea was. But by CES 2007, Jack Conrad’s idea will have become a reality.

The objective with this invention is to provide a vehicle with a distinctive audible identification – just like a mobile phone’s ringtone. Indeed, there are plans to let users download voice files or MP3s so that they can truly personalize the device.

So when you forget exactly where you parked your car in a multi-storey car park, you stand some chance of finding it again.

The Design, Originality and Creativity (D.O.C.) award was sponsored by Digital Innovations and Conrad’s entry – called horn tunes – beat off hundreds of other entries to win a $10,000 prize.

Crucially, Conrad’s design will be turned into a shippable product which Digital Innovations expects to distribute through its 35,000 retail outlets worldwide.

Rick Mazursky, CEO with Digital Innovations, claimed there will be separate versions for different international markets. He also estimated it would cost around $20 and be totally self-installed.

One hack cruelly suggested that a similar product – called drive tones – already existed but Digital Innovations claimed to have found nothing similar that sells through retail channels.