SensoryMetrics

Ever since Apple released the ipod shuffle, I’ve been thinking how cool it would be to be able to navigate the playlists via an audio only interface. Imagine how much fun it would be to be able to browse through the songs via a sound-scape. Just adding a voice clip to play-lists and song titles would be neat, but that’d be the tip of the iceberg. I could imagine play-lists being represented via riffs and audio clips pulled from the songs themselves or there could be a set series of built in sounds that you could use to represent play-lists and artists. A bit like ring-tones, you could choose a sound-scape theme to use for navigation.

To make it even more fun, add in a left / right pan, and a vibrato sound effect to denote distance and you could create a 3D audio space which could be mapped to the round button on the ipod. If Microsoft is listening out there, here’s your chance to release a Zune companion product. Through audio only, you could navigate through menus that would let you set shuffle mode, choose play-lists, tell you the time and date, play audio games, store voice clips, and so on. Now that’d be a cool product. You could do away with the display without doing away with all the functionality normally provided through the display.

This interface would really be great for use in the car. There’d no longer be any need to glance at the display while driving, with a spin of the dial and a couple of clicks you could make your way to your favourite song by sound alone. I’m sure there are several other mobile devices out there which could benefit from audio navigation.

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