Pop Quiz:
What has cup holders; built-in surround-sound speakers; two headset jacks; a
dew sensor; a universal roof mount flip-down monitor and is available in tan or
gray vinyl?
How about a few hints: It’s
not a new family room couch in real leather; nor is it a luxury accessory for
your new horse trailer, recreational vehicle, tractor, boat or plane. Give up?
What we're talking about is the Mobile DVD player and screen for the garden
variety ‘Mom Car’ or Sport Utility Vehicle.
Now while you’re driving
the little urchins to the mall, or to their next scheduled activity you will
never again have to be bothered by their mindless chatter about what’s
cool or what’s happening in school. All you have to do is slide any other
current action video into the slot, have them put on a headset and move into
traffic in blessed silence.
If this entertainment
opportunity appeals to you then one of your best driving buddies is likely to
be a cell phone. Let us inject probable reality into this voyage amid a roving
gaggle of people movers.
The vehicle has two screens. One
will be the overhead mount that flips down, displaying a screen much like those
found on transcontinental flights. The other mounts onto the dashboard, turned
slightly toward the passenger seat. Yes, there are headsets for all passengers.
What do you think? If you're driving this vehicle, could you keep from wanting
to at least hear what is being said? Why install surround-sound if all you use
is stereo headphones?
Movies are designed to evoke
emotion in an audience. The driver will be part of the traveling audience and
presumably is not immune from reacting emotionally. What will this mean to
other drivers? Moreover, if these units catch on there will be the more traffic
on the streets for longer periods of time because you’re not stopping till
its over. Please don’t tell me that you'll just drive into your garage,
eject the film and finish watching in the house. If you had a DVD at home you
wouldn’t need one in your car because you could buy a movie, take it home
and sit down to watch like sane people.
I'll admit to being somewhat
perplexed. We now spend our days with gadgets on or near our body that ring,
buzz, vibrate and growl at us with alarming frequency , or make a feeble
attempt to remind us that we never learned the name of any classical piece of
music. Do we really need more stimulation during a drive than the radio, CD
player, pager, car fax and a cell phone? Of course, that’s just inside the
vehicle. Outside are traffic, weather, road construction, pedestrians and the
occasional Kodak moment.
Are you or your kids so devoid
of imagination that carrying on a conversation, entertaining each other in a
creative way, or indulging in a few moments of quiet is an impossible task? If
you are, you need a life, not another video to do it for you.
What cautions do you invoke with
your teenage daughter when her date pulls up in his mom’s fully equipped
SUV, and tells you they are going to watch a movie? Do you even dare ask
where?
We build a plethora of gadgets
because we can. We market those gadgets and if consumers are dumb enough to buy
it let them suffer the consequences of their foolishness.
But if you simply must insist on
installing a mobile video, how about adding a microwave at the same time? After
all, what is a movie without popcorn?
|
