"Simply dock your iPod for a fun, cutting edge way to start up. Exclusive software designed exclusively for Peapod turns your iPod into a key. Both options are interchangeable and secure," reads the car manual.

Gimmicky? Sure, but it's a first, and is yet another example of everything and anything converging into one futuristic single mass communications device. The Singularity is near, indeed. Who knew it would look so adorable? [Autoblog Green]

The Price: $500 (includes installation), plus $30/month for service (1 GB cap)

The Verdict: According to Autonet, the appeal to their service is that you're not limited to any single carrier's cell towers for a signal. Instead, they work as a middleman and allow you to connect to towers owned by Sprint, Verizon and Alltel. Their service is designed to seamlessly hop between towers and connect to the one offering the fastest speeds. Autonet says they also track fully your usage sessions, and as a result, will already have a solid idea of what the problem is if you call for support.

The device itself is about the same shape and size as Linksys' classic WRT54 router, except a bit slimmer and wider. It's intended to be bolted to the floor and connected to a car battery, though the freestanding model I tested came with adapters for the cigarette lighter and home outlets. There's also a mystery serial port, but none of the documentation makes any reference to it.

In areas with good EV-DO coverage, the router works pretty well. Once it's turned on an running, you connect to it like any WEP wi-fi network, and proceeds as expected. The router setup menu is pretty straightforward, allowing you to configure SSIDs, WEP keys, MAC filters, and a handful of radio/transmission settings.

Going back and forth between San Francisco and Fremont, I found speeds to be about what you'd expect from an EV-DO connection. Fast enough to browse standard web pages with ease, and satisfactory enough to stream media, such as music and flash videos. But it will not magically conjure up a signal in areas where EV-DO isn't so prevalent, so you should definitely check EVDOmaps to make sure you live or travel in an area with good service.

Occasionally (about every 10-15 minutes), there would be a 5 second hiccup in service, presumably while the connection hopped to another tower. It generally wasn't a big deal, but it did interrupt my Pandora stream, which was going from my iPod touch connected to a car stereo,

Users have complained about Autonet's lack of features for power users, such as no WPA encryption and port forwarding. Not having WPA encryption is totally valid to bitch about, and I was surprised it wasn't at least an option. As far as port forwarding options go, I don't think this router is intended for that type of crowd and I don't think it's that kind of device.

This is really meant for you to be able to check email, look up a map, get the latest news, and maybe download a few songs. And seeing as Autonet is going for the minivan/car rental market, I think simplicity was a goal when determining what functionality it would have. I don't think you're supposed to be playing WoW or downloading 20 torrents with the router. And with a 1GB cap, which stops service after you exceed the limit, it would be hard to do that anyways.

The bottom line is this: I think soccer moms and road warriors alike will glean some value from the device, which will help appease bratty kids or feelings of disconnectedness while on the road. But at $500 plus $30/month, this is not really for someone who plans to use it in a casual manner, or would like to use it more places than the car. If you prefer portability, you may want to look at the Cradlepoint router, but then you still need the USB 3G dongle and you don't have the freedom to switch between carrier towers.

The Peapod will run at 25 miles per hour with just a 30-mile range per battery charge, which can be reloaded using a standard electrical plug in six to eight hours. [Jalopnik and Mocoloco]

When i first got it, it did not work. I had to call support. It is obvious its a small company. Support guy called back on his cell. But he did call back, and I was happy about that.

The main issues i have with it are:
It constantly is switching to 1x (yes it uses CDMA). So its...slow. It has a VERY hard time switching to EVDO, even when its available.
Also, it has a very sloppy interface. It uses WEP for encryption (who uses that anymore?). And there is not much to change. Nothing for IP, NATing, port forwarding—pretty much just encryption.

Oh, here is the best part. So the standard plan has a one gig cap. And autonet ships them with NO encryption. So average guy never sets up encryption (nothing in the manual telling you need to). He plugs it in and parks in front of his apartment with 200 neighbors. Some kids finds it and downloads the full season of The Office. Customer gets a $800 bill. Nice.

Thanks for your impressions, Josh!

UPDATE: According to Autonet, there may be inaccuracies in the reader review. We are acquiring a review unit to test for ourselves. Also, it should be noted that Autonet is not billed on usage, meaning that an $800 bill is impossible.

"We want to make the radio itself a WiFi port," whatever the hell a WiFi port is. We're guessing the spokesperson meant WiFi connectivity will be coming using a modified internal radio. Whether Chrysler will trick out their own navigation systems with an internet browser to make use of the functionality is not clear, but using WiFi instead of EDGE on your iPhone whilst driving has got to be a help, even if it isn't great for general road safety. [Washington Post]

A high-end fancy car like a Lexus is usually stoked with all the latest tech stuff such as hard drives, but now Chrysler has gotten into the act, offering MyGig, a 20GB hard drive that you can order as an option. Our grease-monkey brothers at Jalopnik tell us the hard drive is embedded in the dashboard, and not only stores navigation data but lets you rip CDs as they're inserted, filling that sucker with your own music. It will also find out the artist, track and title info for you on the Gracenote lookup engine.

That's just the beginning, though, where Chrysler, the old fuddy-duddy of car tech, seems to be making a major push toward gadgetization. For instance, there's also an AUX input for rocking your iPod into the system, embedded Sirius Satellite Radio, a USB jack to play music off a thumb drive, hands-free Bluetooth phone calling, and separate audio outputs—one for the car speakers and another for listening to headphones if you want to watch a DVD on the rear-seat LCD display. Snap.

This tech will emerge on midrange models such as the Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Nitro and Jeep Wrangler. Looks like that merger between Chrysler and Mercedes, resulting in DaimlerChrysler, is starting to pay off for the Detroit end of that equation. – Charlie White

MyGig Has A Hard Drive, How About Yours? [Jalopnik]

Made for CES

The ubiquity of the iPod was the most notable thing this year at CES. Standing in the Microsoft booth at the Playsforsure kiosk, an attendee looking at the 40+ MP3 players before him said, "Where's the iPod?" "Apple doesn't come to CES," the flummoxed Microsoft responded. "They have their own show." Looking around CES, it was clear that Apple didn't need its own booth, since the iPod was everywhere. Companies either have an iPod product (like Bose speakers, the Griffin iTrip, or Belkin cup holders), products that work with the iPod, or products with the "iPod look" (think Sonos). Apple sets the standard for design.

According to the NPD Group, iPod peripherals will have a market north of $2 billion in 2006. That's a nice little industry as it is. But look for this to grow as product peripherals develop around video like they did for music. Made for iPod, a program which will apply an Apple "iStamp" of approval on products that work with iPod, is gaining ground just as quickly, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Apple's intention to monetize the program. iPod has officially joined the ranks of products where the company's brand name has replaced the actual product name and become the product: you use an iPod to listen to music in the same way you use a Kleenex to blow your nose, you make Xeroxes with a copy machine, and you Google for information.

The iPod's success has inspired a deluge of compatible products. At this year s Macworld, for example, Apple announced a car stereo deal with the Chrysler Group. Apple s vice president of Worldwide iPod Marketing says that in addition to the 3 million Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge automobiles, "over 40 percent of all cars sold in the US in 2006 will offer iPod connectivity." Wow. So in addition to the iPod accessories, cassette adapters, FM adapters, cables, headphones, and cases that are iPod compatible, the entire car should be added to the list. iPod integration into cars isn't new, but the sheer number of cars is astonishing. I wonder how many people purchasing a car consider how well integrated it is with the iPod? Perhaps just a few of the Apple faithful.

There are also numerous products that have adopted the Apple aesthetic. Companies seem to think that if their products look like an iPod or an Apple, they are also recreating the entire User Experience—a supposition that simply isn't true. It's one thing to look like a product, it's another to behave like one. This point has been made by a number of people, but it s worth repeating. The iPod is successful because of a combination of things that look-alikes can t deliver. It's clean and easy to use (see "The iPod and the Bathtub"). It is backed by iTunes that has integrated e-commerce, and iTunes is supported by relationships that encompass, essentially, the entire music industry.

The iPod has succeeded far beyond what anyone expected. When it launched, everyone said, You re kidding right? Another MP3 player? But here s the thing. You can t just encase your product in white plastic, call it a day. Companies have to look deeper than that. From a design perspective, it s clear that many companies think that if they follow this pattern, they can achieve what Apple has with the iPod. But the pattern they see is one of imitation. The pattern I see is one of imitation. Apple is clearly engaging design where most other companies are not. In order to get closer to what Apple has achieved, companies can do several things:

A. Hire a competent designer at the C-Level in your company, and trust her/him to help integrate design into your infrastructure. Apple follows this model, as Jobs serves as the CDO (Chief Design Officer). He has a great aesthetic and works closely with his design team to build superior products.

B. Take a user-centered approach to product design. Seek out real people and engage them in the design of your products by asking them what they need, prototyping the possibilities and getting feedback from them on the result. I m not talking about focus groups, either. Groups end up being ruled by one or two strong-willed people, and the rest of the group will defer to their opinions. Do one-on-one interviews in people's homes to get their personal opinion, and observe their surroundings. What they say and how they live will tell you more than the lemmings that comprise most focus groups.

C. Craft a distinct look and feel for your entire product line, thereby
setting your products apart. NAD has such a distinct look, and one could easily pick them out in of a line-up of components. The design isn't award-winning, but at least it's recognizable.

Hannspree, which had its first appearance at CES this year, has a very distinct line of flat screen TVs that are all crafted to match a particular taste: basketball, racing cars, etc. Seen together, they comprise a unique Hannspree brand, but individually, the products take on the persona of their specific design. I wouldn't think "Hannspree" if I saw the Buzz Lightyear TV, I would think of Pixar instead. It remains to be seen if the Hannspree products will sell well and if their brand will emerge from this variety, but at least they stand apart from the sea of gray/black/silver flat panel TVs. It's a start.

Which brings us back to my discontent with the iPod. With the iPod, Apple has achieved an excellent design which has been brilliantly marketed and has transformed the consumer electronics industry. We're all very proud, but I'm sick of talking, hearing and reading about it. Is there a product besides the iPod that we can hold up and say, what a brilliant and well-executed design this is? No. Not at this year s CES. Companies seeking to innovate like Sony, who s recent failures have made them look really bad (see Sony rootkit) need to be willing to think more about solving customers problems by incorporating a user centered design to achieve what the iPod has. Who has the guts to step out on the dance floor, ask design to dance and shake their thang?

David Hoffer is a Senior Design Analyst for frog design.

The frog Design Mind column appears every Monday on Gizmodo. Read more frog Design Mind.

As the first American automaker to announce iPod integration into its 2006 Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models, the Chrysler Group follows in prestigious BMW footsteps. This just happens to be a little more affordable for the little people. The kit, which is called the iPod Integration Kit, will be just $175 plus installation and can even be retrofit to many 2005 models, according to Chrysler.

Chrysler Group and Apple announce iPod integration [Apple Insider]

With a bulbous body that rotates 360 degrees atop a simple chassis, the Nissan Pivo looks like a toddler s vision of the perfect Fisher Price car—no sharp corners and easy to fill up with stuff like Cheerios and dad s best cologne. In reality, the Pivo is a showcase of Nissan s most far-out human-car interface technologies. For example, a driver can manipulate many interior controls using hand signals, and a wrap-around video monitor retires the rear-view mirror.

Among Suzuki s two minivan concepts headed to Tokyo is the military-chic P.X., touted by the company as a kind of mobile fort for middle-aged men. Suzuki calls the sleek, stainless-steel P.X. a home base for men, in which they can get on with all the fun stuff middle-aged men in decked-out vans do. (Why, practice their golf swing, of course. What were you thinking?)

The Chrysler Akino comes equipped with enough grandiloquently composed backstory to shame a Celestial Seasonings teabag. The one-box, compact concept, envisioned to be an oasis on wheels, was conceptualized by Akino Tsuchiya, a designer at the Chrysler Group's Pacifica Design Studios in California. It s got an interior that incorporates bamboo flooring, a throw rug, lighting sconce, mood lighting and even throw pillows. Akino means autumn field. Nuff said.

Along with the most hyperbolic concepts, some trend more closely toward cars we ll likely see someday in traffic or double-parked in front of a nail salon, as the case may be. For one, as rumors have it, Subaru s B5-TPH hatchback concept is the bellwether of a new design direction that will inform the next-generation Subaru Impreza—for which a radical redesign is expected by 2007.

The concept that s closest to a true production model is Nissan s GT-R PROTO, which will become the next-generation GT-R—a sports car almost as beloved in the world s automotive circles as the four-wheel drift on dry pavement. The PROTO also signals good news for Americans who d been traditionally left out of the GT-R fest; the next-generation GT-R, coming in 2007, is a global sports car that ll be sold in the US, alongside Pathfinders and Sentras at the local Nissan mart. Watch for it.

Jalopnik s The Week in Cars appears every Tuesday on Gizmodo