Wow on this one. The Ski Channel did an article last month on BEARTek Audio Control Gloves that will give skiers and boarders easier control of listening to their music while coasting the mountain. Now, there’s a new inventor in town by the name of Autumn Stevenson who has developed a Connect Grip that fits over your ski poles for controlling your iPod and iPhone devises.
Is this Stevenson’s Connect Grip better than the BEARTek Audio Control Gloves? Well first, the Grip cannot be used by snowboarders since in most circumstances, excluding trekking along in the backcountry, snowboarders don’t have poles. On the flip side, as I mentioned trekking, the Grip is handy for hiking or trekking poles which in cases of warm summer hiking, Control Golves would not be the winner.
Below is a section of an article about the Connect Grip from mmdnewswire.com. For the complete article and more pictures, please GO HERE.
Both the Control Gloves and the Control Grip are accepting donations. Which one will you be giving your funds and eventually buying?
Denver, Colorado (MMD Newswire) – Everyone knows that the right music enhances just about any activity, including sports such as skiing, trekking, mountain biking, or motorcycling. But even though devices such as the iPod and iPhone allow sports enthusiasts to tote hundreds of tunes with them to the highest mountain, deepest valley, or most remote wilderness trail, scrambling to change songs while negotiating rugged slopes or a twisty road is annoying and potentially hazardous. Enter the Connect Grip ™, a device that wirelessly controls the iPhone or iPod so users can focus on their sport rather than their DJ duties.
“The Connect Grip allows users to conquer the slopes, mountains and trails without being distracted by fumbling around to change the song or adjust the volume on their iPod,” says inventor Autumn Stevenson. Stevenson is the founder and president of Team Stevenson, a firm that designs and distributes products for use in the sports and automotive fields. She adds, “What the Connect Grip does is finally let people concentrate fully on their sport while they effortlessly tweak their play list or audio options.”
The Connect Grip is compatible with any iPod or iPhone device that has a 30-prong dock connector, and it is available in two different designs: the Copilot and the Navigator. The Copilot is designed for use while skiing or trekking, and the Navigator is for bicycling and motorcycling. Each grip design enables users to control audio functions on an iPod/iPhone by wirelessly transmitting a radio-frequency (RF) signal back to the iPod/iPhone without having to remove their hands from a ski pole, trekking pole, or bicycle or motorcycle handlebars.
The Copilot is a neoprene grip integrated with a joystick controller and RF transmitter in the form of a neoprene sleeve, making it waterproof, shock-proof, and easily attachable over any form of ski pole or trekking pole. The Navigator is a rubber pod integrated with a joystick controller and RF transmitter. It is designed with three different size o-rings and is easily attachable to any form of bicycle or motorcycle handlebar. If desired, corporate logos can be printed on the Copilot.
Both models are available for pre-order now at www.connectgrip.com.
Like most entrepreneurs, Stevenson needs funding for the project, and is currently registered with Kickstarter.com, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/teamstevenson/a-wireless-skiing-motorcycling-and-biking-ipod-con?ref=live ). Team Stevenson’s funding objective for the Connect Grip project is $32,500, and the fund drive lasts through September 16, 2011.
