L
ast week, on Wednesday the 11th of May, Logitech announced the release of their new device the Logi ZeroTouch on their blog and news release portal. ZeroTouch is a car mount that enables your Android smartphone to use the handsfree functions of the ZeroTouch app.
Many car manufacturers already include personal computers in their products in luxury setups, but with the Logi ZeroTouch Logitech offers an affordable solution to all those, who don’t have smart functions in their car or other means to pair their phones with it.
The Logi ZeroTouch is a magnetic smart car mount, which leverages an own app and other apps in order to let you safely use your phone and even communicate with your contacts. Once you have the device installed in your car you just wave your hand in front of your phone and the app is ready to accept voice commands now.
Functions
You will be able to make calls, send text messages and let the app read the reply out loud, initiate a route and navigation assistance, share your location via Glympse service or play your favorite music via services like Spotify or Deezer. If you’re in a pinch you just need to wave the app again to mute it all, so you can focus on your driving.
Design
The look and feel is simple and puristic. If you want the device to blend in with your car, go ahead and pick the black version. If you’d like it as an accent to be a contrast, pick a colored version.
Compatibility
The device is currently only supported by Android (4.4+) devices. Apple devices running on iOS like the iPhone or the iPad are currently not supported. Checking with them on the future plans for other platforms they didn’t really want to comment on it, so if you’re an Apple user you might not want to wait for this to become an offering for you.
unfortunately we can't comment on future platform updates, but any new announcements will be posted on social!
— Logitech (@Logitech) May 17, 2016
From the other angle however, the device is compatible with most standard cars interiors. Feel free to check the details on their specs page to make sure this fits your car as well, before you buy it.
Natural Language Understanding
Logi ZeroTouch uses Natural Language Understanding, or just NLU in short. That means that you can give voice commands in a similar way as addressing another person. You can use multiple terms and phrasings to get the same result. For example you can use either “Tell Amy I’ll be there in 10”, “Send a message to Amy that I’ll be there in 10”, or “Text Amy I’ll be there in 10” to send a message to your contact Amy. There is no one right way of giving voice commands to learn. All reasonable kinds of giving the command are understood by the app and will send the text out accordingly.
Pricing
The pricing of the Logi ZeroTouch is absolutely acceptable. With $59.99 for the standard air vent clippable version and $79.99 for the dashboard version, with adjustable angle, you can upgrade your car to be smarter without going for a major cost upgrade in the luxury setup when buying the car.
Word from the CEO
“New car owners can experience the luxury of a connected car, but there are still tens of millions of older cars on the road,” said Bracken Darrell, Logitech president and chief executive officer. “As we look for ways to design products that are thoughtful solutions to human needs, we realized there was an opportunity to turn any car into a connected car.
The result is the Logi ZeroTouch. The smart mount and app work together to give you the best features of a connected car, while keeping your eyes on the road. We believe ZeroTouch will play a crucial role in turning the look down and text, into the look up and talk.”
Why Logi?
Logi is a part of Logitech, which is using very vivid designs and modern brand communication to sell goods to consumers. We previously reported about this changes on our post about Logi and Logitech.
Summary
This is a solid investment for all who use an Android smartphone and want to upgrade their car multimedia without paying a fortune. Logitech does produce at a good quality and the required batteries are also already included when you buy the device. I feel like a charging function would have been nice but I understand there was no neat way to include that. Overall the solution fills a gap in the market and I am glad it’s released now. Please use this or a similar solution if you’re a power user. Don’t text and drive without any augmentation device for handsfree communication.
About Logitech
Logitech designs products that have an everyday place in people’s lives, connecting them to the digital experiences they care about. Over 30 years ago, Logitech started connecting people through computers, and now it’s designing products that bring people together through music, gaming, video and computing. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).
YouTube: ZeroTouch Demo Video
Photo credit: Logitech / Lift Conference
Source: Nikki Estrella (Logitech)
