Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. The shortcomings of BMW’s iPhone snap-in adapter were driving user experience designer Jorn Munnik up the wall:
It is way too unreliable and certainly not worth €250. It takes away almost all of your storage space, as you have to open your armrest to snap it in. At the same time, once you dock your phone, you can no longer access it. I can’t even count the number of times I have arrived at a meeting only to realize I had left my phone in the car. The worst part is that sometimes I had to go back for my phone, as it had all my details for the meeting.
There had to be a better way.
Munnik’s frustrations led him to design a superior snap-in adapter for his BMW 1 Series. First, he taught himself 3D modeling. Then he designed an adapter allows him to easily snap his phone in and out, and to use it while docked. It also keeps his cables neatly stowed away.
“After many hours of trying to come up with a 3D design that could give as many solutions as possible, my efforts paid off,” says Munnik.
Munnik used his Shapeways shop to test his design with other BMW drivers and incorporate their feedback into later iterations of his design. People started asking him to making adapters for other BMW models. And Munnik is now selling what he says is a superior snap-in adapter at a fraction of the price.
What’s even better is that it costs just €28. I’ve designed an adapter for almost all new BMW models and I’m now in the process of extending the concept to Audi and Mini cars.
Do you have an idea for a better tech accessory? 3D printing makes it easy to create your own products, and tech accessories are among Shapeways’ top sellers. Tell us about your products in the comments.