We're all fed up with the lack of honest-to-God buttons in cars, particularly since their touchscreen counterparts tend to suck. Combine that with our reliance on smartphones to handle everything from communication to navigation and there might be a place for a single, programmable button for routine tasks. That's what Flic is trying to provide.
The company behind Flic is pitching it as a customizable, do-anything button that connects with your favorite smartphone apps. Buy a handful on the things and then program them to do your bidding. Stick one on your nightstand to snooze your alarm. Put another one on your coffee table to simultaneously kill the lights, launch Netflix on your TV, and start playing the latest episode of Archer, all with a single click.
But there's just as much potential for our cars as our homes.
Those of us that haven't sprung for a ride with nav and multimedia rely on our phones to handle everything: calls, texts, navigation, you name it. If you want to listen to the latest podcast, you have to unlock the screen, dial up the app, find the latest episode, and hit play. With the Flic, you just press a button. Same goes for sending a pre-written text that you're on your way to the restaurant to meet your significant other or starting a playlist on Spotify or calling your boss to let him know you're running late – you could even set it to order a pizza. And each button can be programmed to accept three inputs: a single press, a double tap, or a long press, so one button could be set up to perform multiple actions.
The possibilities are only limited by what the Flic can connect to (some IFTTT integration would be killer) and the chances of it actually getting produced. I'm generally leery of crowdfunding campaigns, but the Flic may be an exception. It's got promise, and others seem to agree – right now they're already 270 percent past their goal.