Beiruting News

Texting while driving kills more people than drunk driving. Yet most of us are probably guilty of the transgression: Your iPhone chirps. You glance around at the traffic. Then you make a quick grab for the cupholder to read the message. And in the worst cases, you might even message back.

The system is activated passively, going into Car Mode as soon as the iPhone pairs with your car's Bluetooth system. From here, you can take hands-free calls or follow turn-by-turn navigation in the same manner as always. But when someone sends you a text message, they'll be notified that you're currently driving. Meanwhile, the phone won't alert you in any way--no bleeps or buzzes or onscreen alerts.

Car Mode really is seamless--so seamless, in fact, that it makes us wonder if contextual user interface could drive a better iPhone experience across the board. After all, iOS already allows users to disable some functions on planes or block calls late at night.