Jason Green’s new startup, Greenlight, announced its first product would be a dashboard docking device for smartphones.
Seattle startup Greenlight wants to get people’s phones out their hands when they’re driving, but the company knows people still want to make use of their phones while in the car.
The company’s answer to the distracted-driving issue is a small cradle that mounts to a car’s dashboard. The SmartCradle holds a smartphone and comes with an app that records driving video and data.
The company released the $49.99 system this week, its first product since co-founder Jason Green launched Greenlight in 2014.
Green also co-founded action-camera company Contour, which grew quickly before shutting down in the face of competition from the booming GoPro.
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Greenlight contains a bit of the action-camera feel – the Dashware app continuously records driving footage. If it detects a car accident, the footage is automatically saved to the cloud.
The company’s goal is to eventually gather enough driving data that it can compare drivers’ activities and let drivers use the data to get lower auto insurance rates.
“Phones are a part of life,” Green said in a video on the company’s website. “No amount of ‘don’t do it’ campaigns or driving laws are going to stop us from using them. So we’re creating a real solution.”
It’s not the ultimate solution to distracted driving, Green said in an interview Friday, but getting phones out of the cupholder and into drivers’ easy lines of sight will help.
At any moment during the day, more than 660,000 drivers are using mobile devices while driving, according to the U.S. government.
Greenlight has seven employees and is mostly self-financed, Green said.
Fellow Contour co-founder Marc Barros is also working with mobile cameras. His company, Moment, which makes smartphone lenses, announced a $3 million funding round this week.