Pod Posts
By James Robert Watson, PhD

The story
Walking around New York City, I notice that there are these posts all over the city - usually in pairs. I was baffled as to their purpose until I saw this guy set his round CD player on top of one, and, Eureka, I realized what they were for - they are CD holders. For those urban audiophiles who need to rest and want to set their player down, the city has graciously provided these CD Columns. I assume that people were setting their CD players on the top of fire hydrants, so they mounted the CD Columns near the hydrants and in pairs to encourage socializing and sharing.

CD Columns are a nice gesture from the city, but now that the CD player is becoming obsolete, there is less need for so many CD Columns around the city. To keep up with consumer and cultural changes, the city should offer columns for the iPod listener. The considerate gesture will then have a new life catering to the new generation of audio technology.

The Pod Post
It would be expensive to replace the hundreds of CD Columns in the city, so I designed an adapter that just fits over the existing CD Columns and - presto - they are now Pod Posts. All sizes of iPods can fit in the slot. Because the iPod has a smaller footprint than a CD player, there is even room on the new Pod Post for a cup holder. There are also drain holes so rain water will not collect in the recessed slots. I am eager to see how the city responds to the PodPost when I present it to them later this fall. I think they will be stunned.


Pod Post top view. Side view.

Dates
Inspiration: June, 2006
Design and development: July, 2006
Patent application: soon
Presentation to the city of New York: soon

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