Smartphones can be hard to shut up, which is where the ominously named Mutator enters the equation. Designed for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, Mutator is a pyramid-shaped switch that plugs into the headphone jack to make muting simple.
The Mutator sits in the headphone socket permanently and is activated by a 90-degree twist. In the Off position it does absolutely nothing, allowing you to use your iOS device as usual, but twist it into the On position and it mutes all sounds coming from the device apart from alarms you have set manually.
The iOS devices mentioned previously already have a type of mute button known as the "Ring/Silent" switch, but this only blocks certain sounds such as the ringer. Other sounds, including those emanating from Siri, text messages, video, music, apps, mail alerts, and the camera, will still be audible. Which is risky when you're in an environment where a smartphone sound could cause considerable embarrassment. Mutator solves this problem by muting almost everything.
Mutator creator, Ron Adair from Salt Lake City, Utah, is seeking to bring the product to market with the help of a Kickstarter campaign. Funds raised will be used to create production-level prototypes, buy tooling and assembly equipment and design the packaging. One Mutator costs US$16, with $8 extra required for shipping outside the US.
Aldair explains the thinking behind Mutator in the following video.
Source: Mutator on Kickstarter
