iPhone head unit dock

I’ve been thinking about this project for some time now but only now have I had the free time and patience to create a sort of mock-up of it. The name is not yet final and will probably be changed since Apple doesn’t like it when people prefix the i in relation to their products. (ideas?)

Introducing the iPhone head unit dock or the iHUD:


Mock up was created using Sketchup.

What it should do:

• Replace silly looking car docks  (or in my case, actually having a dock for my iPhone and not having to bring my iPod separately) 
• Charge the phone/ipod touch while you play music off it.

Initial plans for project iHUD:

1. This dock is intended for head unit/radio slots that comply with the 1 DIN size
2. This project will also rely on the Apple AV Component cable which is sold for around $50.  
3. There should be a tag-teamed software for this dock. Using the built-in widescreen view of iPhones/iPod touches just won’t cut it with its little buttons and small text. This software though won’t be created until I’ve finished the hardware bit of the project.
4. The head unit dock itself will be made out of aluminum since I have access to tons of it and then powder-coated. 
5. This project will be open source. This means I will try and document how I will be going about this project and you guys can follow my lead. Or you can even go ahead and beat me to it, all I ask is that you recognize my part. I may be able to sell the head unit dock itself in the future as I am predicting making just one will cost almost the same as making a few. I won’t promise that though.

Cost of the project:
I am estimating around $50 for the dock. Plus the component cable at $50, the project should be in the $100 ceiling.
Caveat: I am, for the time being very interested in finishing this project but at the same time, I am very busy with school and work so there are no promised timelines. I won’t even promise to finish this project. Everything will be depending on my mood about its usability, future availability of better commercial alternatives, and for whatever reason that may come up.For my use, I intend to keep my existing head unit. But I’m going to transfer it on a different slot in my dashboard. My car has a 1 DIN head unit slot on the upper part of the dash and then a 2 DIN slot on the lower part. I plan to install my head unit on the lower slot and cover up the half of the 2 DIN slot with something.