Last week, Drivetime, a hands-free trivia game controlled entirely by using your voice, launched on Product Hunt with the tagline "play games while you drive."

The Product Hunt community had some mixed reactions:

"I'd hazard a guess that this app provides a comparable level of distraction to a phone conversation" – Andreas

"I used to drive 4 hours a day to get to SF, my time was spent only on podcasts because not listening to something would be so boring. I dig the idea, and wish you the best" — José

"I respect the effort, but distracted driving is a big no no" – Shuen

Niko, the founder, quickly jumped into the discussion:

"The existing research shows that so-called Alertness Maintaining Tasks (AMTs for short - and trivia has been specifically tested as part of existing research) actually have a *positive* effect on driving safety, by slowing performance deterioration and maintaining a higher level of alertness for longer."

Drivetime is a new entrant in a growing list of audio-based app experiences. We'll see more exploration in this space as people adopt Google Home's, Alexa-powered microwaves, Apple's HomePod, Facebook's Portal, AirPods, and other audio-based interfaces. Consumer behavior is already shifting toward an audio-first future.

Whether you say "Alexa", "OK Google", or "Hey Siri", there's no denying audio is on the rise. In fact, 50 percent of all searches will be voice searches by 2020 and about 30 percent of all searches will be done without a screen. 😳

Keep an ear on this space.

Last week Launchaco, upvoted by 3,000+ people, was acquired by Namecheap. Shout out to supportive parents like Margret. 🙌

(h/t Robleh for resurfacing this thread)