The 10 Best Car Apps for Smartphones

The 10 Best Car Apps for Smartphones
Got a Car? There’s an App for That
Published: 11/04/2013 – by Mark Takahashi,Automotive Editor
Smartphones are changing our lives: the way we think,the way we plan (or don’t) and certainly the way we use our cars. At the intersection of the smartphone and the automobile lies a vast opportunity for increases in speed,efficiency and entertainment. That’s where the car apps come in.
Whether you want to find your car,your destination or the cheapest gas in the area,it can all be accomplished on your phone. Performance testing,of course,is easy with the right app. And now you can use your phone to diagnose problems or pacify the kids on a long trip. Of course,if you’re car shopping,Edmunds.com has a free app to help you find the best car for your particular needs,along with pricing and dealer inventory. But humility precludes us from including it on the list.
Otherwise,our favorite automotive apps are below. The list isn’t comprehensive or all-inclusive,but it’s a solid collection of the most useful and entertaining car apps available today.
Why should the Russians have all the fun? Dash cams are a great way to protect yourself from insurance fraudsters launch x431 scanner,bad drivers and perhaps even an undeserved ticket. Rather than shell out $50-$300 for a dedicated dash cam,you can simply convert your smartphone for a measly $0.99.
Besides the looping record function,Witness Driving also logs time,date,speed,location and acceleration in gs. There’s even an accident detection feature that can send a notification e-mail. Controls are simple and create little distraction. Of course,you’ll need a windshield mount for your phone,but we found a wide selection online for under $10
Let’s face it: For most of us,car maintenance isn’t something over which we’ll lose sleep. But we can all agree that maintenance is an important part of ownership,right? Car Minder makes it easy launch x431 v plus.
Car Minder Plus is like having your own personal fleet manager in your pocket. This app will remind you when it’s time for scheduled maintenance as well as logging all of the service and repairs. You’ll have to input the maintenance schedule yourself from the owner’s manual,but it’s worth it. Car Minder also tracks your fuel economy and can distill all of that data into an easy-to-read graph. On top of it all,you can manage multiple vehicles.
Augmented Driving relies heavily on visual data coming from the camera,and it’s surprisingly accurate. Some alerts,like the lane departure warning can be tiresome since the app doesn’t recognize when you’re signaling,but you can disable its audible alarms. We found the front collision warnings functioned well,as they could be user-adjusted to the driver’s preference. As with the Witness Driving app,you’ll need to purchase a windshield mount separately. Setup instructions were well illustrated and we were up and running in a matter of minutes.
iOnRoad is similar and is available for Android devices.

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