Nowadays many cars are coming fully loaded with all sorts of fancy electronic gizmos that can do everything from telling you the best route to adapt to informing you on how your car is performing, and when the next scheduled maintenance is due. However, for the majority of peoplewho are driving cars that are not so costly, there areplenty of apps for smartphones that can do a really superb job. A glimpse of some of the best apps ruling the roads:
TomTom
Earlier if you had wanted to use a navigational aid, you were restricted to a bulky GPS or SatNav unit; however with apps like TomTom sitting in your iOS or Android smartphone, you are spared from the inconvenience of carrying around another item separately. You can use TomTom free every month for the first 50 miles but to use it thereafter you need a subscription that will permit unlimited use. Apart from the usual road directions that will get you from point A to point B most efficiently like many other navigational apps, TomTom gets you an edge over the others because it can give you alerts regarding speed traps. The app’s interface is clutter-free which makes it easy to refer to when driving.
Waze
Even though it may be a tad less intuitive, as a SatNav solution there is little to beat Waze, especially when it is completely free. It offers a host of features that are community-driven; the basis of its information is crowdsourcing. Users of the app keep it updated by posting information regarding traffic congestion, police traps, accidents, etc. that might affect your trip. It also provides voice navigation on a turn by turn basis and also has a nifty feature that lets your friends know your ETA so that they know where exactly you are. Those who are unfamiliar with the territory will find information on local businesses and sights extremely convenient. Once you get the hang of it, it can be an extremely affordable and convenient alternative. If you are buying a used car from Ideal Auto USA that does not have an in-dashboard navigation aid, then you should surely consider installing this on your phone.
CarCorder
As an accessory to capture road travel footage there is little to beat dash cams that are increasingly becoming popular after the Russians showed the world some really fantastic footage. The footage from the camera mounted on your dashboard can come in very handy in case you are involved in an accident. Just by using a dashboard mount you can convert your iPhone into a very competent dash cam that permits switching between various resolutions, alerts you when driving too fast, and tracks your location too.
iOnRoad
One of the biggest fears that a driver has is that of the car in front suddenly slamming on the brakes and coming to a stop so fast that you have no chance to avoid colliding with it. Since not every vehicle comes with a forward collision warning system it is worthwhile installing the iOnRoad app on your phone, even though it is not the most user-friendly. It can detect how long it would take for the collision to take place with the car in front. A system of color coding can indicate if you are approaching the car in the front too close for comfort.
iCarMode
This is a paid app for the iPhone available for just $1.99 that allows you to safely access your dashboard-mounted iPhone so that you can use it to phone others, listen to music, and otherwise, use your phone. The app’s large buttons are extremely handy and save you the hassle of looking at the small phone buttons while driving. The app is especially useful for older cars that lack many of the advanced dashboard features of current cars.
Author bio: Wayne Hendricks is the chief manager in charge of the auto accessories department at Ideal Auto USA, one of the nation’s most popular destinations for top quality used cars.