Text by Samrat Amatya
Traveling in a car could get much more comfortable than you are used to; all you have to do is connect two of your favourite gadgets - your car and your phone. There are some apps for your phone that make traveling in your car more enjoyable. Here are 5 of our top picks!
Drivemode
As the name suggests, the app is a driving centered app for your phone.
What makes Drivemode a comfortable, yet safe app is its voice command functionality. You can use your voice to perform various tasks like send/read-out texts, make calls, and navigate through the maps app. You can also control the music app of your choice using Drivemode. Heck, you can even reply to third party messaging apps using voice commands. I mean how cool is that! And to top it all off, the app also has Google Assistant integration for even better granular control. A bonus for you Android buffs!
Google Maps
Google Maps is one of the most necessary and reliable tools to have while traveling. And it is even more needed for people driving cars. You can easily search for the location you want to get to. It also has indications for all the restaurants, local shops, businesses, and much more.
Google Maps has an easy to follow interface. You can locate the place you want to visit and get a summary of how long it will take to get there. It also shows you the best route and alternative routes to get to your destination. And once you start navigating, it will give you a turn by turn direction as per your location. There is also voice guidance so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road. Pairing to this is a voice search! You can call up the in-built Google Assistant to search for phrases like “Find a petrol pump near me” among others. This is quite a handy feature to have while driving. A perfect combo of comfort and safety.
Auto Care
Owning a car comes with its fair share of responsibility. Many people don’t take proper care of their car. This in return creates some expensive problems down the line. Enter Auto Care an app that helps you stay on top of your maintenance needs. You can enter your car details and service history into the app. This not only helps you keep track of your car’s health but also the money spent on it.
Auto Care also comes with a clever reminder system which notifies you about your service schedule. As per this you can take your car to a service center and have it checked out. You can also manage your finance on fuel by tabulating the cost each time you refill. And, if you have multiple cars you can create a profile for each of them.
Find my Car
Finding your car in a crowded parking space is a chore. Or maybe you are like me who forgets where I parked my car. If so, then the Find my Car app is a must for you. As the name suggests, the app helps you find your car. So how does it do that? Well, unlike some setups, it doesn’t require an additional device. It uses the GPS on your phone to locate your car based on your previously saved position.
When you park your car, just open the app and press the “Mark Location” button. Once you get your location, name it and press the save button. Now when you want to find your car, open up the app and you will see the location of your car. The app also displays real-time distance and the best walking direction to your car which is really handy.
Audible
Reading books is a habit that we should all adopt. But many of us might not have the time or the patience to read. Enter Audible, an Audiobook service app, which provides you the books you want to read in a vocal format. This is especially great for times where you are on a long drive. You can listen to the book you have been meaning to read for quite sometimes from the comfort of your car.
Audible has a huge variety of audiobooks you can listen to. It not only helps you pass the time while driving but also helps enrich your mind. A great app to have! Do note that the app is a subscription-based service like Netflix. So yeah, you might want to get reacquainted with your loved ones outside the country.
