Can be motoring or non motoring related.
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Icar Black Box.
www.geeky-gadgets.com/icar-black-box-records-your-driving-video-18-01-2011/
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 14 Dec 11 at 12:56
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Torque. Turns your Android phone into an OBD 2 diagnostic tool, using a Bluetooth adapter:
torque-bhp.com/software/torque-android-obd2-adapters/
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Looks a bit over-the-top as a sat-nav:
tinyurl.com/5wlm3gr
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Not specifically motoring though if you dont want to share your Outlook contact info with Google and are worried about Android viruses then this is great application, it sits on the PC and sync Outlook data with Android without needing to even log in to Google.
www.android-sync.com/
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>> Android viruses
Like all phones on 3G/GSM networks, an Android phone cannot accept incoming connections - the phone has to initiate the connection by polling a server. Likewise phones don't see each other. It's because phones use NAT'd addresses. It will have to change because the model does not scale.
However, installing any application on an Android phone or iOS device (iPhone, iPod, iPad) could lead to someone snooping on you or putting something malicious on the phone. The biggest danger with any of these smartphones are the apps you install.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 17 Jun 11 at 10:49
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Instamapper allows you to record a route and view it later on a map. Also records speed and altitude data. I found it useful last year while we were house-hunting; it helped to eliminate wishful thinking from my calculation of commuting times.
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For anyone using the PocketGPS camera alert database, they have an app for Android and iPhone.
iPhone/iPad:
itunes.apple.com/gb/app/cameralert/id336238843?mt=8
Android:
market.android.com/details?id=com.pocketgpsworld.cameralert
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>> P.S. Great idea for a thread
I suggested it in the mods mess room back in March (just after I got my iPhone) but never got around to starting a thread. Well done RF for starting it instead.
ps, who gave you the key to our mess room to steal my idea?
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 17 Jun 11 at 13:02
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Dave, there is an uprising starting.........
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Renault RS Monitor
Auto trader
ebay app is handy for watching car auctions
Game called iPark It
The AA days out app when you're out a drive and fancy stopping off somewhere
Wolfram Alpha for when NC's not about :-P
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The RAC traffic app (android or iphone) is useful for spotting congestion before setting off.
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Indeed the RAC app is very good. Used it yesterday to/from Solihull.
Another app that can be useful (on Android but not sure of iOS) is TrafficEye. It allows you to see live traffic cameras. You can add some as favourites for a journey and check thumbnails quickly. Images are a few minutes old from the Highways Agency website.
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When did Google add the traffic widget. First impression was this is pretty cool... except it seems to be keeping GPS attempting to lock on. Well that's the battery flat.
And for the test I did, it is saying it's 2hr 38min away... not without speeding it isn't because it was 200 miles away.
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Not sure to be honest- suspect it came with a recent update to Google Maps. I am running it off WiFi at the moment with GPS off .
I havent really used it in anger myself, but just thought it was of interest although the time for my journey home looks a bit ambitious and thats only 10 miles or so - I guess the timings should not be taken too literally but to give an indication of the traffic volumes.
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I've not tried this out yet either. Got a big journey to Scotland soon so I'll have to test it. Looks like a handy guide at first glance.
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Got an iPhone?
Do you want to print those pictures of your car (tenuous motoring link)
Up until now you could only print to certain HP WiFi enabled printers.
Well not anymore. Download the Epson iPrint app (for free) and you can now print to your wireless Epson printer.
itunes.apple.com/uk/app/epson-iprint/id326876192?mt=8
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 5 Jul 11 at 21:00
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Mileage on Android is a good app, tracks fuel, costs, distance covered. Just be careful to set it to uk gallons, thought my car was getting terrible mpg until I realised (after four months) that it was working in US gallons!
header changed to reflect the subject that was posted
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 7 Jul 11 at 10:31
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aCar on Android is good, and is available free or as a 'pro' version. Allows you to keep records of motoring costs.
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Some like Zero have rated Navfree for the iPhone... well its now on Android too.
Not tried it yet and I won't use it much because my car now has satnav built in.
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>> Some like Zero have rated Navfree for the iPhone... well its now on Android too.
I rated it very poorly.
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So I won't bother downloading it!
Did you rate a free satnav application for iPhone well though? Maybe I just thought you did?
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Nah, I dont rate the Iphone as a suitable device for sat nav, so even a good application, like TomTom for iphone, is compromised in usability, let alone a poor app like Navfree. It never made it back onto the iphone after the IOS5 upgrade shambles.
I rated a mapping application, MotionX GPS very highly, but that is not a sat nav for cars application.
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>>MotionX GPS
That was it. I have paid alternative. I had it for Symbian so swapped to Android (ViewRanger). I think some Android alternatives are better. I have MemoryMap which is not Android compatible yet. But bought it several versions ago etc but have most of the UK.
I still like (but not used much) the inbuilt sat nav. The warnings for turns is not as good as TomTom... but the MFD display does tell you what you need to know well in advance. I am being harsh because of a recent wedding in the middle of nowhere recently (approach road was no wider than a car and no passing points). So trip home from middle of nowhere with new sat nav system not ideal. I know I could have used the TomTom 720 I have.
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As shown on Monday's Gadget show.
www.onavo.com/
Anyone used / using it? It claims to let your monthly data allowance go that bit further.
Installed it, then paused and cancelled when asked my concent for settings on my iPhone to be changed.
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 14 Dec 11 at 13:01
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On my Android phone I use 3G Watchdog to monitor Internet usage.
market.android.com/details?id=net.rgruet.android.g3watchdog&hl=en
There will be others too. This one is free unless you go for the improved Pro version. Must be similar on the iPhone?
In the end I went for the pro version (still cheap at £1.95). It tells me how much I've used, estimates what you will have used for the month etc. and keep track of what has been used by apps.
For roaming it breaks out the roaming data usage too. I can use about 25Mb/day for £2/day when roaming and checking what you have used is useful. I don't have roaming on all the time.
Some of these features are built into Android 4.0 but few of us will have that yet.
So what does the onavo app do extra?
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If you are on O2, have a look at GiffGaff:
giffgaff.com/
Costs me £10 a month for a Goodybag - provides 250 minutes, unlimited text and unlimited data. You can normally transfer your present number to GiffGaff if it's on a different network.
A useful app passed on by one of the offspring is App 2 SD:
tinyurl.com/3pw4tsh
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Who needs an iPhone4S with the Siri chip for voice commands when this App will do 'almost' the same thing on your old 3GS or I4.
Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
itunes.apple.com/gb/app/voice-actions/id422037126?mt=8
pannous.net/voiceactions/#features
Perhaps not very useful, but can be entertaining.
Works on android phones as well - obviously obtain it from the android marketplace, not the App Store.
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 1 Mar 12 at 02:17
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I have just come across this App which searches for 01 or other numbers when one dials an 0800, which is not free from a mobile. I am assuming that most of us have have a monthly allowance of free calls associated with our bill I do not know if there is Android equivalent It is called "08Mate". One activates it on screen. then dial the 0800 number and it searches for a truly free number, tells you what it is and dials it. My experience to date is that all 0800 do have a land-line alternative.
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0800 wizard for the iPhone does a similar thing. Can also be used for 0500 and 0808 numbers, as well as 0800.
Anyone know of an app that changes 0898 numbers to land-line alternatives ;)
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08Mate says that this facility is coming soon. I say don't hold your breath but it is good for a freebie and thanks for the nod to 0800 wizard!
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>> 0800 wizard for the iPhone does a similar thing. Can also be used for 0500 and 0808 numbers, as well as 0800. Anyone know of an app that changes 0898 numbers to land-line alternatives ;) >>
This is the Android version of the SayNoTo0800.com service:
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slackersoft.android.no0870&hl=en
Don't know if it will work with 0898 lines.
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0800 calls are free from a GiffGaff account.
TVCatchUp is free virtually instantaneous TV coverage for smart phones, tablets and PCs:
www.tvcatchup.com
M8 is a free UK live sat nav app - maps, satnav, traffic, speed camera and comprehensive local info:
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.telmap.navigator.ukd2c&hl=en
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Being new to this 'smartphone' business, I still tend to use it as a phone, but as my Nokia Lumia 800 Windows phone was free with contract i have started to exploit its capabilities.
I have put on 'counters' orange wednesdays, os maps, skymap, weather channel and plane finder. The latter is particularly favoured amongst pilot friends who recognise stuff flying overhead!
Other apps do not seem to work well at all, including kayak, skyscanner,shopsavvy and trip advisor.
And I think it is possible to share apps amongst friends who use the same network, but will have to look into 'how' if that is the case.
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>> Being new to this 'smartphone' business,
....
>> network, but will have to look into 'how' if that is the case.
>>
>>
Did you see my reply to you:
www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=12514&m=280643&v=e
If you want to try an alternative to Whatsapp, there is KIK kik.com/
weather: Metradar
Planes: I use Flightaware and Flightradar24
Last edited by: John H on Tue 8 Jan 13 at 16:09
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Thanks John H, I did all those things you recommended apart from downloading maps to Nokia 'Drive'...not sure how to do that but will get more savvy friends to do it for me, and i reset the date on 'counters' so should be accurate once the date comes around!
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>> downloading maps to Nokia 'Drive'...not sure how to do that
>>
www.nokia.com/gb-en/support/product/nokia-drive-plus/userguide/
[extract below - but missing images]
"To save on data costs when travelling, save new street maps to your phone before your journey. If you're running low on space, you can remove some maps from your phone.
Tap Nokia Drive+ > > Settings > Manage maps .
To download maps on your phone, you need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Tap .
Select a continent, a country, and an area, if applicable, and tap Install ."
www.nokia.com/gb-en/apps/nokia/drive/
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I just hate the word contraction "apps".
Sloppy English.
Last edited by: Roger on Tue 8 Jan 13 at 18:20
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>> I just hate the word contraction "apps".
>> Sloppy English.
>>
As are sentences which do not include a verb.
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No worse than 'pram' or 'fridge', I'd suggest, Roger. And isn't it more an abbreviation than a contraction?
};---)
One odd side-effect of 'app' going mainstream: the IT trade (guilty) has been using it (or sometimes 'appl') for decades. Now we have to carefully say 'application' to make it clear we're not referring to something that runs on a phone.
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>> One odd side-effect of 'app' going mainstream: the IT trade (guilty) has been using it
>> (or sometimes 'appl') for decades. Now we have to carefully say 'application' to make it
>> clear we're not referring to something that runs on a phone.
>>
Agreed.
It is just a "new" American word conjured up for the new world of IT and iPhones, and one that Apple are trying to copyright the trademark "App Store".
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"No worse than 'pram' or 'fridge', I'd suggest, Roger."
or
gym
phone
flu
bra
cello
and no doubt numerous others
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>> ... and i reset the date on 'counters' so should be accurate once
>> the date comes around!
>>
I've found Counters resets itself whenever it feels like it. Look at the reviews. Since the recent update it seems to have settled down on my Lumia 710 but I've no confidence.
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Puffin web browser for the iPhone and Android.
If your smartphone platform and won't let you run websites that have flash content, then this App will.
There's a free 14 trial version, or a £1.99 version for the iPhone. You can get the trial period extended with referal codes. Not sure if the same costs apply to Android.
www.puffinbrowser.com/index.php
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I use Puffin, it can sometimes be a little slow (as it needs to work through its own servers) but it does the job for me.
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I was on holiday in Italy recently and found this iPhone App very useful. So long as you are connected to the internet you can use Ring Credible to make calls to virtually anywhere in the World at the same flat rate of A. 5p Connection charge B. 2p a minute to a landline and 5p a minute to a mobile. Free download and then buy credit and use it. Hope some you may find this useful!
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Useful Motoring Iphone & Android apps. - DP
