From predicting the weather to contact friends, smart phones make life a lot easier. But communication and weather apps aren’t the only things your smart phone can provide; they make driving easier too.
With all the little annoyances that come with driving, you’ll be glad to have these apps tucked away in your pocket.
Google Maps – Pre-packed onto pretty much every phone out there, this is the benchmark for all other map applications. There too many useful features stuffed into it to mention here, but we’ll touch on the most useful for you.
The first and most common use for the app is its directions function. It turns your phone into a sat-nav offering accurate, turn by turn navigation helping you find your way home or to the beach with ease. And when coupled with the Google Earth app you can make use of street view too. This shows images of the location you’re headed, so if you haven’t been there before, you know exactly what you’re looking for.
When in the app if you swipe from the left hand side you can hit the ‘traffic’ button. The app then alters the colours of roads to show how busy they are. So you’ll be able to find the quickest and least congested route home.
We can’t express how useful this app is; not just in driving, but in every other scenario when you need a little help finding your way.
You can download it here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.maps&hl=en_GB
WhatGas Petrol Prices – Isn’t it annoying when you shell out for an expensive fuel stop, drive 5 minutes down the road and spot a petrol station that’s selling it cheaper?
It’s enough to make you pull your hair out.
If you know what we’re talking about then download WhatGas to your phone. Designed to help you keep in check of petrol prices it’s the perfect app for anyone who spends a long time behind the wheel. Open it up and it’ll show a map with the nearest petrol stations and the cheapest prices for Unleaded, Diesel and Petrol.
It’s a community too; allowing you to share your cheap petrol discoveries with other drivers. There’s a pro version with a few more features and a free version. We’ve linked the free version below.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whatgas.android
Find My Car – Imagine: you arrive at the airport to jet off on your holidays. You decided to drive rather than pay out for a taxi. When you arrive, the car park is a sea of vehicles. You catch sight of a spot, rip the steering wheel round and dive into the space. Sorted. But when you come back, how are you going to find your car in the endless horizon of gleaming roofs?
There’s an app for that!
Find My Car makes hunting down your parked car easy. It’ll take note of the GPS position, and can then use Google Navigation to guide you back to it. It does this and a whole lot more; well worth it if you’re forgetful.
Download the app here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.elibera.android.findmycar&hl=en
Spotify – Music makes spending long hours on the road a lot more fun, but that CD you’ve had in your car for a year has become a little tiresome.
So download Spotfiy; with it (providing you’ve paid for premium) you’ll have literally millions and millions of songs at your fingertips. You can even create a playlist of your favourite driving tunes!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.mobile.android.ui&hl=en_GB
Oh, and one last point. Make sure you use your phone sensibly; no driving and using it at the same time. Purchase a hands free kit!