Tell Us Your Favorite Auto App

Why not write one for the Android OS?

Car Minder is by far the best iphone/ipod app out there to keep track of all car maintenance. I can keep track of all needs for all of my cars and track gas mileage.

Waze (www.waze.com) is a free social navigation app. It’s on android, blackberry and iPhone.
Every person running waze is also a real-time traffic reporter, so the more people using it, the better it becomes.
What really sets it apart though, is that they’ve made the app really, really fun to use. (Would not have thought a turn-by-turn GPS app could be fun, but they pulled it off!)

Or you could get Waze, and have the ability to update it yourself, based on the area that you know best. waze.com – works on iPhone, android and blackberry

I also use waze. You can notify people of accidents, speed traps and construction. Best of all, it is free!

I use Waze for navigation/traffic/speed trap info. It’s free for almost all smart phones, and it will let you listen to the cartalk podcast while you navigate. Best of all, the company has a sense of humor, you can change the voice navigation to Elvis or even Santa (or boring normal voices).

  1. I haven’t had the time (I do this in the evenings)
  2. Android has not yet proven to be a profitable market for selling applications.

I’m keeping an eye on it and if people ever start spending serious amounts of money on Android apps, I will be there.

I have used CarMinder for well over a year and really like its functionality. We have 4 vehicles and all 4 can be tracked for routine maintanence, repairs and gas mileage! It is very easy to use.

I am addicted to Waze! It’s an awesome free crowdsourced road intelligence app for iPhone/Android/BB/Symbian/Windows Mobile that provides live traffic, reroute just by virtue of people running the app. Unlike traditional GPS/nav apps you use when you are lost or going somewhere new, Waze is intended to be used every commute even to familiar destinations and the anonymous traffic data each user contributes automatically benefits everyone.

It collects anonymous traffic history too so it knows if the drive is slower along a particular road at a certain time of day and then suggests a faster route. What makes it great is that it has so many other features including the ability to report police, photo radar intersections, accidents. You can even record new roads not available on other services like Gmaps and Mapquest and then go into the road editor called the cartouche and input road name, type, etc. Throw in some pacman like munching of dots and road goodies along roads with no traffic info to earn points to compete with fellow Wazers and you get the most comprehensive, dynamic navigation/road intelligence app that will contribute to improve as the user base continues to explode (2.2 million+ users worldwide and rapidly growing!) Great explanation here: www.waze.com/guided_tour

Waze (Android). It is a social GPS app. It uses the speed of everyone else who is using the app to determine where traffic is and help you avoid it.

Being a DIY mechanic, I like the DevToaster “REV” App for OBD2 diagnostics.
http://www.devtoaster.com/products/rev/
It requires that you purchase an OBD2 Bluetooth adaptor/dongle, but for repairs and info on the engine operating data, it is really cool.

Torque is an amazing OBDII diagnostics app.!!!
It reads/resets error codes, MPG, Dyno, 0-60-, Boost, and other info. Can GPS track and email diagnostic logs. Easily replaced my handheld scanner. Get all ECU info on the fly, don’t have to wait to hookup scanner or stop by the auto parts store for Free Code reads. Only catch is you have to have a Bluetooth adapter for your OBD port, I covered most of that cost by selling my old scanner.

Mileage app for Android

Really?

MileBug (Lite) records my tax-reportable trips and e-mails reports to my computer.
AccuFuel tracks my gas mileage.
GoogleMaps gets me there (and back). I used Telenav turn-by-turn on my old dumb phone, but prefer having a live map that I can use to get back on route and even figure out which compass direction I’m heading.
I do have iWrecked, but no occasion to use it fully (say rah).
All on iPhone.

We use two regularly. GasBuddy is wonderful for finding the cheapest gas no matter where we are. And, once I gave in and admitted I get lost, the Magellan GPS app works wonders. The GPS app was cheaper than buying a single unit, and we use it when we are traveling and are in a rental car. Couldn’t live without either!

SpeedView for Android is a GPS app that includes a speedometer (HUD format available), odometer, timer (moving time, stopped time, and total time), compass (a standard compass and one situated above the speedometer), and accelerometer. It also gives your current location.

I have one from Bosch called “Light 'Em Up” that uses the accelerometer in my iPod Touch to generate 0-60 times, skidpad and horsepower calculations (shaft or brake), etc.

I use Torque on my Android. You need a cheap bluetooth adapter to connect to your car’s computer port then you can see error codes, view all kind of graphs and gauges live (just try not to use it while driving!!)

My favorite “app” on my phone would be my Garminfone itself. It is an android-based smart phone made by Garmin. The Nav is built in and calculates routes faster than any GPS I’ve used and puts Google maps to shame. And since the maps are pre-installed there is no need for data connection to use the Navigation function.