In the smart phone arena, there is endless buzz about the latest, greatest downloadable applications and the total apps available for a given platform. Whether 100 or over 100,000, what really matters is finding good applications that matter to you.
In a previous post, we reported on a few interesting car- and driving-related apps for the iPhone. This time, we turn our attention to the Blackberry. While there may be fewer apps, we have found a couple useful programs worth considering, and they are free.
Android fans, you’re up next.
Drive Safe.ly
Price: Free, or $13.95 for Premium version
Drive Safe.ly reads e-mails and text messages aloud to drivers on the go. It also sends an auto-response to the sender to let them know the recipient is driving. Parents take note, it won’t automatically activate. The application must be active to work. While not a perfect solution to distracted driving, this app could help reduce the number of texting drivers on the road. The free version will only read 25 words and includes spoken advertising. The Premium version eliminates the ads and expands the vocabulary to 500 words. This app is also available for Android, and is coming for iPhone and Windows Mobile. (Read our full Drive Safe.ly review.)
Car Finder
Price: Free
Car locating apps are readily available for many smart phones. Like similar apps for iPhone and Android, Car Finder uses your phone’s built-in GPS and compass to guide you back to your parked car in a crowded lot. You just mark the spot when you park and follow an arrow on your phone’s screen to get back. And like other, similar apps, this one may not work indoors without a strong GPS signal. But what sets Car Finder apart from others we’ve tried is that it also offers turn-by-turn directions to help find your way back on city streets. One word of caution: Car finder won’t work on all Blackberry devices. Check Blackberry App World to see if it works on yours.
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