Mobile App

  • Parking Meter

    Start-ups aren't just judged by the sums of cash they've collected; they're also judged by the names and reputations of those investors. In the case of Streetline, the company recently upped its profile by landing a major deal with IBM, which could result in big improvements on the parking front. The partnership began last November when Streetline won the IBM SmartCamp World Finals and the title of IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year. Since then, the company -- about which we've written before -- has been working with IBM's venture capital arm to find ways for the two organizations to work...

  • Car Accident Sidekick app from the American Lawyer Academy
    Car Accident Sidekick App Claims To Find Nearby Ambulance-Chasers

    Ads from ambulance-chasers make life worth living. Many are so outrageous, so ridiculous, so covered in schmaltz that viewers can't help but smile. But the times they are a-changin': a new app for accident victims could make such cheesy TV spots obsolete. The app is called "Car Accident Sidekick"...

  • Nokia Car Mode, using MirrorLink
    2011 Frankfurt Auto Show: Nokia Merges Cars & Cell Phones

    Last spring, we told you about Terminal Mode, a new protocol being pushed by GM, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Volkswagen, and other automakers, as well as handset manufacturer Nokia. Terminal Mode (now known as MirrorLink) promises to make smartphone integration in cars much easier, and during this...

  • SignalGuru
    SignalGuru Uses Crowdsourcing To Time Stop Lights & Save Gas

    Stopping is inefficient. When a vehicle comes to a complete stop, it wastes energy, frittering away gas while idling, and consuming even more to get moving again. This is in part why we're seeing stop-start technology become commonplace in today's greener vehicles. But what if drivers didn't have...

  • Chadwick Martin Bailey study on smartphone & tablet usage habits, May 2011
    Taps For TomTom: The Standalone GPS Unit Is Dead

    The lightbulb killed the gas lamp. The DVD killed the VHS tape. And now, the world is preparing for the death of another invention past its prime: the standalone GPS device. We've been expecting this funeral for some time. Google Maps' debut on smartphones was a bad omen, and each new travel app...

  • Google Street View car
    Use A Mobile Device? Google Street View May Know Where It Is

    UPDATED: See below. If you use a mobile device -- a laptop, a cell phone -- you know how great it can be to stay connected on the go. But as we've seen with the Apple iPhone and even with RSS feeds on the Nissan Leaf, mobility often comes with its share of privacy headaches. The latest issue?...

  • Backseat Driver app from ToyToyota

    At a time when most major manufacturers are scaling back and focusing on core products, Toyota has added a brand -- and along with it, a new toy to keep kids occupied on road trips. The brand in question is ToyToyota, and its first product is an app called Backseat Driver. Backseat Driver is different from other driving games because it uses the handset's GPS and accelerometer to match in-game play with the direction and speed of the real-world car that the player is sitting in. In a nutshell, the player's car follows along behind the "Papa Car" (i.e. the real-world car), picking up goodies...

  • Google Maps with traffic data for Munich and Madrid
    Planning A European Road Trip? Google Maps Has Traffic Info

    For many of us, the thought of motoring through the backroads and byways of Europe sounds like a dream vacation, but such trips come with their share of challenges -- namely, unfamiliar roads, signs in foreign languages, and, like anywhere, rush hour traffic. (Hey, someone's gotta keep punching the...

  • GMC Showroom Mobile App for iPhone
    GMC Brings Its Showroom To The Smartphone

    According to Nielsen, Americans are finally shifting to smartphones: 38% of mobile users already have one, and the majority of those shopping for new handsets are planning to purchase one in the near future. General Motors is hoping to cash in on that development with its new GMC Showroom App. Like...

  • Al Franken
    Al Franken's New Bill Guards Your Privacy On The Mobile Web

    Privacy has long been a serious issue on the web. Now, a new bill authored by Senator Al Franken wants to address some of those concerns -- and from where we sit, it's arrived just in the nick of time. In the early days of Web 1.0, long before the rise of social networking, privacy concerns...

  • Volvo On Call app for iPhone
    Volvo Launches Beefed-Up 'Volvo On Call' App For iPhone, Android In Europe

    Volvo was one of several auto brands cast off from its parent company during the recent recession. The majority of those marques were shuttered (e.g. HUMMER, Pontiac, Saturn), and one -- Saab -- is struggling to keep the doors open. Volvo, however, has managed to stay the course, and a new app...

  • iOnRoad app
    iOnRoad App Brings Collision-Avoidance To Your Smartphone: Video

    If you're in the market for a new vehicle, you might be tempted to go for something with high-tech safety features, like a collision-avoidance system. At the moment, though, most of that technology is tied to luxury rides or comes as pricey add-ons. But if you've got an Android smartphone, a new...

  • Gas Buddy

    If you're one of our U.S. readers, you're probably (well, hopefully) preparing for a three-day weekend. And although gas prices are sky high, chances are good that many of you are planning road trips over the Memorial Day holiday. If you're in that number, we'd like to suggest a few apps that'll make your mini-vacation more enjoyable. Of course, there are the obvious choices -- the ones we've covered before like Pandora (for music), Aha (for news and more), Waze (for traffic), and Roadside America (for those wacky side-trips). There's also the Road Ahead app, which keeps tabs on nearby...

  • eBay Motors app infographic
    The eBay Motors App Arrives At Last, But Can It Save The Day?

    We expected the eBay Motors app to arrive in March, but it missed that deadline by a couple of months. Now that it's finally arrived, can the app redeem itself by preserving eBay's standing as a worthwhile shopping destination? There's no denying that eBay has lost luster over the past few years...

  • Pulled over by the police
    Senators Push Apple, Google To Nix DUI Apps -- But Does It Matter?

    In March, we told you that four U.S. Senators had pushed Apple, Google, and Research In Motion (creators of the Blackberry) to remove apps that revealed the location of DUI checkpoints. At the time, RIM was the only provider that agreed to do so, but now Apple and Google have indicated that they...

  • Homer Simpson
    Homer Simpson Squeezes Into TomTom's App For iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch

    Given the vast number of free navigation apps available for Apple, Android, Blackberry, and Windows handsets, we've been more than a little skeptical about the future of satnav makers like Garmin and TomTom. After all, why should consumers shell out for a fairly limited piece of hardware when they...

  • State Farm Driver Feedback app for iPhone
    Uh-Oh: State Farm Is Watching (And Rating) Your Driving, Too

    Remember Progressive's Snapshot program? Sign up, and the agency sends you a device that plugs into your car's onboard diagnostic port and lets Progressive know how safely you're driving. Score well, and your auto insurance rate could plummet. Score poorly, and your rate might go up. Now State Farm...

  • Li Chao, Executive Deputy General Manager of Shanghai OnStar Telematics
    OnStar Is China's First Automotive App

    General Motors has made huge inroads in China, and now, those inroads have grown a bit wider: yesterday at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show, GM launched its smartphone app for China's OnStar subscribers. The OnStar app for Chinese drivers is nearly identical to the one that subscribers in North America...

  • BMW EVolve app

    Electric vehicles and other alt-fuel rides are big news these days. Tech fans and green enthusiasts can't wait to get their hands on 'em, while others think that hybrids and their eco-friendly kin are part of a vast communist conspiracy. No matter where you fall on that spectrum, there are many things to consider before dumping your conventional ride for something greener. EVs, for example, are fine for most work commutes, but current models aren't practical for longer trips because of range limitations and long recharge times. If you're on the fence, there's now a tool that can evaluate your...

  • Partridge Family bus via Wikimedia
    Yes, People Will Take The Bus -- But Only With Help From Apps

    Here's a question that we've heard a lot at High Gear Media: what does it take to get people to ditch their cars and take alternate transportation? Soaring gas prices make people travel less but don't really change their travel methods. Having an abundance of mass transit options doesn't have much...

  • Classic Car Guide app for iPhone
    Search For Vintage Rides (And Get Insurance Quotes, Too) On 'Classic Car Guide' App

    We've seen a handful of apps for classic car aficionados, and we've seen apps for insurance quotes and claims, but until now, we haven't seen those two services combined in one handy format. Enter the Classic Car Guide for iPhone and iPad. The Classic Car Guide lets fans of vintage rides search for...

  • Parking In Motion app
    Parking In Motion Tries Its Hand At Building A Useful Parking App

    If we were app developers, the next-to-last frontier we'd want to conquer -- right after organ donation -- would be parking. By their very nature, cars are constantly in motion, taking and leaving spaces in parking lots, garages, and on city streets. Maintaining an accurate database of available...

  • Screencaps from the Sheen's Ravines app
    Charlie Sheen Shifts To An Even Smaller Screen -- As An App Developer

    Like the streets of his beloved Hollywood Hills, Charlie Sheen's life is full of twists and turns. The actor has a reputation for being a party boy, and his tumultuous life has been well-documented in tabloids and tweets. But Sheen's recent meltdown gave him the opportunity to reinvent himself --...

  • Cobra iRadar for Android
    More Things Lawmakers Will Hate: Cobra iRadar for Android Debuts April 4

    Last week, four U.S. Senators expressed outrage over smartphone apps designed to reveal the location of DUI checkpoints. As they said in letters to Apple, Google, and Blackberry, "Giving drunk drivers a free tool to evade checkpoints, putting innocent families and children at risk, is a matter of...

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