AutoMate brings Android Auto style app to all
AutoMate is a car dashboard app that provides you one-tap access to most of the most commonly used applications and needs one has while driving.
If you’ve been following the app since the beta days, it has just entered the Play Store after a lengthy beta.
AutoMate looks and feels like Android Auto with several extra features thrown in. It also doesn’t require a specific device built into your dashboard. If you’ve been rocking a dash-mount for your phone, chances are this is the app you’ve been waiting for.
There are both free and premium ($3.17) features. The free features involve mapping, searching for places like gas stations and food with a click, phoning favorites, voice control for navigation and music, shortcuts to favorite apps needed during a trip, media control using gestures, send and reply via voice, speed limit alerts and more.
The premium features include waving your hands over the device to perform actions, traffic camera alerts, customizable wallpapers, and startup options (such as autostart when a bluetooth device is connected and there’s power).
There are options to auto reply to many different incoming message types (Hangouts, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.) telling someone you’re driving and will get back to them later. Incoming messages can be read aloud (although I will admit nobody has texted me or messaged me, so I’m taking that on faith).
Overall, if you’ve got a need for a navigational app, AutoMate probably will not disappoint. The free version is completely useful, you don’t feel like it’s missing anything. The premium version is just gravy.
If this threw in OBD2 monitoring and front and rear camera recording for liability/driving videos, it would be a complete solution to every single tech lacking I have in my car.
Try it, and if you like it, plunk down the $3.17 for an in-app purchase to help support this development.
Be aware at all times though that you’re driving a large metal object among beings who will break if you smack into them, so don’t put your attention on the app too much. Also be aware that in some contexts the app may not be legal in your neck of the woods.
Be careful out there!
Download: Google Play
