What are the best in-car apps?

What are the best in-car apps?

Whether you are on a long or a short journey, it is quite a common occurrence that we use an app in some form or another. Whether it is a satnav, a music app or something else to aid the journey, there are a plethora of useful choices out there that you may not even know exist.

Apps are universal, no matter what car your driving - you could have a Land Rover lease, a Hyundai lease, or anything in between! As long as you have a relatively new mobile device and a good internet connection you can continue reading to discover some new in-car apps that you have probably never heard of before that’ll make your car journeys that little bit easier.

Your Parking Space

Your Parking Space is a new, innovative and simple app that enables you to find a parking space easily and quickly and keep track of your spending and parking permits all in one place. Download the app and find spaces near you, their prices and whereabouts they are situated. Anyone can add a parking space to the app, so if you have a parking space you would like to rent, it is easy to add it to the marketplace and to start earning money.

Your Parking Space has locations across all UK major cities, London areas, airports, train stations and stadiums. To find out where your nearest location is, just head to their locations page. 

Smart Dash Cam

We spoke to Charles Cridland, Co-Founder of Your Parking Space, he told us a little more about some of his favourite in-car apps, one of them being Smart Dash Cam. Smart Dash Cam allows you to turn your mobile phone into a dashcam, meaning you don’t have to invest in a dashcam, and it allows you to move your camera from car to car.

“I’d recommend two apps. Smart Dash Cam is the app that transforms your phone into a dashcam. It has some clever settings allowing you to decide how long you want each recorded loop to last, ensuring it won’t use up too much memory. The footage won’t be useful frequently but there’s always that one time when you wish you had a dashcam recording what occurred.”

iCarMode

iCarMode is a one-stop-shop for all your in-car needs. With a large and easy to use interface, the app includes all the things you could need for a long journey. From radio stations and music controls to maps and car parking apps to make your journey as easy and stress-free as possible. We spoke to Diego Resnik from iCarMode, he told us why the app is a must-have for all drivers:

“iCarMode is definitelythe first app I open whenever I enter my car, it’s a part of my car’s dashboard. I love hearing music while I'm driving and with iCarMode and its big buttoned interface, I am able to play my favourite tunes from my device, my Apple Music subscription and sometimes just discover new tracks from a recommended playlist at Spotify with minimum taps and distractions.

iCarModeactually is a one-stop-shop for all your in-car needs, it has a great radio feature that allows me to listen to a variety of radio stations and podcasts from around the world. It also allows me to easily call my favourite contacts, find my parked car in a big parking lot and find a good cup of coffee or restaurant nearby when I get to a new place.”

Waze

Waze is one of the most popular in-car apps on the market and for good reason. It is the ultimate app for navigation and live traffic updates as well as informing drivers of speed cameras. 

Rachel Bustin who blogs at Home In The Pastures recommends Waze as one of her favourite car apps: “One of my favourite in-car apps is Waze navigation and live traffic. Waze is an easy to use app and it's very accurate for alerting you to traffic jams, accidents, and speed cameras. It will give you an instant route change and tell you when you will arrive. It does many other things as well, like letting you know where is the cheapest petrol station on your route.”

Netflix

Not always the most popular choice, but Netflix is a great app to have downloaded on longer journeys, especially if you have children. Having Netflix on your phone or iPad is a great way to keep children or yourself occupied on long and boring journeys.

“One of our most used in-car apps has to be Netflix on long journeys” says Hayley from Devon Mama. “Whilst we're all for wholesome family activities and days out, trying to entertain small and often tired children in the car can turn into a huge battle. Instead, we're able to stream their favourite shows, lock the screen and let them watch them in peace; great for those moments where you want to stop them from falling asleep before you get home, or when you need to concentrate on finding the right directions.”

Spotify

Another choice that may not be as obvious but is one that’ll elevate your car journeys to another level, Spotify is the ultimate music and podcast sharing app that makes it easy for you to listen to your favourite songs and podcasts on your journeys in your car.

Hayley also thinks Spotify is a top choice for longer journeys and is something the whole family can get involved in, with picking songs and listening to different podcasts: “We're also big fans of Spotify to ensure that we can play our favourite tracks on the go; whether that's songs for the kids or ones for us to sing along to (badly) when we're in the car alone, having that variety at our fingertips makes any driving experience more enjoyable.”

Travel Bingo

Want to keep yourself occupied on a long journey and want to get the whole family involved? Travel Bingo will be your new best friend. Travel bingo allows each member of the family to tap on the object, road sign or attraction as they pass it on the journey, with the intention of gaining a line first and being the bingo winner. Simple and easy to play, this is a real favourite among all ages.

Charles from Your Parking Space agrees: “Secondly, Travel Bingo is an entertaining app to keep younger passengers busy. Within the app a number of objects and road signs are displayed, the goal being to click off the tiles as you spot them. It’s always a good app to have if embarking on a long journey with kids.”

No matter where you are travelling to in the coming months, it is worth downloading some of these apps before your next journey to make the whole experience that little bit more enjoyable, whether it is Travel Bingo or the all-inclusive iCarMode, you’ll never travel in the same way again.