Android Apps
Vlingo adds hands-free “InCar” mode for Sprint customers
October 7, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka
Travel
Androinica.com has often tried to highlight apps that minimize the danger of in-car phone use, and Vlingo has just released an app that does that fairly well.
Vlingo has updated its popular Android app to include a hands-free option so users don’t have to reach for the phone or look away from the road. With the Vlingo InCar beta, available only for Sprint devices with 2.1+, users can issue a wake-up call to say “Hey, Vlingo!” to issue commands. From there, users can call numbers, send text messages, navigate to a location, and use the SafeReader function to have messages read aloud.
I just took Vlingo InCar for a quick spin and it’s cool but definitely beta. There were a couple of times that I had to say “Hey Vlingo” two times to activate and, as it states in the warning, InCar eats battery. I recommend connecting it to the charger when using.
Download the update from the Market if you are a Sprint customer with a Froyo device.
Too cool!!
After playing with it for a while, I can say this is a great app. I found that it can do a lot more commands that the simple examples they give you here. I love the accuracy, the read back feature with prompts for actions or corrections and also the SafeReader feature to read incoming mail and text. If this would have the ability to have pages and customization to add apps, shortcuts and widgets it would be ideal. I would pay for something like this. Currently I use Custom Car Home, which is nice to add shortcuts and widgets. I also like the Google Card Mode's GUI, but it lacks customization of shortcuts and widgets and also a SafeReader option. For sure, I will be using this for a week and see how it goes.