MobileNavigator, Magellan, and TomTom. To find points of interest nearby while you're tooling around, install apps like Yelp, Urbanspoon (Android and iOS and a cheap gas locator. Or check in with Facebook Places to find out which friends and hang-outs are nearby.

Your touchscreen device can also serve as an entertainment hub. Grab some new MP3s from iTunes or update your podcasts while you're waiting at a stop light. Also, try the streaming jukebox apps from Mog, Rdio and Rhapsody.

Tip: If you don't have a touchscreen mobile, go second-hand. People upgrade frequently, so search for a used model on Craigslist or eBay.

Set up your car

To make your setup semi-permanent -- and slicker than just a phone in your pocket -- mount that mobile on the dashboard.

Grab some velcro strips with glue backing from your local fabric store (or plain velcro and bit of strong, double-sided tape). Find a suitable flat surface on your car's dashboard or center console and secure the bottom half of velcro to your dash. Put the other half on the back of your phone. If you're securing a tablet like the iPad or something else heavy, make sure you get one fat velcro strip, or use two strips.

Next, plug your car charger into your car's lighter and run the cord up to your mobile. Bonus points if you can get the cord behind the dash, out of sight and tangle-free.

If you're using your mobile to play music, just pick up a cheap auxiliary audio cable (ask for a "stereo-mini to stereo-mini" cable) and run it from your Phone's headphone jack down to the auxiliary jack on your car stereo. They are usually on the faceplate these days, but older stereos may have the jack in the back of the unit.

If you can't get to the back of the stereo, or the stereo doesn't have any inputs, pick up an FM transmitter and you'll still be able to pipe your tunes into your car stereo.

Tips

Throw a solar charger into the setup. It will power your smartphone and free up your car's lighter to charge anything else you might need on the road -- a netbook, Nintendo 3DS -- or, god forbid, to light a cigarette.

Don't mount your phone or your iPad anywhere near your car's airbags. Also, keep it relatively low on your dash. An mounted iPad is easy to use on the go, but it would be pretty painful to have one hurled directly at your face if you were in an accident.

Don't cover any of the air vents in your dashboard.

Mount a unit or two in the back seat if you've got kids -- they can plug in their headphones and watch movies, play games, or surf the web while you drive.

This page was last modified 00:31, 8 September 2010 by pstatz. Based on work by snackfight and howto_admin.

Authors: How-To Wiki

to know more click here