Apps that take you farther

In this post I wanted to inform all of the owners that drive electric vehicles on three OnStar apps that have been previewed at the GM Electrification Experience. There were three total smartphone apps that were previewed at the GM Electrification Experience. Two of the three apps are used to figure out the "range anxiety" and the public charging costs in the areas that you are in. The third app gives driving an electric vehicle a competitive spin. The three apps that can be used are Waypoint, Park-Tap-Charge (PTC), and the Volt Driver Challenge app.

The Waypoint app is used to help drivers figure out if they can reach a certain destination on the current charge that they have. If they cannot reach that destination, Waypoint will map out a route with specific directions to that final destination that have charging stations along the way. The only drawback of this app is that it will only work with GM's new Chevy Spark model. This app is set to come onto the market in 2013 when the Spark is schedule to come out.

The Park-Tap-Charge app is used to give drivers an estimate of the charging costs of the specific areas that they are in. This app will provide the hourly rate of using the charging station, and the estimate time and cost of a full charge. Drivers will pay these costs through the PayPal method.This app is still in the developmental stages but is in the works to being completed.

The final app, the Volt Driver Challenge app will allow electric vehicle owners to compare their driving stats against others around the globe. Everyone has some sort of competitive drive within them, so this app creates, in a sense, a game that challenges drivers to be more efficient with their driving. This app will award badges and more mileage to those who are more efficient compared to other drivers. This app, as you can see also only works with one vehicle, the Chevy Volt and can be used by any Volt owner with an OnStar account.

These three smartphone apps show us how far technology can take us. Two of these apps give you vital information that people may need while driving from place to place. The third app gives a competitive spin to drive more efficiently, which in turn benefits the environment that we live in. With technologies like this we are on the right way of becoming environmentally friendly.

I found this information off of cleantechnica.com if any of you would like to see for yourself. Here is the link for you to check it out.

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/11/26/new-smartphone-apps-will-help-boost-range-of-gm-electric-vehicles/