Driving Mode

With the amount of accidents caused by cell phone use and driving, you would think someone would come up with an app to read you your texts, tell you if someone is calling, and everything in between. Well, you're in luck! Before we get too far, let's find out where this function is. The iPhone version of this is the "Do Not Disturb" function located in the settings, but from what I could tell, the "Driving Mode" function is only an Android and Windows thing. I am using a Galaxy S3, so I would assume it is available on at least anything newer than that. To turn the functionality on, you will need to go to Settings -> Language and input (under Personal) -> Text-to-speech output. Driving Mode should be on the bottom.

  

If you click on it, you should get a screen that looks like this:

In this screen you will be able to choose what you want to happen when Driving Mode is on. Each option gives you a brief description, so I'm not going to go through each one individually. The two options I feel would be the most helpful are "Incoming call" and "Message," but the only thing this functionality does is read the caller/texter's name out loud to you. To me, this seems like it would be just as distracting, if not more distracting, as the phone ringing. To solve this, you could uncheck everything, and it wouldn't notify you at all which would be very similar to the Do Not Disturb setting on the iPhone. 

When I tested this, I had my phone on loud, it still rang, and in the middle of it ringing, there was a voice telling me who was calling. It took about 5-10 seconds for it to read the name of the caller which just means I would most likely answer it before I even hear the name. That's exactly what happened. The first time we tested it, we hung up before their name was even said.

I guess in conclusion, this "app" doesn't really do what I would want it to do. What I would expect it to do is block incoming calls and text messages and not allow you to call or text anyone until you turn Driving Mode back off (something like this). It is a great idea, but I don't think I will be leaving it on. 

Amber Klostermann