Hey there everyone,

Was wondering if anyone has stumbled across this new app that is about to be released for iPhone (currently in pre-order stage)? Its called Automatic and comes with the 'Automatic Link' which you plug into your diagnostic port. It then links to your iPhone through Bluetooth and provides a ton of data through the Automatic App.

It tracks every trip that you take and will tell you thinks like fuel efficiency per trip, time in the car, miles traveled, average speed, and if you accelerated quickly, braked quickly, or were driving excessively fast (over 70MPH).

It also uses your phones GPS to mark your location when you park you car, so that you can retrieve the location on your phone in the event you forgot where you parked. It does not however use real time GPS to track the location of your car (in the event it gets stolen).

The most useful feature I feel is that it provides you with alerts when your check engine light comes on with detailed descriptions of the code, the potential problems that caused the code, and the ability to reset the ECU (and mechanics nearby who can fix it!). (no more holding the gas pedal for a time interval I cannot remember).

Oh - and it will dial 911 when it detects a crash and send your name location and vehicle description.

All in all for 69.95 its not that much more than an OBD II scanner with a ton of extra features (and no subscription cost).

You can check it out at www.automatic.com.

Let me know your thoughts!

 

^^^ I will tell you this....I switched from Apple to Android for this one main reason....

I removed my radio/nav and wanted to have something in the dash which will serve as a input for music (pandora/slacker) and serve the purpose of navigation (google maps)....then I thought, why not have a diagnostic tool and this is where I found TORQUE PRO....Its $5 on the Android Market and is it AWESOME !!! So I spend the $5 there and $15-20 (dont remember) to get a OBDII BT scanner....never have I been sooooo happy....

yes, I am asking you to switch to Android LOL...

 

EDIT: I just checked the video and seems like a great way of telling people where you are....and the 911 feature is cool, but other than that, I would still go with another monitoring/logging tool....

 

haha I dont plan on buying this considering I drive my car MAYBE 5 miles a week these days but wanted to share with the community.

And I would never switch to Android....ever.....

 

I HATE ANDROID...... NEVER. I bought a NOTE 2, plastic and cheap, slippery and flimsy.

I RETURNED THE NOTE 2. I LOVE MY IPHONE5.

 

The Automatic app will support both Android (fall) and Iphone (May), so haters can be satisfied no matter what type of phone they have

 

It's a matter of personal preference, people. Android doesn't suck, just like iPhones don't suck. They do the same things and it caters to different groups of people in the details. It's not worth breathing fire over.

Just understand that with iPhone, you do have the "walled-garden" approach, where it means there are far fewer apps and interfaces available to use your phone as an OBD2 scanner and diagnostic tool. Granted, the few that are out there are excellent, but you are paying top-dollar for them, because for it to be recognized by your iPhone, it has to be officially supported by Apple.

Android, although it exists on a plethora of terribly, even cheaply, -built phones, has a lot more options available because Google isn't as aggressive about locking down the OS to prevent things like Bluetooth connections and connected devices. I have an Android phone, and the Torque Pro app has been one of the best purchases I've ever made, and the Bluetooth OBD2 module was dirt cheap. But yes, Android isn't as streamlined as iOS, but for someone who also tweaks their computer, I have zero problems with that since I personally get a lot of satisfaction with constantly tweaking and improving things on my own.

Again, each caters to different groups of people. No need to rag on people simply because their preferences are different.

 

This is not a debate over which Mobile OS is better, its about this App. There a many other cheaper OBD II bluetooth scanners alone that can work on any device which supports bluetooth. I find this app to be special due to the 911 calling (like almost a free built in OnStar support) and the location saving when paired with your phone. I do not want this thread to turn into an iPhone vs. Android battle.

 

The original post was about this particular app, but since the other apps (like Torque Pro) were brought up and so was Android, that's why I mentioned what I did. Unfortunately, because different apps are available on different mobile operating systems, it DOES end up being a classic Apple vs Android argument. This particular app might be available on both, but you're still not confronting the issue that Apple locks down its bluetooth device compatibility in a way that Android does not.

Unless you jailbreak your iPhone, you have serious constraints in what kind of adapter you want to use. Unlike Android, iOS won't connect to unapproved/generic bluetooth devices. Instead, you need to use a either A) Wifi-based dongle (an actual cable that connects your phone to the OBD2 port) or B) have a jailbroken Apple device to work around the bluetooth restriction. As far as I know there are still no 'Apple approved' OBDII bluetooth devices EXCEPT the GoPoint BT1 for iOS (http://gopointtech.com/products/). Any other adapter is useless over Bluetooth unless you jailbreak your iPhone.

So again, this has nothing to do with the app itself, even if it's available in the Apple App Store for your iPhone. Just because the iPhone, and the adapter being used, both have a hardware capability to use Bluetooth as a connection does not change the fact that the Apple device does not support these kinds of OBD2 adapters because of the firmware.

 

1) thank you for the tech lesson however you are preaching to the choir here as I have a Masters in Information Systems and do IT Consulting for a living.

2) This device (Automatic) is approved to be used over bluetooth in iOS so the connection will work just fine.

3) I have a jailbroken iPhone because I like to use my phone as a hot spot and not pay 30 dollars a month :-)

4) Apple's HW, specifically their glass screens and digitizers are amazing, which is the main reason I wont switch to an Adroid device. Even the gorilla glass Androids use in their new devices is unresponsive in my opinion.

 

Automatic is no different than the other OBD2 apps already available in the Apple App Store. The difference, again, is the module it's supposed to be interfacing to. No other device except the one I listed will actually be recognized by a non-jailbroken iPhone in its Bluetooth connection attempts because of Apple's BT connection restriction. That is the point I am referring to.

I'm not intending to preach to you, and your experience is irrelevant to my point. I wrote what I did for the benefit of the others who will inevitably read this thread that may not have your background and understanding of why they can't pick up just any Bluetooth dongle and expect it to work with a standard iPhone. It's not a marketing pitch to Android, or me trying to convert you from iPhones (I recommend them to my family, even though I'm an Android user, because I recognize how great they are). Just a statement that are more options available to Android users than iOS, not a judgment on one being better than the other in their function.

Good discussion, though. Seriously

 

What I am merely saying is the HW that's included when you purchase Automatic that you actually plug into the diagnostic port WILL work with Bluetooth in iOS...the app itself also includes the device which is capable of connecting in the iOS (no jailbreak needed).

 

 

So you hate samsung.

I use torque pro also, with a dedicated leftover samsung note. It's cool.

 

Lets not divert from the topic guys....we already have 249 threads on Adroid vs iphone

I think this is a cool app....kinda goes a step further from the Torque and other apps....am not sure if I want to share where I am and where my car is, but am pretty sure that can be turned off....