Bluetooth Messaging App?

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ptcallaghan

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Ok so for me, communicating to other passengers in my vehicle can be quite difficult especially when I am driving as I dont want to take my eyes off the road long enough to lip read the person talking to me. Quite often this results in the look of death (j/k or not really) from my fiance as she has this need to be listened too. Of course I torment her by simply mouthing "I can't hear you.." over and over until she stops talking or we get to a stop light and I can divert my attention. I also do a tonne of driving for work either in the driver or front passenger position. That is better as at least I dont need to focus out the window as much.

So heres what I am thinkin....a bluetooth app that would allow anyone in the vehicle with a capable phone (smartphone) of sending a message to either a smartphone, a tablet or even an in dash unit.

Why not just use texting?? well for one thing this app would allow unlimited messages without having to worry about using up my plan. I suppose, in theory if it used Bluetooth it wouldnt even need an active phone, just a charged one. That way I could give one to each passenger and they can message me to their hearts content all without carrying 3 or four data plans.

I am late deafened so of course I would just respond with my voice. All this while just having to momentarily glance down at the screen, certainly much better than a full 10 second or more head turn away from the road.

I have found a few possiblities with a quick search but I was wondering if anyone else has any experience with a specific app. I dont currently have a smartphone but I will be getting a BB from work in a few weeks likely.
 
You cannot text while driving this could get you pulled over even if you are caught just reading a text message on a phone.. There are apps for messaging like bum or live profile but you'd still need a data plan and no there isn't anything yet for messaging that uses just bluetooth to transmit
 
Like I said I being the driver wouldnt be texting at all I would be talking normally.

I know where you are coming from, but in my opinion it is the lesser of two evils....major distraction by turning my head completely away from the forward position to lip read or a quick look at the unit mounted to the dash. This is certainly no worse than following the map on a GPS unit or searching for a radio station. Ideally the screen would be large enough that I could easily read it in a quick glance.

Having said that, I am not really interested in the legality of the setup, more the feasiblity of it... I am aware of the distracted driving laws in Ontario

And there are Bluetooth messaging Apps available such as Bluetooth IM for the iPhone/ iPod Touch. As I said I dont currently have a smart phone and am therefore unable to test these utilities out...:tears: I was hoping someone else might have some experience

BT Chat for iPhone is another one...
 
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I know some people have talked about using a small whiteboard and marker to communicate with a deaf driver....this is just a 21st century way of doing that.
 
There are texting apps that don't require a carrier. Ipod touch 4 is an example of one of them, by using textNow and textPlus, you can just send texts using wifi signals rather than having to buy a plan from a carrier.

The problem with that, is like anything free, it's not perfect. You can lose messages or it skips messages.

There are bluetooth messaging apps already out there, maybe you were looking for the wrong things.

Check out Bluetooth Chat for android, or alternatively, Bluetooth Chat for Iphone/Ipod. I don't know about the BB world unfortunately, I have no passion in there. :P
 
Here it is illegal to read texts while driving.
 
Bottesini said:
Here it is illegal to read texts while driving.
Click to expand...

One of my earlier childhood daydreams revolved around see-through LCD's and hovering glass, so I could touch a panel on the front windshield in my car and be able to read chats on it at the same time! :wave:

The technology for this is now out, but I wonder if we will ever get Jetson-era technology for the time being.
 
naisho said:
One of my earlier childhood daydreams revolved around see-through LCD's and hovering glass, so I could touch a panel on the front windshield in my car and be able to read chats on it at the same time! :wave:

The technology for this is now out, but I wonder if we will ever get Jetson-era technology for the time being.
Click to expand...

Well yes. Did you know they now have a retinal implant a little like cochlear implants?

The woman I read about had it for two years. She was no light perception, and now can see very basically, like shapes of doorways and the light in the refrigerator, and very big print like on a wall.

That is pretty amazing. :wave:
 
Ontario Distracted Driving Law

Actually for about the last year and a half Ontario has had a "new" distracted driving law which governs all this stuff. Namely talking on a cell phone or texting.

The following excerpt is from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation website

"Ontario's ban on hand-held devices while driving took effect on October 26, 2009.

The law makes it illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices.

Using a hands-free device is permitted as long as the device is placed securely in or mounted to the motor vehicle so that it does not move while the vehicle is in motion. The driver should be able to see it at a quick glance and easily reach it without adjusting his or her driving position. For example, it could be secured in a cell phone holster, placed in the vehicle's cup holder, or fastened to the dashboard. It should not be sitting unsecured on the passenger seat."

From this and subsequently reading the Ontario Highway Traffic Act...what I am trying to do is perfectly legal as the device would be mounted either to the dash or windshield. And I would be able to see it at a quick glance and easily reach it eg to open the text. Essentially I am using the iPhone or whatever in a handsfree manner to the driver. The passenger would of course be hands on with a second unit.

I thought about just using an iPad and a whiteboard app but then technically it probably wouldnt be securely mounted and would not pass the requirements of the law
 
naisho said:
There are texting apps that don't require a carrier. Ipod touch 4 is an example of one of them, by using textNow and textPlus, you can just send texts using wifi signals rather than having to buy a plan from a carrier.

The problem with that, is like anything free, it's not perfect. You can lose messages or it skips messages.

There are bluetooth messaging apps already out there, maybe you were looking for the wrong things.

Check out Bluetooth Chat for android, or alternatively, Bluetooth Chat for Iphone/Ipod. I don't know about the BB world unfortunately, I have no passion in there. :P
Click to expand...

No I think you are on the right path here...I didtn realize you could wifi chat between two devices without have a router or something. I figured it needed internet access to use the apps.

Ill have to get my brother to try one of these out on his iPhone and let me know how it works
 
naisho said:
One of my earlier childhood daydreams revolved around see-through LCD's and hovering glass, so I could touch a panel on the front windshield in my car and be able to read chats on it at the same time! :wave:

The technology for this is now out, but I wonder if we will ever get Jetson-era technology for the time being.
Click to expand...

They show something like this on the Lexus SUV commercials I have seen recently. It looks like they have the turn by turn directions (maybe more) right up on the windshield.
 
AliciaM said:
It is also illegal in the province that pct and I reside in as well
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You beat me to my post lol...

My interpretation of the legislation (albeit biased) is that it would not be illegal so long as it is mounted to the dash or similar. As soon as i unclip it and hold the unit in my hand then it would be illegal.
 
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