Here’s an easy inexpensive way to connect to the data in car on Android via Bluetooth. Dash claims it can “make any car, a smart car.”
Dash is similar to Automatic, using Bluetooth and a connection to the OBD-II port to gather driving information and make suggestions. Automatic, however, currently only works with iPhone(Android coming soon) while Dash works with Android and will be available for iPhone in the future.
The Android Dash app works with any generic Bluetooth OBD2
Basically, you install the OBD-II device under your car dashboard (for all cars after 1996) and the dash app. Then pair the OBD-II device with the Android smartphone.
The dash app offers ways to improve your driving and gas efficiency. It will give you coupons and deals for car service. It shows where the cheapest gas is nearby. It also show estimates for the most common repairs.
Dash gives real-time diagnostics on car performance such as the “Check Engine Light’ diagnostics to fuel level. Dash also gives information on road conditions, and your driving style with suggestions.
Dash has a social tool in which you compare your drivings scores with your friends’ scores. The better you drive, the more bumper stickers and promotions you unlock. (We think are really good part of this app in the future could be if the user ever texts while driving the score is lowered by 30 points or more..)
Dash offers multi-car support and automatic VIN decoding, to track analytics across vehicles.
In the future, Dash will offer Emergency Service. Dash is currently available from the Dash website or Android market. It requires Android 4.0 or higher.
Dash is building the ‘Automotive Graph’ – an open platform for the road, enabling smarter driving for everyone. Dash has an API available for third party developers.