Tag: Driving »

Progressive auto insurance and Zubie, the app that tracks your driving habits, have combined forces to reward you for safe driving via your iPhone.

Zubie drivers plug a Zubie Key into their car’s on-board diagnostic port, which provides feedback straight to their iPhone. That information can now be shared with Progressive to earn a discount on auto insurance through Progressive’s Snapshot program.

Dave Pratt, general manager of usage-based insurance for Progressive says:

“With Snapshot, we’re always looking for ways to help more people participate in the program and save money on their auto insurance. Now Zubie customers can take advantage of this option using their Zubie Key. By using the driving data that the customer is already sharing with Zubie, we make the process even easier for customers.”

You can buy a Zubie Key for $99.95 from the Zubie Website, and download the app for free.

I’ll confess that I’d heard of Anki Drive before, but it was really only in passing. So when I was given the opportunity to check everything out first-hand, I was definitely curious. There were some surprises and a few disappointments, but after some time spent tearing around the track I couldn’t help but be impressed. Is this the next step in remote control racing? That’s not for me to say, but it’s definitely in interesting experiment.

Imagine a semi-futuristic racing game in which you can compete with your friends or AI opponents on various tracks in an attempt to upgrade existing cars and possibly gain access to new ones. Picture all of the vehicles in each race have weapons and shields. Now imagine that the cars are actually physical electronic toys you can carry around with you. Now you’ve got a good idea of what Anki Drive is.

Each starter set comes with two cars and the necessary cables, as well as a track printed on something akin to vellum. You’ll also need to download the free Anki Drive app to control everything, of course. Once you do, simply turn on your cars, place them on the track, then use the app to find them and add them to your “garage” where you can spend points won through races to upgrade their stats. When you’re ready to start, you just set up a race and select your vehicle. If you want to invite a friend they can simply select the other car, or you can scan it in yourself and race against the AI. Yes, the physical car is controlled by AI. In fact, one of the newest additions to the lineup, Corax (pictured below), can only be used as a player vehicle if it’s beaten in an AI race first.

Weapons are also important, and will allow you to incapacitate your opponents temporarily during a heated race. Or you can simply battle each other to see who scores the most hits. The interesting thing is, again, that this is all happening with real remote controlled cars via your iPhone. When a car takes too much damage or runs out of juice, it will actually grind to a halt for a few moments while it recharges itself. Heck, these things can even recognize when they’re driving the wrong way and turn themselves around automatically.

The thing is, I’m not entirely sure who the target audience is. The cars seem fairly durable and were able to shrug off the occasional collision easily, but at almost $70 apiece they’re a bit outside the realm of a children’s toy. $199.99 for the starter kit is nothing to sneeze at, either. And yet, the underlying tech is pretty darn cool. I guess you could say your mileage may vary.

*rimshot*

Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant is now available in over 250 Apple retail stores for $99.95. It's a device that attaches to your car and teams up with your iPhone to help with all of your driving habits. This means it can help you save gas, decode and clear the check engine light, and remember where you parked. It can also detect a crash and automatically call for help and alert loved ones. The best part, it's all subscription free.

"Apple sets a high bar for the quality of products they carry in their stores. We're thrilled to make Automatic available to the millions of people who trust Apple to curate beautiful and easy to use products," said Thejo Kote, CEO and co-founder of Automatic, in a press release.

Hop in the driver's seat and get ready to get some air! Asphalt 8: Airborne is going free for this weekend only. Starting today, you can grab Gameloft's latest arcade racer for zero dollars.

I hear it was worth the initial $0.99 cost, so being able to get it free is all sorts of awesome. If you don't already have it installed, now is the time!

2K Drive made its appearance on the App Store yesterday at the price of $6.99. I'm always excited when a new racing game releases, especially when it's from a company that was founded by people who worked on titles like Project Gotham Racing and Blur. So, being excited about 2K Drive and having some hands-on experience from my time at PAX, I had some questions for the guys at Lucid Games.

I would like to thank Lucid’s Peter O’Brien for taking the time to answer my questions. Alright, lets get into the good stuff!

148Apps: Why did you decide to make 2K Drive? What was the “driving” point?
Peter O'Brien (PO): A lot of the devs at Lucid either love driving games and/or cars in one way or another. Some restore them, some race RC’s, others collect coffee table books. But in essence, we love the culture of cars and wanted to bring that to a wider audience by expanding the experiences in an authentic driving game.

148Apps: There must be a lot of love for cars and racing in general within your company. 2K Drive features real-life news from racing websites, which includes videos and photo galleries. What made you decide to add this feature?
PO: Yes, there is. Some of that love came out of making driving games for years; others can spot the make and year of a car from a shut line or an engine blip. We wanted to bring the news to a wider audience, a new generation, but we also believed it would expand the idea of the app as being more than a game, giving people a reason to stay in it or come back to.

148Apps: How much studying did you do on other mobile racers during the creation of 2K Drive? There are a lot of favorites out there, including arcade racing games and “real racing” games.
PO: We never stop studying the competition, and I trust they do the same. But more importantly, we knew what we wanted to do very early on and we believed in the experience we could create. The most exciting thing for us, however, is that all of this is first generation tech. Others are on their third/fourth and we don’t see ourselves playing too much of a catch-up.

148Apps: How well do you think 2K Drive will compete against other racers and why?
PO: We hope it will do well because it offers a different package than its competition, and the handling is authentic. It’s something we think competitors have been scared of doing because of the device, but we just saw as a challenge. Our content is diverse, whether players are off-roading, track racing, stunt driving, or drag racing – no one offers what we do in one package.

148Apps: As I mentioned, 2K Drive features the live news feed along with a number of modes and options for customization. These are important things to have, yes, but it all comes down to the gameplay. What will players like most about racing in 2K Drive?
PO: The handling model is so deep that players can spend a lot of time experiencing those features with all of our cars and tracks. We’ve made sure to include what we call ‘burst’ modes, like Car Football or Car Bowling, Hot-laps, race & drifting challenges, a stream of unlocks, and solid customization options for the car and driver.

We also built in a unique multiplayer feature called RaceFace (TM). This allows players skin a photo of their own face onto that of the drivers, so that when they are competing against rivals in the seamless multiplayer system, they will be able to see real friends and players behind the wheel of the cars. It’s like your racing “selfie.”

148Apps: What do you feel will keep players coming back to 2K Drive? What’s going to be the obsession?
PO: That’s for the players to decide, but the depth of the handling and wide scope of driving experiences, mixed with the rival system and our daily challenges, offer some compelling reasons to build a 2K Drive habit!

148Apps: 2K Drive features more than 100 events, 25 tracks, and 25 cars for players to experience at launch. I’m curious though, how many cars do you have in your version of the game? Give me a hint about future updates!
PO: Ha, that would be telling. We have a few things coming very soon and are looking forward to seeing the feedback so we can refine the experience and deal with any problems. So please, do tell us what you do or don’t like in the game!

148Apps: What’s your favorite dashboard item to add to your vehicles in the game?
PO: Believe it or not, the traffic lights. It’s a retro thing!

148Apps: What’s your favorite mode in the game?
PO: I’ve got two: Survivor and any racing mode. Survivor is great because you set the target, and you get in the zone when you’re racing any type of event, because, well, it’s racing!

148Apps: Do you try to race a clean race or would you rather get dirty and run an opponent off the road?
PO: Clean. But rubbing is racing too!

148Apps: Pick one thing that we didn’t discuss that you would like to share with your fans.
PO: We had a small and dedicated team who believed in the company from early on. They made sacrifices to be a part of the project and our future, and without them, there would be no 2K Drive - so thank you. Also, a big thank you to everyone who has bought the game already, the fans who are spreading the word, and the players reaching out to help improve it. We’ll see you on the road!

I would like to thank Peter O'Brien once again for taking the time to answer our questions. I wish you and your team the best of luck with 2K Drive and I look forward to seeing more from Lucid in the future! Thank you!