Dash cams are the car cameras. If we don't have enough money, we can use an old smartphone. Here's how to do it
Frequently and willingly when we buy a new smartphone we tend to give away or sell the old device at a low price. If we own an Android phone, however, before replacing it we can think about using it as a camera for the car.
Transforming the old Android smartphone into a dash cam (this is the name of the car camera) will allow us to save a lot of money for some car accessories. Dash cams are very fashionable in some countries, especially to have video evidence in case of accidents. The old smartphone thanks to some applications and simple steps can become a dash cam for the car, but can also do much more than just filming.
Smartphones for cars
The accessories to have are the smartphone dashboard mount and a cable for charging, along with the USB adapter for the vehicle's power outlet. All accessories that, if we do not have them, will cost us a few tens of euros. At this point we just have to download an app for in-car video surveillance. There are several on the Google Play Store. There are those that show footage in real time and save the videos in the memory of the smartphone, and then there are those that record our every trip and save it in the cloud. Some of the best apps of this kind are: DailyRoads Voyager, AutoGuard Dash Cam, AutoBoy Dash Cam, Car DVR & GPS and CarooO.
How it works
Once the application is installed, starting to use the smartphone as a camera with built-in navigation is simple. First, we insert the smartphone into the holder in a position that is convenient to view without losing control of the road. And let's make sure that this position can be reached by the charging cable. Let's not start driving right away, but first let's do some tests from a standstill, so that we know the interface well. This will prevent us from "fiddling" while behind the wheel in traffic.