The app, available now on the Google Play Store, allows users to connect with their cars via Bluetooth (this works for all cars, not just Volkswagens, and people with older cars lacking Bluetooth can use the app manually) as well as to their Google+ account. While in the car, the app provides useful information such as location, time, and weather, keeping track of each drive automatically.
What makes this app fun is social integration with Google+. SmileDrive can automatically organize and upload photos and statuses on the trip, and users can add fellow passengers to include their updates in a single travelogue. While on the road, users can unlock stickers by completing special, fun objectives, like traveling on holidays or passing a car identical to yours. For longer trips with multiple stops, users can create SmileCasts which share the latest updates and locations at a special URL on Volkswagen’s web site. Finally, when you reach your destination, the app generates a SmileScore based on how much “fun” your trip was.
Watch the official announcement below:
The app is part of Google’s Art, Copy & Code initiative, aimed at partnering with major brands to explore the future of advertising through computer science. As a Google-sponsored product, it is available only on Android and is integrated exclusively with Google+.
While this may be disappointing to Google+ users on other mobile operating systems, it gives people an additional incentive to use Google+ instead of other social networks. If successful, the app could even bring a new wave of users to Google+.
If you live in the US, why not give it a, ahem, test drive?
Do you think Google+ integration is useful and fun for car trips? Share your thoughts in the comments!