I recently stumbled across a smart phone app so incredible that I feel it’s my duty to spread the word.  This app is DriveSafe.ly and if you text message or email from your phone you NEED to check this out!

What is DriveSafe.ly™?
DriveSafe.ly™ is a mobile application that reads text (SMS) messages and emails aloud in real time and automatically responds without drivers touching the mobile phone. DriveSafe.ly is the solution to texting while driving.

How many times have you been driving and had a text message come through?  You know how unsafe it is to look down to check it, and even worse…attempt to type out a response!  Not to mention the current distracted driving laws. Wouldn’t it be great if your phone read the text (or email) out loud to you and then translated your voice reply into a return text message or email?  Or sent an automatic reply?  That’s exactly what DriveSafe.ly does!

Features

• Reads your text messages and emails out loud in real time
• Hands Free – No need to touch the phone while driving
• One-touch activation – no complicated setup
• Bluetooth and radio transmitter compatible
• Reads text message shorthand (lol, brb)
• Optional customizable auto-responder

Benefits

• Eliminates texting while driving and reading emails while driving
• Safely stay connected while reducing distracted driving
• Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road
• Be safer and more productive during your commute
• Lightweight app doesn’t slow down phone or drain battery
• Flexible app allows many customization options

DriveSafe.ly™ offers a free version of their app that limits some of the features but still allows you to utilize the program quite well.  The full featured, pay application has plans for single user, family, or business use and allows monthly or annual payment.  They have a great sale going on right now so check out the prices here!

I’ve been using DriveSafe.ly™ for a few weeks now and I’m blown away by how quick and accurate the read outs and responses are. Considering they offer a free version, I strongly encourage everyone with a compatible phone to try this app.  It’s so convenient and easy to use, you’ll wonder how you lived without it!

DriveSafe.ly™ is currently available for Android and BlackBerry phones and is coming soon for iPhone and Palm.

10/20 Update:  I just got word that DriveSafe.ly™ 2.0 is now out for both BlackBerry and Android.  2.0 allows users to respond to texts by voice completely hands free!

Click here to get DriveSafe.ly™ now!

Beejive is hands down the UpSwong.com favorite for IM applications and we received this press release about the new and exciting 2.0 BlackBerry upgrade which adds a ton of features.

Beejive, the comprehensive IM Solution Adds Facebook Chat, GPS Location, Voice Notes, Support for the BlackBerry 5.0 Operating System, and More

Beejive today announced the immediate availability of BeejiveIM for BlackBerry 2.0, the most full-featured IM application available on the BlackBerry platform. This fast, modern, and highly customizable BlackBerry app supports Facebook Chat, GoogleTalk®, AIM®/iChat®/MobileMe®, MSN®/Windows Live®, Yahoo!®, MySpace, ICQ®, and Jabber, allowing users to access all of their IM accounts from one user-friendly app. With BeejiveIM, users can experience the always-on connectivity and feature richness of desktop instant messaging from their BlackBerrys, making it much easier and more cost effective to communicate than via texting.  From now until January 1, 2010, BeejiveIM for BlackBerry 2.0 will be available for fifty percent off, with device licenses available for only $9.95 and user licenses available for only $14.95 from www.beejive.com/buy.  At these prices, using BeejiveIM to send instant messages is substantially cheaper than most text messaging plans.

BeejiveIM for BlackBerry 2.0 adds a multitude of new key features that enable users to stay in touch more effectively than ever.  Already a full-featured social networking application, BeejiveIM 2.0 now includes:

• Facebook chat: Chat with your Facebook friends while on the go, and see a record of your chats on facebook.com.
• Clickable Twitter usernames: Click on a Twitter username in a chat to launch Twitter.
• Refined and responsive UI: Take advantage of BeejiveIM’s custom-written user interface, offering speedy and responsive controls and a modern look-and-feel.
• Voice notes: Instantly record and send voice messages to your IM contacts. Voice notes are perfect for on-the-go chatting, such as when you are walking down the street or need to get information to someone quickly and don’t have time to type.
• GPS location: Send your current GPS location with a link to Google Maps, taking advantage of your BlackBerry’s location features and adding a new location-aware element to your chats.
• More chat styles: Customize your chat styles and colors and set different backgrounds and wallpapers.
• File transfers with all IM services: Easily send, receive, and review file attachments, and see previews of images right inside your chat.
• Push notifications: Whether running in the foreground or the background, BeejiveIM will always notify you of new instant messages.
• Improved Battery Life: Staying in touch with all your friends is now far gentler on your battery.
• Support for the 5.0 OS and Storm: BeejiveIM supports all BlackBerrys running 4.2.1+ and 5.X operating systems, including the Storm and Storm 2.

These join an already long list of features, including:

• Group chats: Chat with groups of contacts on AIM®, Yahoo®, MSN®, and Jabber.
• UI Customization: Customize your buddy lists, chat layouts, bubble styles, and more.
• Logging: View your chat history, and email yourself logs of your past chats.
• Buddy Icons: Show icons for all contacts in your buddy list.
• Clickable Hyperlinks: Click on real hyperlinks in chats, allowing you to browse, call, tweet, email, text, or PIN message directly from a chat screen.

“Mobile phones are now full-fledged social networking tools and remote offices, and we enable the millions of BlackBerry users to always stay in touch with their friends and business contacts on virtually any chat network,” said Kai Yu, founder and CEO of Beejive. “With BeejiveIM for BlackBerry 2.0 we’ve added a long list of powerful new features to help users stay in contact while minimizing their text messaging expenses. And, in the spirit of the holidays, we’re cutting the price in half, the biggest sale we’ve ever had. ”

Pricing and Availability

BeejiveIM for BlackBerry is available with two different licenses: a $9.95 device license and a $14.95 user license. The device license is for use on one BlackBerry, and if you change your BlackBerry device you will need to purchase a license upgrade or transfer. The user license is for use on one BlackBerry device at a time and can be transferred to other BlackBerrys for free. Both versions include free upgrades. On January 1, 2010, pricing will return to $19.95 for device licenses and $29.95 for user licenses.

Visit www.beejive.com/buy to purchase BeejiveIM for your BlackBerry or, to enjoy a free 30 day trial, go to www.beejive.com/download.

About Beejive

Based in San Francisco, Beejive (pronounced \b?-h?v\) is a privately held company specializing in the design and development of software for mobile devices. Founded in 2006, Beejive strives to become the world’s premier developer of fast, reliable, and easy-to-use mobile software. BeejiveIM, the initial offering from Beejive’s product portfolio, is a multi-protocol instant messaging client that connects the mobile user to the major instant messaging networks.  BeejiveIM was created to address the lack of reliable, user-friendly instant messaging applications available to mobile users. For more information, please visit www.beejive.com

I just got word that in the spirit of giving and having some fun, TeleNav is offering up Santa for TeleNav GPS Navigator. It’s not quite as cool as flying reindeer but it’s close.  From now until Dec 31, customers can have Santa provide the turn-by-turn directions and traffic rerouting. The best part about it, all the proceeds from the $.99 download are going to Toys for Tots.

From the TeleNav website:

“Tired of the same old voice giving you GPS directions day in and day out? Looking for another way to get into the holiday spirit? We have just what you need …

Beginning today and running through the month of December, we are offering Santa’s voice for just $0.99 and we’ll donate ALL proceeds to Toys for Tots. So now you can get Santa to help guide you around this season and help children in need at the same time.

You can purchase and download Santa’s voice either via your phone or our website:

Via your phone:

• Launch TeleNav GPS Navigator
• Select “Share and More”
• Select “Preferences”
• Select “Navigation Audio”
• Select “Guide Tones”
• Select “Santa Claus”

Via our website:

• Go to TeleNav.com
• Select “My TeleNav” on the top right (you’ll need your PIN number to login)
• Select “My Settings”
• Select “Device Settings”
• Select “Santa Claus”

The Santa Clause voice is only compatible with TeleNav GPS Navigator v. 5.5 and 5.8. To find out which phones support these versions, click here.

No, Santa won’t yell at you (Todd’s version is..umm..unique) if you decide to ghost-ride (although please don’t – we don’t condone it!). Here is a sample of what the TeleNav GPS Navigator Santa voice sounds like.

Thanks for helping us support Toys for Tots! Please drive safely!

Special thanks to our partner Audible Media.”

TeleNav…wow, I don’t know where to start.  I’ve spent 10 days fully evaluating every detail of this application and I can honestly say it’s a “must have” for your BlackBerry.  I have used a handful of other navigation apps, both paid and free and TeleNav is hands down the best of them all.  TeleNav offers so many services and options and is so advanced, yet couldn’t be simpler to use.  I downloaded it to my BlackBerry Storm and was getting turn by turn directions within minutes!

TeleNav’s main function is giving voice directions as you drive…and WOW it does this well!  Once you open TeleNav all you have to do is click “drive to” and you get a whole list of options…see the gallery below for a screen shot.  You can pick from options such as recent places, favorites, businesses, airports, intersections, or your address book.  You can also type in an address manually or even call it in.  As soon as you’ve chosen a destination TeleNav begins finding the route from your current location. One of the things that impressed me the most is how quickly the software finds where you are…no waiting 2 or 3 minutes like with some programs.  Before you know it a voice is telling you where to turn or how many miles to drive.  Speaking of the voice, there are plenty ways to customize the audio. You can even make it come straight to your bluetooth headset.  This can be extremely useful if you have a carload of talking passengers, a sleeping child, or would just prefer to have your directions in ear instead of out loud.

While you’re en-route TeleNav is continuously updating your location with on-screen 2D or 3D maps.  You can zoom in and out and choose from a variety of views.  I added some screen shots to the gallery but you really have to see this in real time to appreciate how fantastic it looks, especially on the Storm screen.  One of my favorite features is the display showing estimated time of arrival and how many miles you are from your current location.  At any time you can always pull up your route preview, a full zoom-able map, and traffic summary at specified segments.

The Biz Finder directory really blew my mind.  I was astonished by how many categories there were to choose from.  Gas, food, banks, wi-fi spots, movie theaters, parking lots, universities….again, check the gallery for screen shots of all the categories.  Of course any place you pick, TeleNav instantly pulls up your current location and starts navigating you right there!  The content of the Biz Finder is superior to many stand alone directory apps.

I did over 600 miles of driving with TeleNav and not one mistake!  I was especially impressed with how quickly the software was able to re-route you in the case of a detour, missed exit, or heavy traffic.  TeleNav even does real time traffic checks to help you avoid delays.  I kept trying to trick the software by taking a wrong turn but it’s too smart and would always get me back on course.  Also handy for being on course, TeleNav has a compass with a great looking interface which can be seen in the gallery.  You have to be moving about 5 miles an hour to get a reading.

TeleNav is extremely efficient with memory usage and battery life.  I monitored both using meterberry.  I let TeleNav run all day giving me voice directions and using it in every way possible.   Application memory remained stable and battery consumption was minimal.

So after all this testing I knew TeleNav was genius, but I wanted to see how well it could multi-task.  While my husband drove the car, I had TeleNav giving directions, Pandora streaming radio, was instant messaging on Beejive, browsing the CrackBerry forums on Opera Mini, and took a picture of the sunset out the window.  TeleNav just kept on cranking out the directions, unphased by all the apps I had running in the background.  This is also a testament to the magnificent multi-tasking abilities of BlackBerries.

Another ingenious use of TeleNav is to record your parking spot location.  When you park your car, hit > Tools and Extras > Record Location > Save.  You can give the location a custom label or use the default which is the date.  The location gets saved in your favorites.  When you’re ready to find your parking spot, open TeleNav and go to Drive to > My Favorites > then select whatever label you saved and the navigation will begin.  You can get directions while driving (in a cab, having a friend give you a ride, etc) or on foot.  This would be a great time to make use of TeleNav’s BlueTooth integration and have the directions come right to your headset if you’re in a busy area and want to be discreet or just simply can’t hear.  No more trying to remember your row and section and number in a huge crowded lot.  Oh how I could have used this so many times in the airport parking lot after a week long trip, or in Manhattan when I couldn’t remember which garage I parked in, no less which floor or spot!

Along with TeleNav on your phone, you get your own My TeleNav online account where you can pre-plan trips and sync them to your BlackBerry, manage contacts, and share spots with friends and co-workers.  There’s even a FireFox TeleNav plug-in.

TeleNav has so much to offer that I could go on and on all day with this review but my words and pictures don’t come close to doing it any justice.  I strongly encourage you to take advantage of TeleNav’s fully functional 30 day free trial so you can see everything for yourself.  After that it’s $10 a month which is really a steal for all that the program offers.  I think of a fast food meal or two that I spend $10 on (that I shouldn’t really be eating anyway lol) that is gone so quickly, when instead I could be enjoying all the features of TeleNav all month long!  Check out the TeleNav website for lots more details and information and to get your free 30 day trial!

I originally published this review here on BlackBerryChick.com but TeleNav is hardly just for chicks!  If you haven’t been to BlackBerryChick yet make sure to check out the BlackBerryChick forums too!

As a BlackBerry girl at heart it’s always hard for me to admit when the iPhone wins in any way. I can almost always find some way to downplay even the most obviously superior features because it’s become second nature for me to always believe my BlackBerry crushes all other devices of it’s kind. But unfortunately I must admit, as far as WordPress is concerned iPhone > BlackBerry. *sigh*. I don’t even want to talk about all the reasons why as it would be too painful…it just is. The only thing that offers a slight glimmer of comfort is knowing I can crank out posts so much more efficiently on my BlackBerry Storm keyboard.

Clearly I’ll have to go rant about this to a friend on BlackBerry Messenger as a reminder of one of the huge things I love about my Berry that the iPhone will never have.