Using your phone while on the road is extremely dangerous. A safer way to stay connected is to use a hands-free kit. This is great if you want to make calls, but less helpful if you're dependent on the myriad of messaging services currently in use.

Enter Drivemode, which has been kicking around the Google Play Store for some time now. At a very fundamental level, it provides a gesture interface for a number of apps and system functions, essentially allowing you to safely use your phone without even looking at the screen. It also supports the composition and sending of SMS messages through voice recognition.

A recent update has expended its offerings even more, bringing into the fold a number of popular messaging apps, including WhatsApp, Line, Google Hangouts, Gmail, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Google Inbox, and more. When a message lands on your phone, Drivemode will read it out to you and offer you the option to dictate a reply.

The voice recognition is powered by Google's own offering, which is exceedingly good. Not only was it able to accurately decipher my broad Northern English accent, it understood my fiancee's New Jersey drawl. If you want to try it yourself, you can download it for free from the Play Store.

Via: LifeHacker