I have a dilemma with radar apps: they seem efficient to me in terms of performing their functions, but their interfaces seem (in general) much less polished than browsers. Considering that most of them are paid and that I am an occasional driver, the result is this; I always use Google Maps or Waze on Android Auto.

I admit that I prefer Waze to Google Maps, but I’m also confident that the official app crashes less than Waze (this won’t be the first nor will it be the last time Waze freezes or shuts down). And yes, both applications have at least fixed radars… When it comes to mobile phones, one often has to resort to the community and its warning efforts. The truth is that we can always miss some radars thanks to Google Maps. I discovered this trick for Android Auto.

Google Maps on Android Auto is better with the radar app behind it

I had the opportunity to thoroughly test several radar applications, and the one I liked the most among the free ones was ‘Fixed and Mobile Radars’. It works with Android Auto and It warns of fixed and mobile radars, traffic lights and cut-offs. Even with ads you might want a little more for this price (Otherwise you always have to go to the cashier and pay 3.99 euros to say goodbye). In fact, it is clear to me that it leaves Waze and Google Maps far behind in this regard. Of course, as I warned in the introduction, the design can be improved.

Now it’s worth remembering one thing: Android Auto allows Having multiple compatible applications open at the same timebut in lowercase letters. Let me explain: on the same screen you can see a navigation application and a smaller application, a messaging application and another audiovisual application, in a few words, for example Google Maps, WhatsApp and Spotify. But no, you cannot display two browsers on the screen at the same time.

So it’s not possible to see Google Maps (or Waze) and Fixed and Mobile Radars… but it’s possible to have them on. The trick is to always have one visible in the foreground and another working from the back to orient yourself from the starting point to the destination. So Google Maps will guide me and ‘Fixed and mobile radars’ running in the background but well configured.

This is not much of a mystery: we download ‘Fixed and mobile radars’, which is available free of charge for Android in the Google Play Store and once opened, We allow notifications (There are visual and audio warnings, we will use the latter). Then we enter the destination and select the route. And we left it there open and running.

Then all that remains is to open Google Maps and select the route and write the destination. So I orient myself with Google Maps and when a radar appears it may or may not appear on Google Maps, but I’m sure I’ll get a notification about ‘Fixed and mobile speed cameras’ to allow me to verify that I was going at the correct speed. If you wish, there is always the option to tap the notification to position the radar application in the foreground on Google Maps, but normally a sound alert is sufficient.

• Download ‘Fixed and mobile radars’ for Android for free from the Google Play Store.

Cover | Eva Rodríguez de Luis

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