How To Use An Old Phone As A Dash Camera
03rd Jan 2017
After 29 of the country’s leading car insurers announced that they would accept dashboard video footage as evidence in the event of a claim, sales of dashboard cams have rocketed over 900% year-on-year.
Some insurance companies actually offer a policy discount for users of dashboard cameras in their cars.
We have a simple trick to help you save money on dashboard cameras... by using your old smartphone! If you have an old smart phone and the camera functions correctly, let's get it set up on your dashboard.
Getting started
What you'll need to get started:
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Charging cable, which is long enough to reach your car’s power outlet or USB port
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Constant power source
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Ability to make sure the cable is secure - do not want charging cable to get in the way of your handbrake or gear stick.
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Dashboard or a windscreen mount - make sure that the camera is at the right angle, perfect for capturing the best view of the road
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Secure mount
What the app needs to do:
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Record constantly
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Track the GPS location of your car (if your smartphone has a SIM card installed)
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Provide some helpful information like your current speed and the date and time.
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Adjust the quality of the video.
Tip: Many smartphones (not iPhones) allow you to insert a memory card, so you can always increase space if you need to.
AutoBoy Dash Cam (Android)
AutoBoy Dash Cam has a really nice, simple, interface that is very easy to use.
Benefits of the app:
- Customise the size of the video
- Customise the aspect ratio
- Zoom in and out
- Automatically delete recordings
- Old files are removed and then replaced with new ones
- Stops phone’s memory getting clogged up
- Intelligent crash sensor
DailyRoads Voyager (Android)
DailyRoads Voyager has been around since 2009, and works like a charm.
Benefits of the app:
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Automatically records everything
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User can choose an important event to keep just by touching the screen
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Quality is customizable
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User can choose to record sound
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Crash sensor which automatically notes accidents it detects
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Free with some ads
DashCam Viewer
If you have an iPhone, Dashcam Viewer is a great dashboard camera app.
Benefits:
- Records high quality video
- Tracks route
- Shows speed and distance
- Adds a time overlay to the footage for you
- Choose how much of the phone’s memory can be taken up by the apps footage
- Won’t fill the device with unnecessary old videos
Nexar – AI Dashcam (iOS)
Nexar is a truly excellent driving app, with a huge a variety of features.
Benefits of the app:
- Automatic detection of hard braking and accidents
- Intelligent storage management
- Deletes unnecessary and old footage
- Record with the front-facing camera
- AI (artificial intelligence)
- Scans the road ahead of you to analyse other traffic - helping to avoid oncoming incidents
- Can automatically provide a collision reconstruction report with all the data and evidence
- Free
