Voice related applications are growing at a very fast pace and one can’t deny that the number of accidents due to mobile usage have also increased. To safeguard users from such kind of situations, State Farm Insurance Company unveiled the new On the Move widget for Android-based devices. The service seamlessly integrates into devices and automatically replies to incoming text messages about the driving situation.
Claimed to be the insurance industry’s first Android widget, the icon conveniently deals with the issues of disturbed driving. Users can create and preload altered messages on the icon which will automatically respond to all incoming messages effortlessly. Rather than reading and replying while driving, users can activate the service and the rest should be performed by the widget.
Laurette Stiles, Strategic Resources vice president at State Farm, stated, “It is our hope that this widget will prevent crashes and save lives. This new service will help drivers manage the temptation to read or respond to text messages when they are behind the wheel. We wanted to make this widget available free-of-charge as just one of the ways we’re working to keep our roadways safe for drivers.”
The National Safety Council claims that about 200,000 crash accidents take place only due to the drivers who are busy texting messages while driving. The created responses by mobile buffs will further be stored in a library for future usability. Although the service works on all incoming texts, users can also limit the senders list on their smartphone address book. Other than activating the service before driving, they can also utilize it while in class, gym or in a movie.
“It’s amazing what can rise to the surface when you unleash the collective power of thousands of employees. So often our people are required to pick up the pieces in the wake of a car crash. This type of innovation helps us prevent such tragedies from happening in the first place,” commented, Susan Hood, Claims vice president at State Farm.
Furthermore, by starting the auto-response feature, the widget will automatically compose or select response messages and incoming messages will be accessible on the inbox anytime. Presently the service is not available for Blackberry, Windows Mobile or iPhone devices but the company is planning to soon launch it for these platforms also.
The On the Move widget will be made available on the Android Market from August 23, 2010 for free for Android OS 1.5 and above. The service will be accessible only if users update the PocketAgent application and will receive the widget on their smartphone home screens.