It is hard to believe that it took until the year 2020 for the Android Auto media software to come to the motorcycle industry, but yet here we are – five years after the software’s initial release.
Available on Harley-Davidson motorcycles starting in March of this year, now we see that the Honda Gold Wing will also include Android Auto (the Gold Wing was the first motorcycle to have Apple CarPlay too, by the way).
Chances are that if you are a regular Asphalt & Rubber reader, that means you are a pretty tech savvy person. So first of all, congratulations on your choice to get your motorcycle news and opinions in digital form, rather than waiting three months for the print guys to get their act together. Huzzah!
Of course, this also means that you have had to suffer through the endless onslaught of “Top 5” lists that have inundated motorcycle “journalism” the past year or so. I’m pretty sure that in a few years, we will look back at the whole BuzzFeedification of news as the second worst idea to hit motorcycle journalism, right behind the idea of a content paywall — but I digress.
That being said, I did want to share with our A&R readers five apps that I use on my iPhone everyday, that maybe you haven’t stumbled upon. So in the interest of better living through technology and all that jazz, I’ve created my own little Top 5 list — Yes, I’ve died a little bit on the inside because of this article.
Hopefully though there are couple apps on my list that you haven’t heard of, which will cause the overlap of your Venn diagram of “motorcycles” and “technology” to grow just a little bit more, and those make my personal ethical sacrifice worthwhile.
I realize in advance that this list leans towards iOS users. I’m hoping commenters will leave a few apps in the comments section that I might have missed (especially on other platforms), so we can spread the love around.
Tomorrow starts the Isle of Man TT — one of the greatest two-wheeled motoring events on this earth. Two weeks of epic motorcycle racing on city streets, if you haven’t been to the TT yet, you really must schedule a trip to meet the Manx. Until you can book those travel plans, we have the next best thing (besides following the TT on A&R, of course): the Isle of Man TT smartphone app.