Как NFC-метки решают проблемы голосового управления в Android Auto

Joe Fedewa has been writing about technology for over a decade. Android and the rest of the Google ecosystem have been a focus for years, as well as reviewing devices, hosting podcasts, filming videos, and writing tutorials. Joe loves all things technology and is also an avid DIYer and food blogger. He has written thousands of articles, hundreds of tutorials, and dozens of reviews. Before joining How-To Geek, Joe worked at XDA-Developers as Managing Editor and covered news from the Google ecosystem. He got his start in the industry covering Windows Phone on a small blog, and later moved to Phandroidwhere he covered Android news, reviewed devices, wrote tutorials, created YouTube videos, and hosted a podcast. From smartphones to Bluetooth earbuds to Z-Wave switches, Joe is interested in all kinds of technology. After several years of jailbreaking and heavily modifying an iPod Touch, he moved on to his first smartphone, the HTC DROID Eris. He's been hooked ever since. Android Auto is all about accessing the apps on your phone while driving, and Google Maps is probably the most important. It’s easy to use the digital assistant to start navigation, but for your most frequent places, an NFC tag is even better. Unfortunately, voice controls in Android Auto have been a bit lackluster since the switch to Gemini. It’s no longer possible to ask for directions to people in your contacts, for example. Not to mention it simply talks too much sometimes. NFC tags are a cheap solution to getting quick and reliable directions to your common locations. Setting up a Google Maps automation with an NFC tag All it takes is one simple app Before we do anything, you’ll need some NFC tags. If you’ve never looked into them before, you’ll probably be surprised by how cheap they are. I bought this pack of 20 NFC stickers for only $9, and it’s more than I’ll probably ever need. With that out of the way, let’s get started. I’ll be using a classic Android app called NFC Tools. This app has been regularly updated for over 13 years. It’s free, easy to use, and an absolute must-have if you’re going to be playing around with NFC tags. Here’s the process for programming a specific location to an NFC tag. Open the NFC Tools app and hold your NFC tag to your phone until it’s recognized. You’ll see a bunch of information about the tag when that happens. Next, go over to the “Write” tab and tap “Add a record”—this is the action that scanning the tag will trigger. The record you want is called “Destination address.” There are a couple of location-based records, but this is the one that will launch turn-by-turn navigation to a pre-determined address. Enter your desired address and tap “OK.” Lastly, adding a record will make the “Write” option appear in the same tab. Tap it and hold your NFC tag to your phone until a green checkmark and “Write complete!” appears. That’s it! It's worth noting that, while NFC Tools works well, it's not the only game in town. If you already use an app like MacroDroid or Automate, you can do the same thing with them. Search for "NFC" when choosing a trigger, and you'll be guided through a similar process of writing a tag. Quiz 8 Questions · Test Your Knowledge Technology Arrives in Vehicles Trivia challenge From crackling AM radios to touchscreen dashboards — how well do you know the gadgets that rode shotgun through automotive history? Car RadiosMedia PlayersNavigationDisplaysPioneers 01 / 8 Car Radios What year did Motorola introduce the first commercially successful car radio, the 5T71? That's right! Motorola launched the 5T71 in 1930, and the product's success is actually how Motorola got its name — a blend of 'motor' and 'Victrola.' It retailed for around $110 to $130, which was a significant sum at the time. Not quite — it was 1930. Motorola's 5T71 was such a hit that the company renamed itself after it, combining 'motor' (for car) and 'Victrola' (a popular phonograph brand). The radio cost nearly as much as some used cars of the era! 02 / 8 Car Radios Which U.S. president's administration first raised concerns about car radios being a dangerous distraction to drivers? Correct! During the Hoover era in the early 1930s, several states and safety groups debated banning car radios as dangerous distractions. The debate sounds remarkably familiar given modern concerns about smartphone use while driving. Actually, it was during the Hoover administration in the early 1930s. As car radios became commercially available, safety advocates and lawmakers pushed back, fearing drivers would be distracted — a debate that echoes loudly in today's discussions about phones and infotainment screens. 03 / 8 Media Players The Chrysler Highway Hi-Fi, introduced in 1956, used a special record player built into the dashboard. What made its records unique? Spot on! The Columbia-designed Highway Hi-Fi discs spun at 16⅔ RPM — half the speed of a standard LP — and measured just 7 inches across. This slow speed allowed longer playtime per side, which was perfect for a road trip. The correct answer is that they spun at 16⅔ RPM and were smaller than standard records. Designed by Columbia Records specifically for Chrysler, these discs held up to 45 minutes of audio per side, but the system was plagued by skipping on bumpy roads and was quietly discontinued within a couple of years. 04 / 8 Media Players Which automaker was the first to offer a factory-installed cassette tape player as a standard or optional feature in its vehicles? Correct! Ford offered an optional in-dash 8-track player as early as 1966, but was also among the first to adopt cassette players in the early 1970s as the format gained popularity. Ford's early embrace of in-car audio helped set the standard for the industry. It was actually Ford that led the charge. Ford offered factory-installed 8-track players starting in 1966, and was among the earliest adopters of cassette players as that format rose to dominance in the 1970s. Cassettes eventually outsold 8-tracks entirely by the late 1970s. 05 / 8 Navigation What was the name of Honda's groundbreaking navigation system, introduced in the 1981 Honda Accord in Japan, that used a gyroscope and had no GPS? Excellent! The Electro Gyrocator was a pioneering piece of tech that used an inertial navigation system with a gas gyroscope to track movement. It displayed the car's position on a transparent map overlay — with no satellites involved whatsoever. The answer is the Electro Gyrocator. Honda's 1981 system was revolutionary for its time, using a gyroscope to estimate position on a translucent map overlay. Since GPS wasn't available to civilians yet, it relied entirely on dead reckoning — tracking speed and direction from a known starting point. 06 / 8 Displays Which was the first mass-market car to feature a factory touchscreen infotainment system? That's right! The 1986 Buick Riviera featured a touchscreen 'Graphic Control Center' that controlled climate, radio, and trip information. It was years ahead of its time, though drivers found the glass screen difficult to use while driving and it was eventually dropped. The correct answer is the 1986 Buick Riviera. Its 'Graphic Control Center' was a touchscreen panel that let drivers adjust the radio, climate, and check trip data — decades before touchscreens became standard. It was widely criticized for being distracting and hard to use on the move, which ultimately led to its discontinuation. 07 / 8 Car Radios FM radio became widely available in cars during which decade? Correct! While FM had existed since the 1940s, it wasn't until the 1970s that FM car radios became widely available and affordable. FM's superior sound quality over AM helped fuel a massive growth in FM radio stations throughout the decade. The right answer is the 1970s. Although FM radio technology dates back to the 1930s and 40s, it took decades for the infrastructure and consumer hardware to make FM a practical in-car option. By the late 1970s, FM had surpassed AM in popularity thanks to its much cleaner, static-free sound. 08 / 8 Media Players The first car to offer a factory-installed CD player was introduced in 1984. Which manufacturer built it? Well done! Ford's Lincoln Town Car offered an optional in-dash CD player in 1984, making it one of the first vehicles in the world to feature the technology from the factory. It was a premium luxury feature at the time, costing hundreds of dollars extra. It was actually Lincoln, Ford's luxury division, that introduced a factory CD player option in 1984. Offered on the Lincoln Town Car, it was an expensive add-on that signaled the beginning of the end for cassette tapes in vehicles — though cassettes hung on well into the 2000s in many cars. Challenge Complete Your Score / 8 Thanks for playing! Using the NFC tag in your car Find a spot and stick it The only thing left to do is find a spot in your car to stick the NFC tag. If the location is somewhere you go every day, you might want to put it in a place where you typically set your phone while driving, like the center console. Of course, there’s no reason you can’t use multiple NFC tags for multiple destinations, and it might be worth going the extra mile and making some sort of location “dashboard.” For example, I printed out a very simple card with icons for a few locations that I regularly travel to. Now, I can simply tap my phone to one of the icons, and when Android Auto is running, it will immediately navigate there. This is handy because, while I know how to get to my common destinations from home, I don’t always start there. Wherever I am, I just tap my phone to a tag and get directions. Sure, Gemini can usually handle simple stuff like this, but I have found that analog solutions often take out the guesswork. There’s no thinking about how to phrase a command and hoping that Gemini gets it right. I know for a fact the tag is programmed to the exact location I want.