Look, No Hands! with Logi ZeroTouch

With three busy boys, it feels like I am a full-time chauffeur. Bringing them and picking them up from school, sports practices, church activities among other things keep us on the road a lot.

Ding! My phone makes its sound letting me know that someone has sent me a message. I really try to avoid the temptation of texting back while I am driving. But there is a reality that sometimes you just need to use your phone when you are driving. 

Logitech has come up with a solution with their new ZeroTouch car phone holder with Voice-Command App.

The ZeroTouch is specifically made for Android phones with OS 4.4 or later and allows you to:

• Talk-to-text with just a wave of your hand and the sound of your voice
• Listen to music with voice-activation, which works with Spotify™, Pandora, Google Play™ Music, and SoundCloud®
• Use Voice navigation, which allows you to find your pre-set destination with voice-activated GPS using your favorite apps, including Google Maps™ and Waze™. You can also speak the address to the app
• Share your location with friends and family in real-time with Glympse® location service
• Utilize hands-free calling
• Reply to incoming messages on Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts™, and WhatsApp℠

How ZeroTouch Works

The ZeroTouch mount pairs to your Android phone through a Bluetooth connection and lets the ZeroTouch App know when it’s docked in the car. When your phone is docked on the mount, the app is activated and runs in the background, without impairing other smartphone functions. 

First, you need to install the ZeroTouch App on your Android phone. There are two different types of car mounts available – an air vent attachment (that comes in black, red and white) and a dashboard mount. I tested out the dashboard (or window) mount. 

When first installing the dashboard mount, I had a difficult time getting it to stick to my dashboard. It has a suction cup mount and for the first couple of days, it would only stay stuck for a short amount of time and then would fall off the dashboard or window. However, when I finally really pushed hard into the dashboard with the suction cup, it stuck. It hasn’t budged since!

In the box with the mount, there is also a magnetic oval that you attach to the back of your phone case. The magnet attaches to the mount. As soon as you attach the phone to the mount, the phone automatically turns on and acknowledges the ZeroTouch App. 

The first time you use the app, it talks you through the set-up process which is quite easy. Just follow the steps and you are good-to-go!

Features

When you are driving, the ZeroTouch wakes up by putting your hand in front of your phone and giving it a high five motion.

It then asks you what you would like to do. You can say things like…

Communication

“Text Mike”

When calling someone you can simply say “Call Mike.”

“Tell John I’ll be there soon”

“Read messages.”

Music

If you want to listen to music you can tell it to…

“Play Jazz on Pandora” or

“Play Adele on Spotify”

You can also tell the app to…

pause the current song or

skip to the next song.

Navigation

If you need to use Navigation, you can tell it to

“Take me home” or

you can ask for directions to a specific location.

You can also share your real-time location with someone.

Weather

You can also ask the app to launch the weather app. 

There are also general commands that allow you to “Cancel” whatever you are currently doing, “Repeat” the last prompt or message again and “Change” or “Go Back” to modify your message or the last thing you said. 

If there is an incoming call or message, the app will also wake up and ask if you want to answer the phone or listen to the text message. Once you listen to the message it will ask you if you want to respond to the message. 

Parking

Another great feature is a parking reminder. The app will remember where you last undocked your phone and show you where your car is. Great for those times that you are wandering a parking lot and trying to find your car! (We tend to honk our horn from the key chain when this happens – a little embarrassing!)

You can also add a note in the app like “D3” that tells you exactly where you parked. 

Pros:

• It’s hands-free! I like that I can hear and respond to messages and know that I am also making a responsible choice while driving
• When using it for Navigation, I really like having my phone displayed by the dash so that I can keep an eye on where I am heading next

Cons:

• The voice recognition USUALLY gets it right but sometimes it doesn’t. This is especially frustrating if you are trying to get directions and you are already driving. I had a hard time getting the app to recognize that I was saying “9th Street” not “19th Street.” It took about 3 tries for it to get it right
• I find that I use a lot more data that I used to. If you are on a small data plan, be careful that it doesn’t eat into all your data. (I think this is mostly from the navigation – I tended to look up the navigation before I left the house prior to ZeroTouch)

The Logitech ZeroTouch is available via the Logitech website for $59.99 for the air vent mount and available in black, red and white. The dashboard mount is available in black for $79.99. You can also purchase it from Amazon. 

A Mom’s Perspective

Our family has a bit older vehicle without all the technological extras that many newer vehicles have.  A hands-free bluetooth phone option is an extra that is very appealing to me.

I like having the option to quickly text my husband or call my mom. I like being able to get directions while already on the road. With the ZeroTouch, you can now enjoy the hands-free option even if your car isn’t a newer model with all the bells and whistles. 

I appreciate being notified when I have a new text message. I like being able to listen to it and respond to it when I need to.

I find that I miss less messages because I have my phone on the ZeroTouch mount. In the past, the phone would beep at me alerting me of a message and since I was driving I would wait to read it.

Sometimes it was a message that was time-sensitive that I should have read when it was sent. Other times I forget to check the text once I get home. With the ZeroTouch, I don’t have either of these problems any more. 

*I was given the Logitech ZeroTouch for my honest review. All opinions are my own.