Installing a tablet in lieu of a head unit

[eTiMaGo]

looks good! Any pics of how you braced it in there?

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by eTiMaGo

looks good! Any pics of how you braced it in there?

I realize this is directed at ezhacker but...

I used the existing HU brackets and screwed a piece of 7x3.5 poplar between them so that the wood lined up with the front edge of the brackets making a nice backplane. The Acer tablet is the perfect thickness to be able to just lay the tablet against the backplane and snap the bezel in place. Holds well enough that way without needing to bolt it down.

I did have to shave off a little dashboard plastic (1/8") where the bottom edge of the tablet meets a portion of the dashboard so that the tablet would sit low enough to clear the vents above it.

The last pic is to show where I had to shave a little plastic off.

[ezhacker1]

I take some pictures of the inside. No bracing whatsoever just cuts of plastic and friction fitting

[eTiMaGo]

I may buy my friend's HTC Flyer just for this... The Xoom is cool but just far too big and heavy, unless I could get a sturdy arm for it...

[eTiMaGo]

I think I get the idea, sandwiched between the metal brackets and the plastic bezel...

Here's my masterpiece:




not exactly a factory look :D

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by eTiMaGo

I think I get the idea, sandwiched between the metal brackets and the plastic bezel...

Here's my masterpiece:


not exactly a factory look :D

It works and rounds out all the other gadgets you have How's your audio sound coming from the headphone jack?

I'm pretty sure my issue was just crappy DAC's/amp circuit inside the Acer. Thank god for bluetooth!

[eTiMaGo]

well honestly after the first drive I took the xoom out, the cheapo mount I have just can't handle the weight. If I braced it somehow with foam padding, it might work out better, but it's just overall too clunky.

I'm actually pretty happy with the headphone jack output on the xoom and the phones, though I really must recommend PowerAmp and its equalizer for actually making it sound good!

[isra]

ezhacker1 what bluetooth adapter did u use for the torque app and does it stay on when u turn off the key and remove the key

[isra]

ezhacker1 what bluetooth adapter did u use for the torque app and does it stay on when u turn off the key and remove the key

[ezhacker1]

A cheapo $18 or so one from ebay. No issues whatsoever . Key must be in the on position for Torque to work, its in their insturctions

[Altitude]

Completed install.

That tiny hole you see to the left of the screen is for the light sensor so I can have auto brightness on. The button with the green light on it in the second pic is so I can determine when to charge/run it on juice or have it run on it's own battery.

I'm thinking I might need to keep power to it during the winter to keep the unit warm and prevent the cold temps from affecting it.

[eTiMaGo]

very nice! Do you find any issues with glare on the screen or insufficient brightness?

[eTiMaGo]

PK, I'd think the cigarette socket adapter would have some basic voltage regulation electronics?

In other news I took the plunge and got my friend's Flyer off him cheap :) Pretty cool device I must admit, the stylus brings a lot more precision to certain tasks. Anyway, first thing was to load up the Modaco tweaked beta Honeycomb ROM that's floating around, works pretty nice! Next step will be to try and mount it as nicely as you guys did!

[ezhacker1]

im liking these tablet installs. So far 2 things i run is PowerAmp for music cuz of the EQ and Torque.

[eTiMaGo]

LOL yeah definitely the two best apps :D Though Poweramp looks quite crappy on a non-phone screen :( I tried the UberMusic beta some time ago (by the guy who does LauncherPro) and it looks good, as well as being skinnable, it might be possible to make a layout with bigger buttons more suited to in-car use (you don't want to look down and squint for a few seconds to find the right button!)

What I like about the HTCs is the Locations navigation app. I have it on my phone, since Google Navigation is not supported here (the hacked one works, but kinda crappily), and it works really good for us here. Problem is, the license I bought for the phone does not seem to be transferable to the Flyer :(

[eTiMaGo]

No no, I mean the male part, that does the (usually) 12V-5V conversion. I'm pretty sure a decent quality one would have some capacitors or something to smooth out spikes! That being said, yes, better safe than sorry.

[Altitude]

@etimago - On this unit the screen is *very* shiny so there is glare, but it isn't too bad. Though I might try to get a glare reducing screen shield. Brightness wise it's fine, maybe even a little too bright in the dark. Fingerprints are a bigger issue for me, but I can't do anything about that.

@pk - I cannibalized one of those selectable voltage car adaptors 12-24v in and 3 - 12v out. So it's got a regulator at least and I could always throw a capacitor across the line as a line smoother, but I don't think it's necessary. I'm pretty sure that the unit itself has a built in regulator too because it takes 12v in instead of 5v as might be expected. I'm sure it's dropping the voltage internally to charge the batteries.


Right now I'm using PowerAmp and PlayerPro - not sure which one I'll end up keeping - and strangely enough the music sounds different coming from each one even with all processing turned off. I think PlayerPro gives more of a true flat response whereas it seems like PowerAmp still has some DSP going on even with EQ and whatnot disabled. It's not a drastic difference though so it's going to come down to the friendlier UI.

Right now I'm looking for a good wireless tethering app so I can use my cell connection for net access while on the road.

[tk-421]

Have you guys heard about the Kindle Fire yet? Seems to be just a tad smaller than the Nook and a bit more powerful in the CPU department... OTOH, it doesn't have an SD card slot or (apparently) bluetooth capability, so it might not cut it as a good head unit replacement.