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carputer build/repurpose a lappy. no, tablet


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Posted (edited)

is this a decent deal? It's $50, and I may pull the trigger, if the wife will let me... And I can get an orange one! :lol:

 

its not as fast as some, but I don't think that'll be much of an issue? Thoughts?

 

 

www.nomorerack.com/daily_deals/view/779829-google_android_4_1_os_1_2ghz_4gb_7__tablet_pc___assorted_colors

 

 

 

nevermind, I'm seeing some sketchy reviews. I thought since it was a "GOOGLE" tablet it might be ok

Edited by Psych0matt
Posted

No video input, but people have managed to get some of them working with USB webcams. This one is the Nexus 7:

http://droidperception.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/webcam-attached-to-nexus-7/

 

Yeah, that tablet you linked to isn't a genuine Google one. All the ones that Google contracted to have made will have "Nexus" in the name. Nexus 7 is actually made by Asus, but it's an official Google device.

They're pricier, but not terribly expensive. Here's a used one if you don't mind a few scratches.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-Nexus-7-16GB-Wi-Fi-Unlocked-7in-Black-/271384551344?pt=US_Tablets&hash=item3f2fc79fb0

 

An old Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 should be pretty decent as well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-SCH-i800-7-Android-Tablet-Wi-Fi-3G-Verizon-2GB-/380829440021?pt=US_Tablets&hash=item58ab341815

 

Though specs-wise, I think between the 2, the Nexus 7 is well worth the extra money.

 

I took a look at my phone that has AutomateIt installed, and that app does have the ability to make the tablet go to sleep (screen off) after power is cut, or it can even be set to shut the tablet completely down. Although if you have it shut completely down, I don't know if it would fully power up when it gets power. Some of them do, others just go into battery charging mode.

Posted (edited)

That'd be ok, I could live with that as long as I could otherwise trigger it on. I was asking about video input for a backup camera, but I'm not too concerned about that. GPS is a must, and I can wifi tether to my iphone

 

 

A Nexus 7 might fit near perfectly into a 1.5 din opening with very slight modification...

Edited by Psych0matt
Posted

I own an Asus memo pad and it lacks a GPS sensor and bluetooth. Perhaps theres a newer model that includes those features...

 

 

If you happen to consider an older spint galaxy tab, they can be flashed to other carriers since they have built in 3g. Basically your car could have its own cellular data connection for anything between $35 and $55 a month depending on the carrier and package

Posted

http://www.engadget.com/products/dell/venue/8-pro/

 

I have this tablet, quad core Atom processor, great screen, only thing is no GPS, but it has Bluetooth. I love it, I can run full Windows apps on it, and switch to tablet mode easily. Apps are a little spare but I don't really use too many apps.

 

I think it would be great for a carputer.

Posted

Not interested in that! :lol: (EDIT: This was meant toward getting a plan for it, you posted before i did)

I just want to use my phone as a hotspot for pandora pretty much. The Nexus 7 looks pretty promising. Is there a way in android to minimize wifi usage? For example, I don't want every program allowed to access wifi if I'm tethered since I only get so much data, but It'd be nice to be able to limit certain apps.

 

the nexus is 4.7" x 7.8"

 

the HU opening is 4.5" x 8"

DIC opening is 4.5" x 6.5"

 

 

I think I can use the stock HU opening, and utilize the cubby for plugs and stuff, maybe make a door or plate to cover it.

Posted

Sounds like the Nexus 7 is a winner as far as size and features! With most modern tablets, you can open up the task manager and simply kill the processes you're not using. I do believe that there are some solutions for rooted devices that allow for more control.

Posted

Anyone know if they make an ir remote for android? If so I can use my steering wheel controls (swi-x).

 

Alternately, is there something else that could make the controls work? I could live without, but it'd be sweet

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
Is there a way in android to minimize wifi usage? For example, I don't want every program allowed to access wifi if I'm tethered since I only get so much data, but It'd be nice to be able to limit certain apps.

 

Yep. If rooted, you can use DroidWall. You can set it either in blacklist or whitelist mode. Blacklist mode lets you selectively choose apps to block from using wifi while allowing the rest. Whitelist mode lets you selectively choose apps to allow, while blocking the rest.

Also, if you get a tablet with a GSM radio, T-Mobile has a 100% free data plan where you can get 200MB/month. Might be useful if you'd rather use an online navigation like Google Maps. No clue how they make money off that.

 

Anyone know if they make an ir remote for android? If so I can use my steering wheel controls (swi-x).

 

Alternately, is there something else that could make the controls work? I could live without, but it'd be sweet

 

Someone mentioned this:

http://flirc.tv/product/flirc/

The description doesn't mention Android, but this thread, someone said they got it working with their Android stick.

http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?3571-USB-IR-Receiver

I would think some driver support is needed, but the guy didn't mention how he got it working.

Posted

I believe it wouldn't bee TOO hard, there are a few Android devices out there now that have IR built in. People have ported the Beats audio driver to other devices so it would be safe to assume that a good IR driver can be just as easily ported.

  • 3 months later...
Posted

So, I'll bump this back up since I've done a bit since this idea. I'm currently using my old laptop with the audio/video being fed into my crappy touchscreen head unit. It sounds decent, but my only issue still is power. I'm going to get a small inverter for the time being and see how I use it and whatnot. I think I'll be ok manually turning it on and off. One thing I do want to do is get a touch overlay for the touchscreen so I can control the computer, only issue there being when you touch the screen the menu comes down along the top edge, so that may or may not get annoying. basically overlapping one touch input to another. if only I could disable the built in touch input... My biggest thing right now is I don't wanna start a custom bezel project or go double din, and I don't wanna run a bunch of amps to run a dedicated touch screen. The mounting (being single din) I have is perfect for what I want, anyways, this is what I was playing with this weekend:

 

 

7F206272-8CD9-4338-87F1-033F90B65550.jpg

7BBDD27E-F7E2-421E-BA76-14F1FD5F251F.jpg

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

Basically this thing works how I'd like it to, although not the most simple. However, it is a complete setup that I have without having to modify the dash or make anything custom really. I have a GPS antenna now, Tunerpro is working with some dash guages I made up, and of course my music. It's nice because I can take it into the house and add software or music or whatever, bring it into the car, plug it in, and boom. Now I just want to get a touch overlay, and I should have everything running touch, with a remote for either the computer or HU if I need to do anything more that I can't do by fat finger touch.

 

EDIT: Just ordered the overlay, and I'll probably temporarily power it with an inverter. I don't drive the car that much where I think that'll cause any issues.

Edited by Psych0matt
Posted

That custom tunerpro dash looks pretty good. did you get all the colors set the way you want it?

Posted
That custom tunerpro dash looks pretty good. did you get all the colors set the way you want it?

 

I'm still messing around with it, but going for a mostly black background with orange things, some white labels, etc. Keeping it minimal. This is the last one I came up with, building on the previous one. I'll probably still change it around, but I don't really know what I need/want while driving yet

 

 

dashshot.png

 

It looks kind of taller than it is wide, but when I fullscreen it on the head unit they look pretty close to perfect circle

Posted

Added the touch overlay today, and it works pretty good. Works perfect in Centrafuse, but in windows whenever you touch the screen it acts like a single mouse click, which isn't bad except its hard to click anything without it thinking youre trying to drag things around. I'll post some pics once I get some things rewired and all calibrated and whatnot

Posted

mine's close to that, but red/orange. no white.

  • 1 year later...
Posted (edited)

There's a nice SBC on the market, Beagle Bone Black. It's dirt cheap and has auxiliary "capes" (accessory boards to do VGA, sound, LCD, GPS, ect..) that are cheap too. Lots of raw LCD touchscreens for it on Ebay. What's really cool is that it'll run a number of OS's including Android and.... Linux!

 

http://beagleboard.org/black

 

post-3252-0-36589500-1451970561_thumb.jpg

Edited by Imp558
  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

And a bunch of add on boards. There's a lot of SBC s on the market, bb black is just one.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Whoa! That was quite the come back by that thread!

Posted

Yeah I bumped an old one but I'm thinking about doing an SBC for calibration software,GPS and OBD II streaming and thought it would be appropriate for this thread. You should have seen the old threads L67ss used to bump, it was hilarious, I still don't know if he may have done it for fun.

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