Ok, so if you've known me at all in the last year or so, you know that I've been obsessed with having a computer in my car. Or a "carputer", to those I haven't annoyed with the term yet. Well, it is finally a reality. Kind of... well... just read on.
Before, I had a convertible netbook (a netbook that folds over to make a tablet with a touch screen). I had it mounted on my dash, with wires all over and such. It was pretty cool... kind of. I loved the netbook, but Windows 7 was a pain in the ass while driving, along with multiple hardware struggles.
I wanted to start from scratch with a tablet this time. And that involved correcting all of the negatives about the netbook. I'll go over all of the negatives, and what I did to change that with my new carputer.
Interface
As stated above, this was a huge factor. Windows 7 was just aweful while driving. Especially while using the touch screen. The buttons and such were too small and finicky. Now let me say that I REALLY wanted an Android tablet, as I'm a big Android guy. However, I couldn't find a decent Android tablet that I liked. Mainly, I couldn't find one that connected to the Android market that had a big enough display. Lo and behold, I decided on the iPad. A Jailbroken iPad, of course, which I can customize and manipulate like I want. Darth Jobs, be damned! Say what you will, but I am an Apple hater. However, iOS apps are made with the idea of fat finger interaction, as opposed to the precision of a mouse. This makes it much easier while driving.
Mounting
I completely took out my stock radio. Is was just in the way of everything. Even after removing the radio, it was a nightmare dealing with the netbook. I could never come up with a solid and reliable solution. I had it mounted on a laptop stand, velcroed to dash and many more unnerving methods that never left me satisfied. But now I have a pretty great method that I use. I securely fastened a snap-on case to the dash that is easily removable for access to the inside of my dash where the guts are. And all I have to do is snap the iPad directly to the case. And when I'm ready to take it out, I simply unsnap it. It's truly that easy. It hasn't come down or fell once. Thus far, anyways. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. You should do the same for me!
Portability
With the netbook, it took a good 10 to 30 seconds to get everything hooked up, depending on if I was putting it in the dash, or taking it out. I had to plug/unplug the power cord, plug/unplug the portable usb hard drive, plug/unplug the audio cord to my stereo and finally place/remove the damned thing to the dash. Pain in the booty, Rudy. Now, all I have to do is simply place it on the mount, and plug in the audio cord I don't have to plug in the power cord unless I'm on a long trip. I'll explain this more below.
GPS
I'm currently using the Navigon GPS app on my iPad. It is pretty badass. The interface is really clean, and the direction animations are top notch. I'm not really happy with entering directions. If you've used the Google Maps app on an Android system, you'll know why. Another big plus is the size of the GPS screen. It is HUGE, as you can imagine. And it runs very smoothly, even when I'm streaming music over 3G. Keep in mind, that you'll need a the iPad 3G + Wi-Fi, if you want GPS. The Wi-Fi only version doesn't have GPS.
Internet
I went ahead and bit the bullet regarding internet on the iPad. The iPad is internet ready (on AT&T with 3G, unfortunately). Before, I would tether my phone to my netbook. That wasn't too difficult per say, but it was annoying having to setup the tethering every time I got in my car. It only took a few seconds, but it was still quite annoying to have to do this every time. So now, as soon as I leave the wifi at my house, it automatically picks right back up with its 3G connection. And unless I'm trolling though the crazy backwoods, the 3G network of AT&T isn't too bad. I'm content for the time being.
Audio
As with the netbook, I'm running rca cables to my 2 amps, which in turn, power my speakers. This is done via the 1/8 audio jack on the iPad. That seemed to make much more sense, considering I had a stock radio that didn't have inputs of any kind. And of course the amps distribute the appropriate frequencies to their respective speakers, including my sub woofer. Easy-peasy!
Power
The netbook wasn't necessarily a power hog, but it certainly didn't have near as much battery life as the iPad. It probably had about 3 or 4 hours max, with everything hooked up to it. Not to mention, that I never could fully get the thing to hibernate or sleep. There was something about that model that just wouldn't let it stay powered down. With the iPad, I've got a power cord in the car that I can plug in for long trips, or if I forgot to plug it in for a while in the house. But come on, I personally can have it in the car for 3 or 4 days minimum, without bringing it in, and it still has juice left. However, I bring it in all the time, so simply plugging it up before I go to bed is no sweat. To handle the power requirements, I purchased a 500 Watt power inverter that is inside my dash where my radio would normally go. And with this unit, I can power my iPad, phone, and also have an extra slot if someone want to use their laptop on the road. Pretty sweet, if I say so myself.
Video
Before, I had to plug up the usb hard drive if I really wanted to watch some video while on the road. Well, if my passenger wanted to watch video... of course. For some reason, even with wireless 4G speeds, streaming video of any kind just seemed too choppy. And of course tethering with the netbook via my phone was a pain. But now, with the Netflix and Air Video apps that I have on the iPad, it is quite a cinch. They respectively determine what my internet speed is, and play back the video accordingly. Even with 3G speeds, the video truly isn't unbearable. Now that's pretty sweet, especially for trips.
Music
Ah, my sweet music. With the netbook, I would plug up the usb drive or stream from Grooveshark. And the pain of course was having to tether my phone to the netbook or deal with the off and on reliability of the usb drive. Daunting you ask? Yes, I say. But with the iPad, it syncs automatically via a home streaming audio app named Audiogalaxy. It almost always streams flawlessly. It keeps your iPad up to date with all of your albums and playlists, in practically real time. I like to set up tons of playlists, and they automatically show up in my car when I'm ready to listen. Totally cool!
Gaming
The netbook had one positive aspect. It allowed me to use my wireless Xbox 360 controller. Now I'm stuck with a wiimote, if I want to use my Sega Genesis, NES, or SNES emulators. This isn't too bad, considering I have the classic controller as well but you get the point. Now this is great, because a passenger can play those emulators along with some great native games while on the road. It is truly cool to see a new passenger play Mario Brothers for the first time in a very long time.
In closing, let me say that I'm actually quite excited about my new CarTab setup. It is super easy to deal with, and absolutely fantastic for trips. Entertainment for the passengers has never been this cool. I highly recommended that you try your own skills at mounting your own tablet. I'm also open to any suggestions.
Take care, and please be safe. Just because you have a tab in your car doesn't mean you should drive like a jerk!
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