Android Tablet In Vehicle

Not long after buying the '96 powerstroke pickup I bought a bluetooth OBDII adapter andI've been running Torque Pro on my phone to keep a check on you know, enginey things. My lovely wife has decided to abandon her Nook HD+ color tablet in favor of a Kindle, so I'm scheming a semi-perm mount of the tablet in the truck. It's a 10" ( I think) so I'm thinking over the rear view mirror, console style.

Things I'd like to do with it:

• Torque Pro gauge console - bluetooth connection

• GPS Navigation - no onboard GPS in the tablet, but I can tether it to the GPS in my phone with a $3 app over wifi

• Rear view camera - anyone use either a bluetooth or Wifi linked camera?

• What else? No cell or GPS hardware in the tablet, but otherwise a full android unit with bluetooth / wifi.

anyone else running a full time car tablet? What are you doing with it? Pictures?

Ive seen people who are mounting these in place of head units (I havent put a CD into the dash of my car in years). The big issue ive seen is that the units get funny in high-G corners (tablet thinks its been rotated, so it will switch out of Landscape into portrait - some units can be locked into a specific position, not sure if Nook is one of those). Ive also seen them misbehave when theyre in a hot/frozen car, as some screens are temp sensing, not pressure (again, not sure about Nook).

That said, theres a lot to like with them. If you have a Hi-GB/unlimited data plan in your cell, theres not much you couldnt do with a tablet in your dash. Im a big fan of the opportunities that it presents with music, nav, and custom gauge display. I think it wont be long before these are as common as AM/FM became in the early 90s...youll see it everywhere. Probably a big war to come between Apple/Android in terms of an automotive operating system that integrates your mobile device. Im already seeing car ads featuring this functionality as available features, how long before they try to monopolize the hardware design?

If you use something like a Nook (highly hackable), drop a simple ROM on it after rooting and set the rotation to landscape only. Easy peasy

We have switched to tablets in our commercial trucks. We did it in advance of CDL E-log book requirements. We use them for log book primarily, but also a trucking specific GPS as well as sharing company info. Not used for entertainment, and are locked down etc.

I'm looking into this as well. Still not positive on what it entails. It seems like you need to get an amplifier and maybe a harness on top of the tablet?

I'm not planning on running audio through it. I have a bluetooth enabled radio that I have paired with my phone for calls and music files, but it's also connected to an ipod through USB that stays in the glove box and has a satellite radio hookup whenever I decide to add that route.

I may put audio files on the tablet too, but audio quality sucks over bluetooth generally. It's much better over ipod USB connection.

The in-car audio I have seen driven off the tablet usually used the headphone jack into an amp or a head unit with an input, but it's just redundancy in my case.

I'll have multiple connections running in the truck: Phone bluetooth to radio, phone wifi to tablet, tablet bluetooth to OBDII adapter, possibly camera wifi or bluetooth to tablet (not to mention radio wired to ipod and radio satellite link to Sirius)

And I may be able to cook eggs in the emag radiation.

Oh crap, someone's selling turn key relay microcontrollers that are bluetooth driven. I could run all my auxiliary lighting and accessories with a tablet..

https://www.controlanything.com/Relay/Device/R8xPL_Android_BT

Too expensive, but man that's cool.

I have used a tablet for most of the above. I had one with broadband/ data whatever they call it. I used mine as a cell with the free google phone service, and communication apps like voxer.

The biggest problems i had were the mounting and the power. If you leave the power on all the time it will wear out the batterys ability to hold a charge. It wouldnt be hard to hard mount the tablet. If its going back and forth between the glove box i suggest two magnet ball bearing mounts. You can get them for $3 on ebey or in stores for $20 for the niteyes brand. Then you stick some paper thin washers to the back of the tablet. Then glue the ballbearing mount and a magnet to a good spot on the dash or the center console.

There are suction cup mounts too but they dont stick great and tend to be in the way all the time.

jere wrote: I have used a tablet for most of the above. I had one with broadband/ data whatever they call it. I used mine as a cell with the free google phone service, and communication apps like voxer. The biggest problems i had were the mounting and the power. If you leave the power on all the time it will wear out the batterys ability to hold a charge. It wouldnt be hard to hard mount the tablet. If its going back and forth between the glove box i suggest two magnet ball bearing mounts. You can get them for $3 on ebey or in stores for $20 for the niteyes brand. Then you stick some paper thin washers to the back of the tablet. Then glue the ballbearing mount and a magnet to a good spot on the dash or the center console. There are suction cup mounts too but they dont stick great and tend to be in the way all the time.

Please show pic.

The above are what the mount looks like. Just find a good spot on your dash. In the 3 different cars I have had it set up in there were 3 different locations on the dash.

They are good for cell phones or mp3 players too. I put the weird printed sticker on the flat washer print side in. The opposing side is just shiny metal.