Real computer in the double din spot -$400

[pfran42]

It was only a matter of time before someone figured out how to stuff a full-on computer in the double din spot.

This thing sounds great as it comes with:

-7-inch touchscreen,
-250GB hard drive,
-2GB DDR2 RAM,
-3G HSDPA modem, and
-three USB 2.0 ports
-GPS
-400 HUNDRED FREAKIN' DOLLARS!!!!

Who's gonna be first?

VIC Ltd NaviSurfer II UBU-3G in-car PC gets built-in GPS -- finally -- Engadget

 

[mechanixhorseman]

Awesome price, considering I paid 800 dollars for my POS pioneer that probably doesn't do half the things that can do. I would need to get a hands on first though before jumping into something like this.

 

[pfran42]

Awesome price, considering I paid 800 dollars for my POS pioneer that probably doesn't do half the things that can do. I would need to get a hands on first though before jumping into something like this.

I think at this price I am just going to pull the trigger. The possibilities are endless:

-Xbox on camping trips
-USB plugins to ECU?
-Hotspot from my Android phone to wifi dongle on computer then google maps with live traiffic and endless POIs + internet
-Topo maps?
-You Tube
-Swap out HDD with SSD and load all my music
-Video out to back seats?
-Pandora
-Customizable phone integration
-Custom apps written for whatever I feel like
-Motion sensor alarm that emails me?

That is off the top of my head. I'm sure I can think of some good applications when I get the time.

 

[TheFuzz]

Looks interesting...but I've never really been into the whole "stuffing an assload of functionality into a 7" screen on the dash" thing. I just don't care for the user interface.

Perhaps I'm getting old and uninspired by new technology at the ripe old age of 27...? ;p I will follow this with some curiosity though. I'm interested to see what you come up with. Using it to link other pieces of tech together as opposed to using the screen as the main GUI seems like one promising aspect - let us know how it works out for you.

 

[pfran42]

Looks interesting...but I've never really been into the whole "stuffing an assload of functionality into a 7" screen on the dash" thing. I just don't care for the user interface.

Perhaps I'm getting old and uninspired by new technology at the ripe old age of 27...? ;p I will follow this with some curiosity though. I'm interested to see what you come up with. Using it to link other pieces of tech together as opposed to using the screen as the main GUI seems like one promising aspect - let us know how it works out for you.

Think of it this way...Once your OEM double DIN HU wears out you are going to pay between $300-$1000 for a new one. Why not just get something like this and have a million more avenues of functionality available to you? Maybe you only want it to be a GPS and a stereo...But what if you end up getting a phone with built in wireless hotspot 6 months later? Now you can link in to streaming music, weather, live traffic etc. Use what you want. Configure the look/feel to whatever suits you....Have you seen the ridiculous UIs they put on big name HUs these days?

This is exactly the kind of thing I have been waiting for. I want to downgrade from my NAV/Climate/Stereo (SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE) but have a do anything box that is affordable sitting there not taking up any more room than an OEM HU.

To me it looks like it could possibly be a win/win.

 

[TheFuzz]

It very well might be a win/win. I'll let you be the guinea pig for us.

 

[rusty_tlc]

...

To me it looks like it could possibly be a win/win.

Actually it has a Ubuntu OS (a Linux variation IIRC) that's sure to alienate both the MAC and MS users.

All the Penguin folks will be happy though.

 

[pfran42]

Actually it has a Ubuntu OS (a Linux variation IIRC) that's sure to alienate both the MAC and MS users.

All the Penguin folks will be happy though.

I got no problem working with birds.

Plus this could be hacked to run any OS you want. I just don't think that the standard desktop environments are a good fit. Android would be!

Seriously though, It probably will boil down to car apps. Devs are getting more comfortable with with non-MS/Apple OSes and the SDKs are good enough these days where anyone with a fair amount of intelligence can learn how to manipulate code to accomplish what they want. It is just going to a bit of a challenge merging the geeks with the wrench heads. Lucky for us, most of the guys on this forum are about 50 times smarter than 95% of the people I deal with on a day-to-day basis.

 

[Topmounter]

You'd think they would spend fifteen minutes designing a UI that you could navigate while you're driving without running into the first telephone pole that comes along.

 

[pfran42]

You'd think they would spend fifteen minutes designing a UI that you could navigate while you're driving without running into the first telephone pole that comes along.

My phone does that. I push a button, tell it where to go and I don't touch the phone again until I am taking my phone out of the car dock when leaving the car.

There is also an app called Vlingo that actively listens for voice commands. This isn't some make you want to beat on your car with a baseball bat BMW 7 series s*** either. I would say it works with about a 95% accuracy rate as I have enabled voice pattern recognition learning. All my voice data goes up to the cloud and Google matches things I say against things I have said before. It gets better all the time.

 

[1loudLX]

SO why not just use your phone?

 

[pfran42]

SO why not just use your phone?

Because when I get a phone call I would like for the double din computer to carry on as normal (unless I have it linked via Bluetooth) and I would much rather look at maps/data on a 7 inch screen as opposed to the 3.5"- 4" screens that most smart phones are equipped with.

An all-in-one solution is not optimal due to the multitasking we require of the devices. This plus a good phone would cover 99% of my needs while at the same time being less distracting while I am operating the vehicle.

Nice mod on the rack btw...

 

[moooooooo]

the link from engadget is not right.
This this one
Navisurfer II UBU-3G Double DIN Car PC with HSDPA modem, Broadband TV & Radio, GPS with Software & Maps: VolSale.Com

Also, it has BlueTooth too which isnt mentioned by engadget. So you have the option of using a BlueTooth OBDII device or USB if you want to run cabling .

The issue with Ubuntu is that the OBDII apps arent really that polished compared to Windows. Pity, i prefer Ubuntu to Windows and i also run a Mac mini and Solaris and BeOS....

Here's my OBDII bookmarks on delicious
Search results for obdii on Delicious

From memory there's only one or two on there for Linux and OSX.

EDIT: I'd probably hack it too and dual or multi-boot. You'd want the original customised Ubuntu OS though on a USB stick or DVD, coz if you install Windows onto it it will own the boot-sector and you'll need to redo a grub-install under Ubuntu - but you probably knew that.
cheers
peter

 

[mgeiger]

Someone stuff a Mac into a DD and I'm in! I do like the iPad install I found on someone's rig here as well.

 

[Jrob80]

Someone stuff a Mac into a DD and I'm in! I do like the iPad install I found on someone's rig here as well.

Someone put an Ipad in their 100? I have seen it done on a Tacoma (I think... youtube) pretty cool and seemed really easy to use nice big screen.

I am on the hunt for a double din nav/cd/ipod/bluetooth/anything else I can think of system. Everything from Pioneer and Alpine seem to start at $1,000.

 

[alia176]

Looks interesting...but I've never really been into the whole "stuffing an assload of functionality into a 7" screen on the dash" thing. I just don't care for the user interface.

Perhaps I'm getting old and uninspired by new technology at the ripe old age of 27...? ;p I will follow this with some curiosity though. I'm interested to see what you come up with. Using it to link other pieces of tech together as opposed to using the screen as the main GUI seems like one promising aspect - let us know how it works out for you.

LOL, we're getting old and I agree with your points. I drove around in a friend's vehicle with the double din, rather fancy stereo with the motorized 7" screen. Truth be told, the experience sucked. It truly diverted my attention from the road in order to operate it. Perhaps my dozen brain cells weren't up to the task However, I do like carputers and do see it in our rigs.

One thing to note, however, is the use of a 7" touch screen for GPS usage. I think you'll find out the same things that the IPAD users are begin to realize and that is you can't easily interact with it. If you had to type in a waypoint label, or type in destinations, I don't see a very easy way to input that info into the program using the touch screen. You can use a separate wireless keyboard and mouse, however, you're defeating the compact nature of this gizmo.

Still, it'd be very cool to see carputers in the 80's in a practical manner.

 

[Tyler Durden]

That's pretty cool. I'm surprised by the price...very reasonable.

 

[NMuzj100]

QUOTE=pfran42;6382194]
That is off the top of my head. I'm sure I can think of some good applications when I get the time.[/QUOTE]

Realtime IH8MUD!

Like The Fuzz I have no interest in a new dash gizmo. I actually like the OEM HU and don't "get" aftermarket stereos. They are all flash and no functionality.

A real internet capable computer would be nice to have sometimes but a driveable technology is still years away.

I'd like to downgrade my cell phone so it can make but not accept calls.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Someone stuff a Mac into a DD and I'm in! I do like the iPad install I found on someone's rig here as well.

Just get a mini mac and a usb touch screen, done. Lilliput 7" USB Touch Screen

......
You can use a separate wireless keyboard and mouse, however, you're defeating the compact nature of this gizmo.
.....

What is the problem with the touch screen virtual keyboard applications? I haven't used them a lot but the one on my sons Android seems to work well.

A bigger GPS display would be a huge deal for me, my old Magellan Meridian 2.5" screen is getting harder and harder to see. I'm pretty sure it's the device not my eyes.

A nice hands free cell phone application that would be useful. Caller ID on a 7" screen with big "answer/ignore" buttons could be very useful.

 

[alia176]

Just get a mini mac and a usb touch screen, done. Lilliput 7" USB Touch Screen


What is the problem with the touch screen virtual keyboard applications? I haven't used them a lot but the one on my sons Android seems to work well.
/QUOTE]


Try typing in "turn here for Lippincott mine road" with a touch screen and do this about 25 times a day as you encounter various interesting sights, locations and way points on your wheeling trip.