Tablet for car

ManUnited123 · 26-11-2018 10:14am #1

Hi Guys -

I'm looking to get an Android Tablet to install in my car for navigation purposes and currently looking for what might be the best option. I don't want to replace the head unit so i think its best if i buy a tablet and have it mounted on the dashboard and maybe have a Bluetooth remote to control the tablet as well.

I'm currently thinking of going for the Lenovo Tab 4 10" Quad Core (https://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/tablets/lenovo-tab-4-10-16gb-black.html. Do you guys think i should go for it or is there any other tablet or maybe some other device which would suit my purpose better?

Oh and i don't want to use my phone for navigation, i just want a dedicated device installed my in car for this purpose which is why i'm going for a tablet. Another thing to consider is that i would be tethering my internet to the tablet as well.

Thanks !

Esel · 26-11-2018 10:27am

Link not working.

https://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/tablets/lenovo-tab-4-10-16gb-black.html

ManUnited123 · 26-11-2018 10:40am

Esel wrote: »

Link not working.

https://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/tablets/lenovo-tab-4-10-16gb-black.html

Give it a go now. Its https://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/tablets/lenovo-tab-4-10-16gb-black.html

endacl · 26-11-2018 10:42am

If you want a ‘dedicated unit for navigation’, why not just get a satnav?

ManUnited123 · 26-11-2018 10:44am

endacl wrote: »

If you want a ‘dedicated unit for navigation’, why not just get a satnav?

Because i want to use other apps as well (for e.g. SoundCloud, Spotify, Android Auto etc.)

Plus SatNav's are ugly and expensive so why not get a tablet instead which i can use at home to watch movies as well.. Just makes more economical sense to me.

Esel · 26-11-2018 11:43am

ManUnited123 wrote: »

Give it a go now. Its https://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/tablets/lenovo-tab-4-10-16gb-black.html

I fixed it in my post.

A Law · 23-12-2018 12:45pm

Sounds like a good idea. How do you plan on mounting it? Will you integrate it to the car sound system?

banana_bear · 26-12-2018 3:10pm

I have the 8 inch version of this tablet (same CPU and memory, if I'm not mistaken). It's a fantastic tablet for the price, but having said that, it is a bit slow and unresponsive (when switching on, changing apps, etc). No problem at all when watching a movie, playing a (simple) game or reading a book (kindle or comic book viewer), but if I used it for your purpose it would annoy me very quickly.

Personally if I were in your shoes, I'd buy a big (>= 6") mid range phone instead. Easier to mount, more to choose from and you get more for your money (if you don't need the relatively huge screen of a tablet). The one thing a tablet has going for it though is the huge battery, because if you don't use your car on a daily basis, a phone will run dry in 2-3 days. A tablet will last a week.

That's also the biggest reason why I wouldn't bother permanently fitting an android tablet or phone in a car. When you need it, you can be sure the battery will be empty because you haven't driven enough the last couple days to keep the battery topped up (murphys law and all that). Using your main smartphone makes that a non-issue, assuming you charge it every night anyway.

colm_mcm · 26-12-2018 6:32pm

+1 on the bigger phone idea.

OldMrBrennan83 · 26-12-2018 6:33pm

endacl wrote: »

If you want a ‘dedicated unit for navigation’, why not just get a satnav?

Because Google Maps is far superior to any Satnav. They're a relic at this stage.

Toyed with it myself recently too, to try avoid screen burn on my phone. I'd get one with a sim if you can OP.

banana_bear · 27-12-2018 9:29am

banana_bear wrote: »

That's also the biggest reason why I wouldn't bother permanently fitting an android tablet or phone in a car. When you need it, you can be sure the battery will be empty because you haven't driven enough the last couple days to keep the battery topped up (murphys law and all that).

Actually that could be rectified to some degree by wiring the tablet/smartphone up to a big enough (20'000 mAh) power bank as a buffer, and then plug the power bank in to a charger. You'd still need to actually drive a good bit every day on average so you're not draining the battery flat though. Unless you wire the device to your battery in a way that it even charges when the ignition is off.

The other issue is, since the tablet won't have it's own internet connection, you'll need to use your phones hotspot (as you mentioned). If you're using that for an extended amount of time, you'll drain your phones battery by a good bit, so you'll need to plug that in to charge somewhere as well. Again, I'd personally rather just use my phone for navigation straight away :-)

If you decide to permanently install something, you might also want to look for hardwire kits. They can be bought in halfords (I think) or from chinese shops like aliexpress. They piggyback on an existing fuse, so you could either hook your smartphone up to say a lighter fuse (only on power when the ignition is on) or on a permanent one. They're less than a 10er in aliexpress and allow for a very tidy install, just make sure they have the right USB plug for your device (mini/micro/c) and are for the right size fuses.

Another thing you might want to make your life easier are plastic "prying tools", which you can also find on aliexpress for about a euro. They make routing cables behind the internal panels of the car very easy.

darragh o meara · 19-02-2019 2:51pm

Quiet possibility late to the party on this one bit here goes anyway.

I done a project like this 2 years ago in an E46 BMW. At the time and possibly still relevant now, the best tablet I could find was the Google Nexus 7 tablet, it had great GPS reception and was a perfect fit for what I needed.

I completely removed the radio and mounted the tablet to a double din Facia plate using some brackets that I made up at home. For power I used a hard wire kit for a dash cam wired to a ignition feed from the fuse box and routed the music through the Parrot Bluetooth kit in the car which could handle 2 devices together, I could have gone through an aux connection with the original radio if needed too and the android auto app had a plugin that would have allowed me to use it as a Bluetooth hands free for my phone had I no Bluetooth already in the car.

Software was done with a clone of android auto ( can’t remember what it was called but easy found if you need it) and an app called Tasker which allowed me to program the tablet to connect to my phones hotspot and Bluetooth when it got powered from the USB port. I used the same app in my phone to automatically setup a WiFi hotspot when connected to my Bluetooth. It all sounds a bit complicated but with the tasker app you set it once and forget about it.

I ran that system in the E46 for over a year and never had one issue with it, and I know it’s still working to this day as I just done another conversion for the lad who bought the car. Android auto worked really well and allowed me to have my preferred apps for different things ie. tune in radio for the radio, google maps for nav and Spotify for streaming.

Tablet for car

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