RotorMotor

No, not at this point. PDA screens are too small and the PDAs themselves do not provide enough storage space to make them useful as MP3 libraries or navigation tools. The maps for most navigation software titles are generally 1GB+.

glxyjones

any progress on this at all or did I miss out on an announcement? Way to exciting of an idea to just ignore

thew

bump

Japan8

thew, what do ya want to know? Same for glxyjones...

RotorMotor

Yeah, there are no updates yet. The computer is fully built and everything is ready to go, I'm just looking for installation solutions at this point. With so many discussions going on about this now, I'm hoping we can collectively come up with a clean installation....

Japan8

I wonder about using the location of the stock nav dvd unit. If not maybe mounting it flush against the back of the rear seats or finding somewhere under the rear deck to mount it.

RotorMotor

I originally bought the JDM nav tray from Canzoomer, but later decided that it wouldn't be a truly integrated look. I asked my dealer about ordering the nav assembly without the screen, but he said that wasn't possible as it's all listed as a single part. I really want an installation that will hide the screen when the car is turned off as well. Back seats won't do me any good for the navigation functionality, but it could be kinda cool to run a terminal server or and allow the backseat passengers to allow them to have control of the carputer as well....

Japan8

OH you're refering to the screen. I was talking about the CPU.

Well you could try mazmart and get a used stock nav hood if they have any. Another option is to build a custom version of the stock nav hood. Another way to look at it is this... how much is the stock nav hood w/ screen? A replacement 1DIN dash panel will run you $300-400 or more. Plus you need a motorized screen setup for that as well... another $600-800.

RotorMotor

OH! I'm planning on just mounting the CPU in the trunk and running a 12" VGA cable and USB hub up to the front of the car. It's just easiest that way. I have one of the Travala C137 mini-ITX cases (which is certainly not the smallest, allows you more PCI slots than most of the smaller ones) and it MIGHT squeeze under the front seat, but I doubt it.

The nav assembly was $1400 I believe. I'm probably going to be selling the Lilliput screen that I have and buying a motorized one.

Japan8

I think the cost isn't too different between the stock nav hood and a motorzied 1DIN solution. But it's up to each person to decide what solution is right for them and their budget.

glxyjones

Yeah I agree...if another solution doesn't come along soon I'm might just buy the 1DIN replacement and a motorized

but then again, the more I look at it, the more I think it will be a pain in the a$$ so reach for simple controls (like playing mp3's).

haha I guess I'm still holding onto my ash tray/cigarette lighter mounting idea...I think right in front of the shifter would be perfect

kidcas

my 1din dash piece was only $350($400 if i wanted to keep my original piece), the alpine cva 1005 bought 4 years ago was $1000.... you can get motorized head units cheaper than that now....

RotorMotor

I'm working with a buddy of mine to mount a laptop-like touch pad in the center console infront of the seat warmers (where the stock nav controls usually are), but I'll have the border and buttons made out of carbon fiber. Just an idea....

Yeah, unfortunately 1din, motorized VGA screens are much harder to come by. Not a lot of selection out there....

djvelocitee

PERFECT!!

dvarapala

Where will you get the congestion/incident data?

truemagellen

they have a system for nav owners in japan just like this...to bad the US sucks when it comes to technology...you could have the data pulled from the state website but each state's technology is different...it would be an absolute mess doing...better off going to the website from your car and check it out then trying to integrate it into the nav system, Trust me on this one

the pc in the start of this thread is HUGE, overpriced, and really weak compared to the stuff our japanese brothers make...kind of opposite the RX-8 when you think of it

tokenbrit

Have you considered liasing with Mazda to get the motorised flip-up bit without their propriety display installed. Then you can integrate this into your setup.
Just a thought. It's what I would want...

tokenbrit

Also, I am in the U.K. if that matters?? I am guessing that the only issue is PAL/NTSC for the TV tuner/DVD playback, and I would think that this would be an option anyway. Right?

serff

Cool Mike. I think someone posted a link to you site a while ago and it looked a lot like vaporware because of your website, but it is good to see you will actually be demoing your product at SEMA. I would be careful posting like you did (it sounded like a sales pitch to me) before talking to the moderators of the board.

Anyway, you guys should really work on your web site. You seem to like flash, make a flash demo of your application.

Can your system plug into the factory NAV? Does it only work in the RX8? Let us know some more details!

serff

Japan8

I was just going to say the same thing as hybidmike. it is shaping up very well. With the guys on that forum beta testing it you are sure to get a great package... as many of them have written some in-car GUI for windows like mediacar and media engine....

truemagellen

you going to have steering wheel controls be able to control whatever media player your going to use

truemagellen

I'm glad you choose to upgrade...I was weary at first

Japan8

A Pentium 4 has low power consumption and low noise?! Sure plenty of people are running them in their cars... but it's the wrong approach. You don't need that much power to run the kind of apps you should run in a car (meaning no auto CAD, and do you really need Quake running in the car too?). The approach should be stripping down the OS to the bare essentials to reduce processing load. The plain truth is that a Pentium 4 is HOT... HOT = drawing lots of power...

While sure... Windows CE.Net is more limited than running XP, and will require you to do a bit of driver work... but as MS says... it's a real time OS. Instant on. NOt 15 sec boot time... milisecond boot time. Running on a low power mobile chip it:ll be more than powerful enough for DVD, MP3 and navigation. Hell email and basic web browsing is no biggie either.

I assume your hardware has the proper voltage regulators, etc. built in. What about startup/shutdown controlling for ignition (turning the car on and off)? How does your product's setup compare to Opus or MP3car.com's stuff?

As for the onboard lan... that isn't wireless is it? You're better off getting wireless LAN incorporated into the MoBo instead of wired 10/100.

As for audio... how is the quality of the on-board AC'97? Some people on mp3car complained about the sound quality of the on-board stuff (particularly with the VIA mini-ITX board)... they say it's gotta be Sound Blaster Audigy or die...

That's about all I can think of to nit pick on right now...

Japan8

Where do you get weak? Huge? Sure there are much smaller ones out now, but it's not so big... not bigger than a Shuttle PC. How much power do you need for an in-car system? The Japanese make faster pc's? When did the Japanese start making their own x86 chips? What are you using to make your comparisions and judgements??

glxyjones

I priced together a mini-itx system with dvd player for about 500 (without screen about 800 with). I'm in the process of saving up funds to buy the components. I have just purchased the screen (7" lilliput touchscreen) but nothing else yet. I plan on mounting it, atleast temporarily, on a flex-arm which would come out of the hole right next to the glove box. And then EVENTUALLY integrating it into the dash down the road when an affordable option comes out. I'll keep you all posted if there's any progress!!!