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I'm thinking of getting a cheap 7" Android tablet, perhaps used off eBay, as well as an OBD II interface, for mounting and wiring into my car.
The tablet must have Bluetooth and WiFi (but not necessarily 3G). That's about the only two requirements. It will be installed in my 2001 Buick Park Avenue, perhaps covering the gauges on the dashboard. The tablet will be primarily used with the Torque app as an extension to, or perhaps even replacing, the gauges.
Any suggestions? Ideally, I'd spend under $100 for a used tablet.
I'd like to hear the answer to this too. I already have a mount and hard-wire power to hold my Android phone up for GPS'ing like a HUD, and I found an app, MYhud that will alter my Android tablet's display to upside down and/or mirror, so I can set my tablet on the front slope of the dash and it reflects up on the bottom of the windshield, making the reflection into an actual HUD. Good for nav or simple gauges like speed and compass.
But if you want to go full out:
Check out an item that's on sale with ThinkGeek ($70 down from $100) that has a cable that plugs into your car's OBDII port and transmits data via BlueTooth to Android Apps that show a pretty good selection of gauges. Check out "Kiwi Bluetooth Android Phone Car Diagnostic Kit"
This is not a recommendation, I've never used it, but did find it on sale yesterday and it got me thinking of HUDs.
I just picked up a Xoom tablet for $130 on Craigslist.
32G, WiFi, 4G, and 10.1". Looks like new.
More tablet than you are looking for, and a bit more than you want to spend, but indicative of some of the deals that are around if you shop for them.
And it cleared the stolen/lost list at Verizon.
But if you want to go full out:
Check out an item that's on sale with ThinkGeek ($70 down from $100) that has a cable that plugs into your car's OBDII port and transmits data via BlueTooth to Android Apps that show a pretty good selection of gauges. Check out "Kiwi Bluetooth Android Phone Car Diagnostic Kit"
This is not a recommendation, I've never used it, but did find it on sale yesterday and it got me thinking of HUDs.
I love ThinkGeek but beware, there are many, many cheaper alternatives for car diagnostic bluetooth streaming that will plug both into your OBDII port. Here's a start: Soliport ELM 327 Diagnostic Scanner for about $16 on Amazon.com. You use the "Torque" app to view the diagnostic information on your phone.
I can't speak specifically to mounting tablets in cars, let alone specific to the 2001 Buick, but here is an article (courtesy of Instructables.com) that talks about using the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 in a car's dash area. Maybe that will serve as a good starting point for you. The idea is pretty cool, and frankly, much more functional than 99% of car in-dash navigation units today.
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Excellent idea
