My Setup
I have been playing around with using a Nexus 7 tablet in my car for various reasons (navigation, music) but still haven't finalized everything so it is a work in progress. I wanted to share what I have setup now, and I will update either this blog entry or post a new entry as I make changes.
NOTE: I have posted an updated main setup picture below, but some of the pictures in the rest of the post show older setup pics also. Last update 2/8/2015.
For my setup, it was important to avoid any solution that permanently mounted the tablet into the car or made software changes (custom ROM for example) that would limit functionality just to an "in car" device. I wanted to still have my tablet as a normal tablet.
- Smartphone Mount: I have been testing a TaoTronic vent mount (in the picture above) and also have been using a Breffo mount. Right now the DROK bluetooth receiver is in the vent mount, and I have an Arkon mount for my smartphone.
1) TaoTronics vent mount
2) Breffo Spiderpodium
3) Arkon sticky suction mount - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
- Bluetooth Audio Adapter: I have been testing two options:
1) DROK NFC Enabled Bluetooth Audio Receiver - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
2) Inateck Bluetooth Audio Receiver - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
I don't have a preference yet, but the Inateck is smaller so I may mount it on the dash using some sort of double sided tape. Right now I am using the DROK.
- OBD-II Bluetooth adapter: I purchased the unit I have back in May of 2012 and it still works.
- Tablet Mount: I have tested a few options from Arkon, including a cupholder mount and a gooseneck mount. I currently have the gooseneck mount installed, and I might stick with it.
1) Arkon Smartphone & Tablet Cup Holder Mount - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
2) Arkon 22" gooseneck smartphone mount - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
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| Updated picture of my setup. I finally have a tablet mount |
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| Picture of a prior setup |
Below are the major components and software I am using for my setup.
Hardware
- Nexus 7 LTE (T-Mobile): I think this the perfect device for in-car use. T-Mobile does not charge anything or cut you off if you go over your data limit, they simply throttle you. Even throttled, there is still enough speed to still use apps for things like navigation. They also have "Music Freedom" where many music services do not count against your data usage.
- Pioneer Head Unit: Since this was an older unit, it did not have Bluetooth or Aux-in capability but I was able to buy a special adapter from Amazon to add an aux-in cable.
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| Head Unit (Top) and Nexus 7 (Bottom) |
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| Notice the large icons for in-car use. |
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| Pioneer radio and TaoTronics vent mount smartphone holder |
1) TaoTronics vent mount
2) Breffo Spiderpodium
3) Arkon sticky suction mount - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
1) DROK NFC Enabled Bluetooth Audio Receiver - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
2) Inateck Bluetooth Audio Receiver - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
I don't have a preference yet, but the Inateck is smaller so I may mount it on the dash using some sort of double sided tape. Right now I am using the DROK.
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| Top: Nexus 7 Bottom Left: Anker 5-port power Bottom Right: DROK Bluetooth audio receiever |
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| The small white device (top/center) is the Inateck Bluetooth audio receiver for size comparison |
- Power Adapter: I have two options I have been using (haven't picked a favorite yet)
1) Anker 8A 5-Port USB Car Charger
2) EasyAcc 4.8A 3-Port USB Car Charger (not pictured)
1) Anker 8A 5-Port USB Car Charger
2) EasyAcc 4.8A 3-Port USB Car Charger (not pictured)
- OBD-II Bluetooth adapter: I purchased the unit I have back in May of 2012 and it still works.
- Tablet Mount: I have tested a few options from Arkon, including a cupholder mount and a gooseneck mount. I currently have the gooseneck mount installed, and I might stick with it.
1) Arkon Smartphone & Tablet Cup Holder Mount - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
2) Arkon 22" gooseneck smartphone mount - You can read up on it more on my blog post.
Android Software
- Torque Pro: Uses the Bluetooth OBD-II adapter to pull all sorts of interesting information ( engine RPM, various temperatures, error codes ).
- Google Maps: Navigation
- Waze: Another Navigation option, I feel like this one gets traffic updates quicker
- Car Widget Pro: I use this to make the large icons for the Nexus 7, it is just a widget on one of the home screens so I don't have to use a custom "car only" launcher.
- Digital Car for Android: Beta interface I have tested, pretty nice even has many of the manuf. logos so you can pick the one for your car.
- Car dashdroid: Interface I have tested, pretty clean/simple interface not fancy looking but functional.
- Google Play Music: I have a subscription so I get access to a large amount of music, and you can also have offline playlists just in case you don't have a tablet with cellular data.
- Car Widget Pro: I use this to make the large icons for the Nexus 7, it is just a widget on one of the home screens so I don't have to use a custom "car only" launcher.
- Digital Car for Android: Beta interface I have tested, pretty nice even has many of the manuf. logos so you can pick the one for your car.
- Car dashdroid: Interface I have tested, pretty clean/simple interface not fancy looking but functional.
- Google Play Music: I have a subscription so I get access to a large amount of music, and you can also have offline playlists just in case you don't have a tablet with cellular data.
Overall, I enjoy using the Nexus 7 as an in-car device in a removable setup so I can still take the device into the house with me and use it as a normal tablet. This same approach can be used with other devices, and may work well with smartphones.
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