[yajaman99]

My Fiesta is over 1.5 years old and was looking at a way to spruce up the interiors. I have the OEM 2Din HeadUnit and I am pretty happy with the sound. I was thinking of getting myself a 7” DVD Head Unit the new Pioneer AVH-P4390DVD or a JVC AX 835 along with a Reverse Camera. This would give me the feel of a semi 007 ca . I was also planning of getting the maymyindia GPS unit for system.
Apprx cost : HU 25000 ~ 30000 RS , GPS 20000 RS

This would set my back around 50K, not to mention with the improved HU I would need a new set of speakers which once again would increase the cost.
Well the planning was on the way and one option was to do it in installments as Vitamin M is necessary ingredient in this recipe.
Also the approval from the “Home Minister” would be difficult for such a large amount.

As the title suggest its obvious what is going to happen, but this how my mindset got moved over.
A friend was on leave and once he was back showed me his latest Gadget, The Samsung Galaxy Tab.
I have seen this many a times before at Reliance Digital but never with the Diary Case. Once he handed me this device which looked like a Diary and you open it , press the unlock button I was blown away.
I use the Samsung Wave and love the Super Amoled Display on it but on seeing the 7” display of the Tab just took my breath away. I guess it’s the total package which grabbed by attention, ie the Bsnl 3G, the case, the videos he had installed, the GPS feature, skype and the possible apps from the Android market. The next question was how much is the tab now, I remember it being over 35K. The shocker was he got it for around 24.5K.

Now this device became a new contender to the spruce up the Fiesta Race.

On Googling the Tab with Car mount, I found the OEM stand and other generic ones, however all were Glass Mounts and I personally felt the Tab being quite heavy would not last long on our roads and would spend more time lying on the floor of the car.

The brain started working along with Google search, I found an interesting video of a person who has mounted his Ipad in his car for under a 1$. How you may ask,a very simple and interesting idea.
He used some thick thread and passed it through the ac vents of the center and then slid the Ipad cover through it.
So my DIY is an adaption of this. The Gears started to roll, the wood began to burn, how was I going to get this done.
First thing I did was make a template of the Galaxy Tab so I could place it in the car and check the best option.
I kind of already had an idea brewing in my head, something to do with Piano wire and drilling. At the end is the picture of the center console.

I have planned to attach the Piano Wire to the Button Fillers.
1st question – How do I remove the Fillers?
2nd question – Where do I get Piano Wire from.

Well question 1 was easy enough a curved screwdriver was able to pop out the fillers.
As for question 2, well lets just say I got another idea.
How about Electrical Wiring ?
The weekend has come now and it is time for me to being the project in between all the normal weekend chores.

[yajaman99]

Ok sorry for leaving you all high and dry with too much talk and less walk
Here are some pictures which would explain what was done.
First removed the fillers form the car.

Next get my tools kit out and find the 2mm drill. First dirll the 2mm hole followed by 3.2mm.
Checked the wire if it was able to be inserted need to increase it slightly bit more.
If would have been easy if I had my circular files, but sadly I did not. So used the Bosch Power Screwdriver with T-15 and T-20 bits to sort of file the hole and Bingo. Perfect fit.

Now the holes are done and time for the wire to be inserted and check.
Time to head to the car to complete the install.

Note: I have used a Book of the same size as the Galaxy Tab, i am yet to pick one up
Also i am unable to post Pictures in between the text, followed the guidelines in the Announcment post but no luck.
Once the Tab is brought will upload the pics.

[smsrini]

Hi!

This is an interesting DIY to spruce up the Fiesta. The oem HU is pretty good along with the speakers..

How do you intend to connect the G-tab to the HU ? AUX ? IIRC, the OEM HU does not support USB or front aux..

Look forward to the complete project..

cheers

[frankmehta]

Don't do it. Trust me. JUST don't do it.
Lots of things come to mind.
First thing is, NO USB input on the GTab.
Aux out audio quality on your stock system will sound NO different from your stock head unit.
Hanging/Suspending a tab in this way can definitely cause damage to the tab/passengers in the event of an accident/shunt. It could easily turn into a projectile.
Sunlight visibility of the Galaxy Tab is EXTREMELY poor. Most of the time it will leave you squinting in the sun. Dangerous while driving too!

Question: What DO you want in your car entertainment system, that you need to install a Tablet?

[yajaman99]

@smsrini - thanks, i would use the Aux in provided.
@Frank - I am not worried about the SQ if it sounds the same as it does. Plan to use it to keep my 2.5year old distracted. Not quite sure how it could become a projectile and hope i never have to find out . A Plus is it can be used with Mapmyindia as a GPS unit.
I plan to add some sort of cushioning at the back to protect it, plan to use some sponge. Valid point on the visibilty in the Sun, need to check that out.

So the use would be Video, Music, GPS, internet TV.

[frankmehta]

Basic carputer will be cheaper. More fun, and lovely to work with! Think about it.
Not much work, very stable and does everything a tab does, but much better.

[ariesonu]

@yajaman: I back FM with gusto.. DONT DO IT.
If you are doing this whole exercise ONLY for your 2.5 year old son then better hang that G-TAB behind driver or passenger seat. Definately the sound doesn't matter to you.
With the LOW visibility I dont know how much your 2.5 year old will have to squint just to watch his favorite cartoon in the daytime & at the distance that it would be & if in case of night driving the light from G-TAB will be very distracting/irritating.
If I were in your place, I would get headrests fitted with screens, looks neat & posh.

"DEKHAVEY PEY MAT JAA BHAI". You'll become butt of jokes.

On the other hand, I bought G-TAB & is now repenting it. Sigh my 25K.
Buy IPAD-2 & you'll NOT regret it.

Raab Rakha.

[Digital Vampire]

The tab screen does not behave great in brightly lit environments...too reflective IMHO

I too suggest a basic carputer for its flexibility and seamless upgrading ability, but quality touch screens are a major problem there as well. If you can live with an antiquated resistive touch screen and so-so daylight viewability, you can chose from high brightness variants of Lilliput/Xenarc monitors which sort of manages to do the job. A good quality transflective screen (excellent viewability even in direct sunlight) can cost as much/more than the tab itself.

If you are keen to go the tablet way, I suggest cheaper options (but similar specs as tab) which are available across ebay. The hanging thread/dairy case jobs will look ghetto and managing the wires (power/audio) will also look untidy. I remember seeing a blog post elsewhere wherein a hacked Nook Color was integrated into the dash which looked excellent and OEM.

If you want to take the DIY route, please do visit the mecca of Car Computing www.mp3car.com

[frankmehta]

Wooow. A Nook Colour or an iPad would be way cooler.
BUT, then again, Carputer would be cheaper, more expandable and easy to use.


NOTE: Just because I have a carPC in my car, it doesn't mean I am biased against it. But your requirements scream CarPC from all angles.

[devrajman]

For the price of TAB, you can get Pioneer high end systems which have 85% of features you will use in TAB. Also car is a very dynamic env, it might be frustating at time which touchscreen doesnt respond, no remote, etc etc.

Im not discouraging you. If you google, you will see just detachable smart-car infotainment are coming. They are more like, detachable TAB attached to proper car headunit. They are still in testing mode...

[yajaman99]

Thanks everyone for the advice and all inputs are welcome.
I guess if i already had a tab and was doing this it would make more sense. However i seem to have done things in the reverse order.
I am not sure if a 7" DVD HU suffer from the Sunlight issue as well, my guess would it would to a certain extent.
What i see as a plus for the tab is the fact that i can just remove it from the car and use it at home or in the office.
Anyway i asked my friend to get his GTab to the office and would check it out.

My Observations
1. The Tab does have an issue with the SUN but it is still useable.
2. The wire is sagging and this will cause the leather case tear in time.
(need to adjust the tension and make modification to the case)
3. The current Aux wire i have is really cheap and need to get a "L" shaped one.
4. The sound via the AUX port just rocks.
5. The view from the rear is quite good.

Here are some pics taken from my Wave at the office carpark around 1:30pm with my friends GTab in the Fiesta.
The last two pics are taken from the rear seat. with the last one just put the sunshade to see how the look would be.

@arise - why do you say you regert getting the tab?

[mayankk]

As a DIY you could try making something like these....
Ford Fiesta

[thedreamcatcher]

Definitely an innovative solution. But even I feel this may become a hindrance in the long run. I will not get into how dangerous it will be in the event of an accident, cause in an accident there will be several more projectiles and the tab will be only one of your man worries ;-)

Even I was thinking of solutions on how to keep my daughter engaged during long drives etc and thought the best way to go would be the rear seats. I came across several Ipad and related mounts on google, where the mount can be suspended from the rear seat headrest. And not to mention, a mount will ensure it is firm and ensure ease of viewing for your kid as well

If you intend that your kid watches from the rear, the kid will have to sit in the centre of the rear seat, which is generally dangerous as in the event of braking, she / he may roll fall forward. And if kid sits in front (never advisable), then she will try to keep grabbing at the screen.

Going rear should work in many ways. You can buy rear 'headrest' mounts, and as for aux facility, you can buy a 9ft long aux male-male or even female-male cable and then connect what ever to it. You can re-route the cable to the rear and have the ability to connect devices from the rear seat. I have bought this and planning for the DIY.

[searchingheaven]

Considering this windshield mount for my Galaxy tab P300. Is it okay? Any previous experiences? I do not need a android HU. Rather it is there to keep me entertindewd when i sit for 1 hour in my car. It WILL NOT be used while driving.
Link To Ebay Product

[searchingheaven]

Mods, i searched for many threads but couldn't find this discussed anywhere.

I need to buy a tab mount for my 7" Galaxy to use in my car. I would prefer the windshield/dashboard resting one, since i plan to use it only for GPS. Power would be provided by the 12V socket. I cannot touch/tamper with any existing parts( no permanent installation). I have seen many cars/taxis in Bangalore with this. need advice where to find it in Bangalore.