Nexus 7 Tablet

[Korbah]

I've been looking into a nexus 7 as a potential car audio/nav system option because I was not satisfied with the audio options available in Australia

ie. The GT has a basic radio, GTS has a fairly average satnav, BRZ has a basic radio w/ a $1800 upgrade option to get a Eclipse avn827ga satnav

The Eclipse AVN827GA is the best factory option between the two cars and is superior to the US offering.....however, a quick look at the youtube videos should show you that it pales into comparison to what an android tablet can offer.


HOWEVER

There are problems with the Nexus 7.....


1. It's internal DAC is shitty - hence you want to do USB digital out and let an external DAC do the digital->analogue conversion or else you'll have to put up with a noisy inferior signal due to the Nexus' cheap audio internals. In a recent build (

) some gents opted to just use the 3.5mm stereo jack and pass it into an Audison Bit One processor - I am unsure if this will sufficiently clean the noisy signal and adjust for the low quality internal DAC. I suspect a USB digital out -> USB DAC option avoids the issue of noisy signal and shitty dac better and for much lower cost.
2. Currently the Nexus cannot DO USB audio passthrough.....however, it is likely that a rewritten USB stack driver will allow this in the future with modding of the jellybean 4.1 usb driver stack
3. Currently not only can the Nexus not pass through to USB audio, if you WERE able to get a new driver it is unlikely that you could be able to CHARGE simultaneously whilst outputting USB audio. More USB driver stack modding is required
4. Android resamples its music to 44.1khz 16bit afaik......no point putting all your sexy lossless music on it or buying expensive 24bit 96khz DACs to output to your car amplifier......again this is a driver/kernal issue that is potentially fixable
5. The Nexus should be well secured into the dash such that in the event of an accident it doesn't become a missile that maims you
6. The Nexus is not made for high heat environments ie. like a car baking in the sun and may degrade over time with battery issues and screen warping a potential problem
7. As previously mentioned the Nexus has no inbuilt data. Either tether it to your mobile phone or buy a small 3g wifi hotspot device to leave in your car.....imho this isn't a huge problem but needs to be recognised
8. Bluetooth only really permits syncing with one device at the time - thus for those hoping to sync to the radio using bluetooth to get wireless audio output you won't be able to use a bluetooth torque device simultaneously
9. A in-dash install kit does not currently exist and no user that I'm aware of has demonstrated a readily reproducible mod to allow replacement of the stock HU with a well seated and professional install of the nexus
10. The factory nav kits have phone syncing options that far outstrip those available between tablet and phones. This is a driver/software issue and probably beyond the scope of brainstorming in this little thread.

As you can see there is a few key issues that need to be addressed before the Nexus is a clear solution......




If the connectivity and audio driver/kernal issues were addressed I would do something along the lines of the following install (assuming it all works nicely):

Requires:
- Nexus 7 Tablet
- USB OTG Cable
- USB powered Hub
- USB DAC for digital->analogue music conversion
- Amplifier for car speakers
- OBDII bluetooth device for use with the torque app

1. Perma install of the Nexus removing the stock HU
2. Nexus connects to a powered USB hub via a USB OTG cable. USB hub is connected to battery and allows the Nexus to charge.
3. Connected to the USB hub is the existing USB auxillary port which would the be accessible by the nexus (eg. you could use a usb stick to access files or a usb controller for games....maybe even a usb camera for use as a reverse camera )
4. Also connected to the USB Hub would be a USB DAC which would take the Nexus' usb audio out and convert it to 2 RCA analogue outputs. These would be run to the car speaker amplifier
5. The existing 3.5mm auxillary input on the dash (adjacent to the USB) would be great to keep in case someone wants to plug in their phone/ipod etc. Depending on the USB DAC or car amplifier selected it could plug into one of this devices as an auxillary source. I'm unsure of how to select this as a source though.....definitely a WIP problem :P




So assuming that:
- The Nexus Kernel/driver stack is updated (allowing charging of the nexus whilst outputting audio via usb and without music quality downsampling by the android os)
- You have a tetherable data source
- A nicely fabricated mount for the nexus that's SAFE (potentially with options to readily remove the tablet)
- The ability to retain the function of the USB and 3.5mm auxillary inputs already existing in the car
- Some way of insulating the table to prevent heat issues


You'd have a killer solution that would absolutely smash the factory options in terms of functionality even recognising you'd still be missing the phone syncing options (calls/contacts/mms/sms)

We're not there yet and need further discussion, thoughts and problem shooting! Chip in and brainstorm

[knaa]

Originally Posted by privfaith

Anyone know if you can connect multiple bluetooth devices to the N7?

I am considering the tablet route simply because of the versatility of the android OS but would prefer to not have it leech off the cellphone all of the time.

Amazon.com: Dual Electronics XGPS150 Universal Bluetooth GPS Receiver for iPad 2, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone and Other Smartphones, Tablets and Laptops: GPS & Navigation

+1

I'm considering going this route since I'd like to use my nexus 7 for gps and audio, but also be able to take calls from my phone. Any idea how to do this?

[PhyrraM]

Does ANY 7" Droid tablet have a decent DAC?

Also, FYI..the OBD-Key (www.obdkey.com) is supposedly the only bluetooth key to support the SSM protocol. (does the BRZ/FR-S even use SSM?) Most tablet based stuff doesn't use the SSM protocol now, but as fast as the open-source stuff moves, you never know if you might want SSM one day.

[winter]

I like how it looks built-in.

[BRZPDX]

Reviving this thread from the dead.

I just got a ASUS Android tablet to use Torque with my bluetooth OBDII reader (ELM327). I know this thing works since I've used it on my phone, and it worked on my tablet ONCE.

Now it won't even find the OBDII bluetooth in the bluetooth section (finds my windows phone). I've "unpaired" it once to reset connection, since it froze up on me (lost connection and real time reading froze up).

My phone still see's the OBDII but not my tablet. Has anyone had issues when once lost connection, the device can't even see the OBDII reader? Helpp!!

[schmearcampain]

Originally Posted by BRZPDX

Reviving this thread from the dead.

I just got a ASUS Android tablet to use Torque with my bluetooth OBDII reader (ELM327). I know this thing works since I've used it on my phone, and it worked on my tablet ONCE.

Now it won't even find the OBDII bluetooth in the bluetooth section (finds my windows phone). I've "unpaired" it once to reset connection, since it froze up on me (lost connection and real time reading froze up).

My phone still see's the OBDII but not my tablet. Has anyone had issues when once lost connection, the device can't even see the OBDII reader? Helpp!!

The problem seems like it's with your tablet, not the OBDII reader.

[StancedLifestyle]

there's this one guy who is starting to build some mounts and pretty interesting. I'm not marketing for him or anything, but let me know if you want information.

[denist]

Here my own creation for Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4.
Not difficult to reproduce if anyone has interest in it..

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...t=15407&page=2