havanahjoe

Rooting a Nexus device is the easiest thing ever. Are you concerned about security?

I've been using T1mur's kernel and an OTG cable I got from eBay for $10 I believe. The kernel is the trick. I'm also using a 2 amp charger from Amazon that is able to charge the battery even when Waze is running and I am streaming music. The kernel also has a very low power deep sleep mode that drains the battery VERY slowly when the car is off, so even if you don't use your car for a couple of weeks, you'll still have a usable charge.

AC works perfectly fine. The ducts are there, they're not screwed into the vent trim piece.

The screen should never turn off if you disable the screen timeout in the settings. You can use Tasker and secure settings (or other apps) to wake up on power and sleep on loss of power. I don't have access to my buttons and have not needed them. I do have easy access to the tablet by removing the bezel. I didn't attach the vents to the ducts, so the whole thing just pops off when needed and stays in place the rest of the time.

Nice! I took my apart to see if I could reattach the board in such a way that I could get the USB cable out of the way, but that ribbon cable on the opposite side of the board made that impossible. Your idea should work perfectly. I have my N7 mounted on the mounting plate with velcro. I used some washers to give it the right amount of tilt, but I have nothing between the bezel and the tablet. The bezel fits very snug on the dash, so it won't move, and the tablet seems to be still enough mounted with the velcro. I have not noticed any rattling. I don't think there could be any, but it's possible I'm not noticing. Some trim between the bezel and the tablet would definitely help make sure no rattle could ever happen, but I don't feel it's necessary.

I passed the visual but failed the sniffer, but the station I went to still does the sniffer test. I thought there had been some wording about looking up some values in a DB for 2008 and newer cars so they could tell if the ECU had been modified. Maybe that's not implemented. It would be nice, ie less of a PITA, if the newer tests weren't that thorough, but why move to a method that is worse at detecting 'harmful' emissions? There's gotta be something off here, either the tech did not do a proper inspection (maybe new inspection guidelines haven't been released) or the machine didn't do a proper analysis of the OBDII data. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you passed (and hopefully I will too if I get an OBDII test), but we might not have it as easy in 2 years if the new tests are fully up to spec by then.

That's true. There's a gal at work that could do it, but she's been out for a few months. Would be awesome to move the cable on mine, this is the only annoyance I have in my current setup.

I did notice that, but my soldering skills would be rated at a 2 at the most haha. Those tiny connectors looked like too big of a task to tackle. I'm definitely interested in seeing how yours turns out.

I tried doing that with my first OTG cable and ended up breaking the whole thing haha. I should try it with an extension. The main problem is that the cable is not that big of a deal, it's the connector, and even shaving it down would take up a big part of the vent mechanism and hinder its movement http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/havanahjoe/IMG_20140715_170229_1_zpsls0vpirv.jpg Right now it works pretty well horizontally, but not vertically.

Yeah, I wonder this too. Can you just come back later? You just have to pay for the inspection? Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Did you have a catted aftermarket DP? Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

You're welcome! Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Thanks!! I had the new one as my personal tablet and got a cheap original modem off Craigslist for the install. When I started setting the old one up, I found it to be very slow compared to the new one. The screen resolution of the new one was also much better, so I decided to use the new one instead since I really didn't use it much. There are two downsides to the new one: - The USB port cannot be relocated as easily as the older model, so I have the cable sticking out on the side (which makes the passenger vent non-functional) - The screen is polarized and is pretty much impossible to see with my polarized sunglasses. I don't think the older model was that bad. Other than that, Timur has a kernel for it so I have the same deep sleep and USB DAC functionality. I love it. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the tips! I think it doesn't help that mine is a 2013 and the screen is I believe darker than the original model. I can take the cover off, but I'm not sure that will help. The screen is VERY hot to the touch when it is rebooting (shutting down because of overheating and booting back up because it has power), so it seems to me like it is just absorbing the heat from the sun. For now I'm parking at work in the shade, but the easiest solution will probably be to use a sun visor.

I kept the stock stereo and can use that for FM radio, but with unlimited data and Google Music streaming, I have not listened to regular radio in a long time. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I've had my 2013 Nexus 7 installed for about a month now, and things are going great. The only issue I keep having is that the sun hits the tablet VERY hard during the day, and I find that the tablet has shut down due to overheat protection very often. Anyone else experience this? How do you get around it? My options as far as I can tell are to use one of those windshield shades or always park in the shade. I wonder if a screen protector will reflect some of that heat away.

Is the sniffer test still being done or are they doing this OBDII test now? I'll just take it to a local shop that I hear is more lenient and see what happens. If I have to swap the DP, I'll do that and retest.

Time to bump this up again since I just got my Smog renewal. Due in August and I am stage 2 with a catted Perrin DP. Everything else is stock. Has anyone done the new test with a catted DP? Should I reinstall stock DP and flash stock tune? I think I have my stock DP somewhere...

I sent an email to the developer asking about intents so that I can integrate through Google Now. Haven't heard back yet.

Spent some time with Tasker and added a music widget on top of Waze that automatically hides when I interact with it. Just like the stock nav would hide the clock and temp display to get them out of the way when you touched the screen. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETlhFQsfCyg]Widget Auto-Hide[/ame]

Hmm. I hadn't thought about that. I definitely need to explore using Google Now to trigger Tasker tasks. I don't know if Tablet Talk allows external commands, I'll have to look into that too. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Finally got all set up in my Subaru. - I'm using an OBDII Bluetooth adapter to get the car's data into the Torque app. - When the tablet resumes, Tasker resumes the music automatically and launches Waze. This can be changed to do whatever I want. - For the gestures, I have GMD which allows me to do next/previous using swipes. A pinch takes me home.I need to play with this more and add more gestures. - I have other gestures through Nova Launcher: two finger swipe up brings up the app drawer, two taps brings up Google Now, two finger swipe down launches the quick settings panel. - To get data, I am tethering from my Nexus 5. When the tablet turns on, it connects to the Nexus 5 over Bluetooth, and this triggers the WiFi Hotspot as well as Tablet Talk. When the Nexus 7 disconnects, Tasker turns the WiFi hotspot off and disables Tablet Talk. - The audio is being sent to the original headunit from a USB DAC at the 3.5mm Aux jack in the armrest through a very short audio cable. This pretty much eliminates ground loop noise. Using the original HU, I keep steering wheel volume control. If I add a Joycon EXR, I can enable a whole range of remote control through the steering wheel buttons, so this will be a future project. - Tablet Talk lets me see incoming calls, and make calls through my phone, and the audio is handled by the Parrot Bluetooth kit that has been in the car since I got it. I still need to figure out a way to enable Google Now to dial from the tablet, right now it tells me this device is not capable of making calls. I can make calls from the Tablet Talk interface Here are some pics of the progress: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/havanahjoe/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20140503_100708_zpslazkjfv2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/havanahjoe/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20140503_144058_zpsdh2ns7kk.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/havanahjoe/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20140503_035619_zpshniwztxk.jpg And a video of some of the features mentioned above [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM3GCuJ1ZqI]Nexus 7 in Spec.B[/ame]

I would suggest you start a thread asking these questions over on xda-developers or an Android forum where you might get some more insightful answers. Here is what you will need: - OTG compatibility: Does the Droid 4 support OTG? - HDMI out AND USB: Is your USB port active at the same time HDMI mirroring is on. I would assume the answer is yes - External touchscreen compatibility: There are two things to worry about here. First, you will need a touchscreen that is known to work with Android ICS (you're running a pretty old version of Android already) and second, will the resolution of the HDMI output work well with the native resolution of the touchscreen. - HDMI to Touchscreen: I doubt the screens out there have an HDMI port, so you will need an adapter to convert the HDMI to whatever the screen uses, so an HDMI to VGA or Composite adapter will be needed. You can use Bluetooth controls, there are bluetooth remotes and keyboards that will work, not sure about mice. With an OTG cable you get a regular size USB port, and then using a USB hub you can plug whatever USB devices you like and they will all work. You can then plug in the touch screen's HID interface, a USB DAC, a USB Flash Drive for extra storage, a USB Keyboard, a USB game controller, etc. A USB DAC will give you a line out and a line in. The line out you can plug into the aux adapter (and having a short 3.5mm audio cable will reduce ground loop noise dramatically), and the line in you can use with a microphone. The Host mode, flash drive auto mount, and USB DAC functionality requires some tweaking and works best with a special kernel, so you will need to modify your phone to make the best out of all this. Not sure if someone has built a kernel that enables this functionality on your Droid 4 (check with XDA). Now, going back to some of your concerns about the tablet. A 12V to 5V 2000mAh cigarette adapter is cheap, and you can use that to power the tablet. The kernel that everyone is using on their Nexus 7 made by Timur takes care of the auto on and off with car power. When the tablet gets power, it will turn on, when power is cut, it hibernates it and the power loss when idle is minimal. There is a kernel for the 2012 version of the Nexus 7 available, and the 2013 version has one in beta (that's what I'm using) that will be available to the public later this month. A used 16 GB 2012 Nexus 7 is about $100 USD (or less), a refurb 16 GB 2013 Nexus 7 is running about $150, since the new model is probably dropping soon. How much will a specialized screen be? If you install the tablet properly, it will look like a nav screen and probably not look very swipe-worthy. You can use the same USB Hub scenario with the tablet. You can add a cheap 32 or 64 GB flash drive with all your music, and you can have a USB port for your phone. I'm sure there are apps that will let you sync music between your phone and your tablet, but if you have a removable flash drive, you can take that to your computer and manage your music that way. I'm guessing your WiFi doesn't reach the car and that's how your apps will get out of date and out of sync with the phone, so keeping the apps up to date will definitely be an issue in a fixed tablet install. You can always use APKs on the flash drive, or find a WiFi spot from time to time to keep thins updated. The one big drawback I see to your phone to touchscreen setup is that there are not a lot of Android phones that have an HDMI port. What will happen when you upgrade your phone? Your setup will not work anymore. The Nexus 4 had MHL support in its micro USB port, but if you used that, the USB functionality was disabled. The Nexus 5 supports a different standard called Slimport, but it has the same problem, when using a Slimport adapter, you lose USB functionality. There are apps that let you sync things between tablet and phone, like Tablet Talk which displays phone call and SMS information on the tablet and talks to the phone over bluetooth or wifi. If you already have a bluetooth hands free, you can initiate a call from the tablet.

A touchscreen with a USB HID can be used to control an android device in theory, since it would pretty much emulate a keyboard and a mouse. The main problem is sending the video from the phone to the touchscreen. I don't know of any Android phone capable of driving an external display. Maybe Miracast? You will also need an OTG cable for your phone, which would give you the ability to use a USB DAC that would give you audio and even a mic input all through the USB port on your phone. The kernel would need to support host mode and charging in host mode so your battery doesn't die. IMHO, this is the wrong way to attack this. A tablet is a much easier solution that does not require you to do anything to get it to work. Plugging and unplugging something every time you turn the car on or off is tedious for me. It would be simpler to make your phone share its Internet connection to the tablet and use a Bluetooth kit to route your calls to the car. Hopefully someone can chime in with more suggestions on making it work your way. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I decided to tackle this project in my Spec.B. I ordered the JDM Nav Bezel from avojdm (I was impressed that it got to San Diego in 3 business days!), a $10 USB DAC, a Y OTG Cable, a USB hub, the Amazon 2Amp charger, a right angle connector and some heavy gauge USB cables. I was planning on using a 2012 Nexus 7 I got for cheap off Craigslist, but I have a 2013 model that I use as my personal tablet, and after using the 2012, I found it to be pretty obsolete. I decided then to sacrifice my personal tablet (don't use it that much anyway) and install the 2013 in the car instead. Timur has already ported his kernel to the Flo/Deb Nexus 7s, so I signed up for his beta. Public release will happen sometime in May. I'm still waiting on some parts (cables mostly), and my main concern at the moment will be getting things plugged into the USB port of the tablet since there's not a lot of room between it and the vent. I want to avoid cutting the vents, and unfortunately Flo has no easy way to pop out the ports like Grouper (2012 model). Looking at iFixit teardowns of Flo, the USB port is on a board that has 4 ribbon cables going to it, so not going to be that easy to move. I am following EquinnoxX's instructions for mounting for now. I have the same brackets. Haven't removed my stock NAV yet so I don't know how much room I will have in the cubby to put the power supply, and USB hub, but it shoudn't be an issue. I will be running a USB cable to the armrest where the DAC will reside and a short 3.5mm audio cable will plug into the AUX input. Here's how it looks in a fitment test: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/havanahjoe/fitmenttest_zpsc2e0682c.jpg I might add a Joycon EXR down the road to map the steering wheel controls, but for now I'll stick with GMD gestures and Trigger/Tasker automation as well as Overlays for floating widgets on top of Waze. The 2013 Nexus 7 doesn't have the silver edges, so it looks good in the space. It is just the right size to leave no gaps visible, and there's also no need to modify the bezel to have the edges of the screen fit properly. I can access the bottom of the screen nicely, where in the 2012 model the edge of the screen was too close to the bottom of the bezel. I will post updated pics and process once I'm done. Here's a daytime pic, you can see that the edges are not as visible. This is not perfectly centered yet: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/havanahjoe/DSC08206_zpsbd55bf19.jpg