Car PC

[DSqr]

I've been looking at in-dash navigation systems and came across a website for in-car PCs that add a lot of functionality to the out of the box nav systems.

Has anyone gone this route, and if so, were there any Kappa related issues that I should be aware of?

[XplosivePlushToy]

I was seriously looking into this for well over a year, and had drawn up my plan and parts list to go forward with it.

MP3Car.com is a great resource for information for this, but I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't practical. I was going the cheap route, using an old desktop PC, and between the peripheral parts, software, wiring, housing, and all that jazz, it just wasn't cost effective to me. There are head units on the market now that can do anything a carPC can do, for usually hundreds less.

But that's just my opinion.

[reedred]

Originally Posted by XplosivePlushToy

There are head units on the market now that can do anything a carPC can do, for usually hundreds less.

But that's just my opinion.

It's mine too.

I'm probably going to replace my portable nav with one that's a tablet PC running Windows Mobile. I figure if I'm going to go to the effort to have a computer in the car, I'd rather be able to take it out and use it when I arrive places.

[ASMx4]

Originally Posted by reedred

It's mine too.

I'm probably going to replace my portable nav with one that's a tablet PC running Windows Mobile. I figure if I'm going to go to the effort to have a computer in the car, I'd rather be able to take it out and use it when I arrive places.

mmm....

I bought a Garmin Sat and attached it to my laptop and used that, with Mapoint, for a couple months till the rally season ended here in Wis. I'm close to pulling the trigger on a Garmin 760 but, like you guys, have looked at tablet pc's, which have come down in price quite a bit. That idea fell away after looking for mounting units...didn't find any I liked.

reedred, care to share more of your thoughts on what your going to do?

[reedred]

Originally Posted by ASMx4

reedred, care to share more of your thoughts on what your going to do?

Not really. The company I work for came out with one that's pretty nice, but I don't want to run afoul of supporting vendor rules, nor do I want to feel responsible for anyone's purchases or problems they could have. I'd imagine there are others on the market too, so I'd really rather people do their own research and buy what they feel is best.

[DSqr]

Thanks for the insights. I've also been looking on mp3car.com and I've come to a similar thought. The new smaller form factors are intriguing, but I'm not technical enough to put the system together from scratch and I don't see too many installers involved in it at this time.

I've been looking at the Pioneer unit that others on the forum have installed and I think I'll go that way. I spend three hours a day in the car and the pc capabilities were tempting, but there are other ways to skin the cat.

Thanks again.

[JackB]

I am going to transfer my PC over to my Sky very soon now. I've taken it out of my Civic and I'll be putting it in in the next few weeks. I really like having a PC in my car. One thing that I've not seen a HU do is play Donkey Kong while waiting around for someone.

The biggest issue that I'm going to have is the lack of space in the Sky. I've got a Sirius unit, the PC (small form factor, but still about 9"x12"x3" or so.) and my amps. The HU/Monitor I'm using is the Xenarc MDT-X7000. I've been using it for a couple months, and it has some issues, but it's got almost everything I need.