Monday, December 15, 2014

Installing Tablet as a replacement to car receiver. In Progress....

Introduction.

You can add to your car the following features:

  • Navigation.
  • Stream music from Internet (pandora, spotify, etc).
  • Music MP3 player.
  • Media device.
  • Rear View Camera.
  • GPS Locator to your car.
  • Torque App.  Displays diagnostics, speed, how gas is consume and a lot of nice goodies.

I am going to addres each of the challanges, but the information wil be based on the Nexus 7, 2002.  I will put information on the new nexus as well.

Mounting the device.


This is the most challanging of all the steps, as this requires you to think about it.  The first how you want to use your device and also, how you pas the cabling.

To make a permanent mount you will have to use a 2DIN cable.  But your radio receiver, will have to be located somewhere else.





Metra makes mounti kits for virtually all radio systems.  it happens that the DN2 standard is about the same size as the tablet.

If you have amplifiers one popular way to connect the tablet if by the use of a signal processor, or pre-amp like the Clarion EQ746.  But you will need to find a location for it.

You can use your stereo, but you will also need to find a location for it.  I am not covering this because, I am not mounting permanently my tablet.

Mounting the tablet can be done by using your preffer way of mounting the device.  I will be using for now, velcro tape.

I will be using a magnet, and place my tablet somewhere.

There is a metal called Neodymium, this is a very strong magnet.  You can buy these on Ebay. 

This project is an example of a very good solution:

Mountkek.com
This Open source as well.

I probably wil  do my own by buying magnets.

You can use a CD mount:




You can use a seat rail mount.




this one is a Akron Seat Bolt, sells in Walmart for a little over $30.  Amazon has many other options.

I will go with one like this:




Installling Timur:Not an option...

Root tablet.
Download flashify.
copy the zip of the image to root of sdcard.
You can use also ROMManager.


 Kangaroo and slimkat
.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Cell Phones, Tablets, PC in a Card, lead to a new breed of supre cheap fast devices.

The fact that Smart phones are so capable, has driven a new market.  The tablets which are based on the eletronics of smarts phones.

These two has driven the PC market to evolve at a very fast pace.

We have seen the follwoing:

ChromeBooks, are low cost computers that can run Chrome OS and are fast, with very cheap hardware as requirements for this os is low.  The Chrome first a fast Browser integrated with Google's Ecosystem, now also an operating system for embeded devices, and of course computers.
Chrome Logo, driving the market.


Google is starting to use servers using low price CPUs, by Qualcom, and other manufacturers.

The introduction of small factor pcs in a chip such as the Raspberry Pi, was the beginning of the development of PC on a chip that has apurr a big community, and actually many projects, including games console are coming down the piple via open source market.
The Raspberry Pi PC in a Chip.

Then we have small countries people are using their cellular phone and tablets are replacements to their Desktop computer.  Because with a lower cost they can do most of the things they do on a computer.

During all this races and evolution, Microsoft and intel stayed behind.  Microsoft bought Nokia, and developed a mobile version of Windows.  At the same time, Intel developed cheaper chips,and it is in lline to come up with the Edison, a chip for wearable computers.

De fact that Chrome OS can be run on any arm computer, also, enter the stalishment of a new market to devices that can make TV smarts.  This is an evolution of the apple tv, but now you can get Android based devises that are fast for under $30 dollars.

Microsoft failed to compete with Apple with their line of Surface.  Which ad a version of Windows 8.0 stripped, lacked in number of native applications compared to Androids or IOS.  Also, the operating system was not really designed for a good touch experience.  Additionally the hardware was expensive to put together.  it is not easy to come up and compete at the level of Apple when apple demans so many millions devices in sales, and can drive its suppliers, to give htem low price, or they caan develop their own parts from scratch.  But this is another story in itself.

There is a series of events that might change the complete computing device arena for years to come:

Microsoft is giving away their Windows 8.1 for free to low end computer manufacturers.
Intel reduced prices of of the baytrail, or Atom platform which is a system in a chip.  These are quad chore devices with pretty good graphics capabilities and low battery conpsumption that enable the surgence of a new market of low end devices starting with:

The fact that now, capable hardware is available for cheap, and the platform can run a full blown version of Windows, and leverage the already mature R&D under the x86 microcode, including Android itself for x86 which came out last year we have.


Android based tablets that  are cheaper and faster than the Arm based ones.like the Asus Memo pad, the Dell Venue, and meno other players.

Transformer laptop/tablets running windows 8.1.
Asus transformer


7, 8, and 10 inches tablets running windows 8.1.

These all includes Office 360, 1 TB of storage in cloud.  But I have tried them and the performance rivals fast laptops.

I got the Winbook 7 to play around, and it has become my book, and multimedia box.  Since I can connect a USB keyboard, it has a micro hdmi connector, I can use it a s a HTPC or a desktop.

My only concern is over time with the windows updates, the 8 GB of storage will probe to be too low.  I can expand with sd card, and also sb drives, but the OS has to be on the drive c.  Still looking for an answer for that, but if you want to have one of these long term, you must have the 32GB versions of these devices.  Some come with a hardrive.

Wallmart sells this laptop/tablet for $179. 


I will update this post with more.  For now, this is the fist issue.

Since this is a full blown 32bit/486 architecture you can load stuff like Linux.  Follow the following instructions to boot from USB:  How to boot from USB:

Intel introducing the HDMI Stick PC.
  This stick is $150 and it is a full blown pc.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Current Wireless phone service deals, and other opportunities to save money.

Unlimited voice, text data on tmobile for $10 bucks.  

If you have a gsm unlocked phone or tmobile phone you can take advantage of it.

Samsung S3 unlocked.




The verizon Samsung S3 which sells about $100 model  SCH-I535 is a dual mode phone and comes unlocked for GSM Network.

You can use either Ebay or swappa.com


Fatwallet Staples Clearance Threat.

This is a threat from the best forum specializing in sales, and opportunities.  Good to check of you are heading for stapples.  Staples is known for good unadvertised opportunities to get stuff at dirt cheap prices.

RingPlus, and Ting.


If you own a sprint phone you may want to use any of this services with rates starting at $6 dollars.