Android Head Units for mapping, OBD, music etc?

[MOguy]

this company makes a sleek dock mount for lots of tablets: http://www.proclipusa.com/tablet-holders/device/samsung/galaxy-tab-4-8-0.cmsv

i use one of theirs for my Sony Z2 10.1" tablet and it is my stereo system, on-road nav, and off-road gps with topo maps. before that i had a XOOM with a custom made similar dock. before that it was a laptop with a dock hooked to a touchscreen. i've always done things this way so i can take the device inside inside to download maps, or over to the campfire to discuss routes, or review photos, or let the kid watch a movie, etc.

I want coaxle cable coming in from cable or dish, HDMI going out. RCAs for sound. The docking station needs to be like the back of my TV. It needs to take the place of my dish receiver, my DVD, stereo, security. All of it. Set the tablet in place. Just the TV, tablet and docking station. Nothing else.

 

[87Warrior]

Rando - Thanks for the info. I am surprised the Android OS allows app data to be accessed via a thumb drive. If Backcountry Navigator can read and write to a thumb drive, that would eliminate one more step to my mapping sequence. Awesome!

 

[1MK]

I took mine out. The novelty wore out and the small things here and there really started to annoy me.

The straw that broke the camels back though was the volume knob intermittently stopped working.

Put a Pioneer AVX5800 in and couldn't be happier. The sound is night and day in quality and tune-ability.

 

[MOguy]

Thanks for the informative thread. This Android unit might be what I need, but I have a couple of concerns.
- Does it have an FM radio out of the box?
- Is there an SD card slot that could be used to store and use Backcountry Navigator maps on? Is it accessible when the unit is installed? I like to build my routes on a PC then load them into BCN.
- Does the usb port play music and video?
- Does the wiring offer an Amp turn on and Power Antenna trigger?

I recently bought a JVC radio that was supposed to support Android linking, but it doesn't work and has been a big disappointment.

I am not smart on this but my kid's $40 smart phone will allow FM using it's own antenna, without the need for a cell signal as opposed to my much more expensive tablet not having this capability. Could having a regular head unit with blue tooth or another way to connect a smart phone (with FM capability) to it work for you?

 

[87Warrior]

I took mine out. The novelty wore out and the small things here and there really started to annoy me.

The straw that broke the camels back though was the volume knob intermittently stopped working.

If you would like to get a little $ out of the old unit, please let me know I am curious to an Android based radios functionality for me.

I am not smart on this but my kid's $40 smart phone will allow FM using it's own antenna, without the need for a cell signal as opposed to my much more expensive tablet not having this capability. Could having a regular head unit with blue tooth or another way to connect a smart phone (with FM capability) to it work for you?

It was mentioned a few posts up that it comes with a built-in tuner.