New Tech - My NAV Upgrade

[we350z]

My 16:9 screen started getting some bad pixels - which mysteriously have gone away since but I'm sure will surface again someday.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 -> A2DP Bluetooth Receiver -> AUX IN + $5 Chinese Bluetooth OBD2 Dongle = WAYYY better than stock NAV / board monitor vehicle info screen. No problem connecting both bluetooth devices.

Secured with low-medium grade double sided tape (battery removed for less weight). Removable / non-permanent mounting solution. Sticky but not too sticky to damage screen upon removal or leave a residue. Be sure to wipe down both screen and the back plate on the phone with rubbing alcohol prior to placement. Make sure the phone lays perfectly flat on the screen (must be aligned left to right properly).

Hardwired to a 12V 2.1 amp Monoprice USB car charger dongle (glove box light cigarette lighter converter). Tried some other chargers which were finicky - not enough juice to power the phone.

Wifi tethering from my Galaxy Nexus. Should be able to do phone calls with the built-in mic and Bluetooth phone audio.

Android Torque OBD app from Google Play Store works and is pretty badass...

Love having quad core cpu, multi touch screen, split screen (2 apps), HD screen, movies, intelligent NAV (traffic info), waze, Spotify, Google Music, Google Voice / Phone, text messages, etc.. etc...

Picked the phone up for $380 on eBay (bad esn). I bought a cheap chinese plastic backplate to use instead of the stock metal one. USB wire mostly conceals in the crack between the trim and dash.

[TerminatorX5]

at first i thought you have installed some carPC with some cool application... but, after closer look, realized, it is a phone laid over top of the factory screen!!! WOW!!! amazing approach!!!

[we350z]

Thanks - yeah I think this is light years ahead of a car PC. Android with the stock Google car dock application, locked into reverse landscape mode. Found the NAV wallpaper online. The Samsung Galaxy Note II is the perfect size. You could probably build a nice plastic bezel extension to cover it or futher hold it in place.

I originally intended to flip the phone horizontally so the mic would be closer to the driver but the wiring did not run / hide as well. I figure the MIC should still pick up my voice just fine. Will have to do some testing.

I ran the wiring out of the S-PEN hole in the lower right hand corner. I'm going to try to make the wiring less visible. To have the two small + and - wires clear the back plate I had to sand down the area in the lower right corner of the back plate (not the phone) with a dremel.

Originally Posted by TerminatorX5

at first i thought you have installed some carPC with some cool application... but, after closer look, realized, it is a phone laid over top of the factory screen!!! WOW!!! amazing approach!!!

[Clockwork]

but what about radio/cd player functions? you loose the screen for those then by covering it up with a phone.

[525iT_Feen]

Seems like the functions are awesome but I can't get over how it looks.

[we350z]

I could care less about those features. Plus you can still use the radio presets, or scan buttons on the deck or the steering wheel. You can access the vehicle info and even radio station via the LCD display under the speedo.

It's also not permanent if you want to or need to remove it. For instance when it sits at my parents house this summer I will take it home with me...

One thing I forgot to mention is that I turned down the brightness on the stock screen all the way (which is remembered even if the car battery is disconnected) before mounting the Note because you can see light shine through the cracks on the sides a little bit at night otherwise when it is dark.

Originally Posted by Clockwork

but what about radio/cd player functions? you loose the screen for those then by covering it up with a phone.

[we350z]

I'll take function over form. It would be nice to implant it permanently where the existing screen is or build a nice bezel to blend it into the existing deck and/or hide the wiring better.

I don't have a good solution for better hiding the wiring right now but one thing I am thinking about doing is cutting the rubber sheathing further down which will expose the small positive (+) red and negative (-) black wires that are running to the terminals on the back of the phone. I would sharpy the red one black. Should make it a little less noticeable.

Originally Posted by 525iT_Feen

Seems like the functions are awesome but I can't get over how it looks.

[we350z]

Some more pics I snapped last night. I haven't messed around with split screen mode yet.


Car Dock Application (auto-starts as default home screen)


Google Music


Phone


Google Navigation (real-time traffic monitoring, layers)


Browser


Torque Pro (Orange Metallic Theme)

[pap smear]

I gotta do this

[romeokc10]

Looks good!