In-dash computers, pc's, "car-puter", etc...?

[spinjector]

Does anyone have an in-dash pc...? Such as the Lilliput...?

Is anyone thinking of installig one..? (I am!)

They seem to come in two flavors:

- those with the PC & touchscreen completely in the dash

- those with the monitor/touchscreen/DVD/ports in the dash, and the pc in the trunk

Installing a PC instead of a stereo just makes like a bazillion times more sense to me, because with a PC you can pretty much do anything you want with audio, GPS, internet, remote control, data acquisition, alarm systems, video, TV...anything. If you can add it to a PC, you can prolly add it to your car. The only limitation is that it's best done through the USB port, as because of small size, they have limited connectivity.

I have a Palm Treo 700w with broadband internet, and I use it with my laptop; the connection speed & reliablity are pretty darn good. So with a car PC, the addition of a bluetooth adapter and PDANet, as long as my phone was near the car, the PC would have internet. And of course then come all the goodies, like chat, streaming audio, and Google Earth linked to a GPS receiver - why pay $200-$300 for map software when Google is free?

So anyways - I'd welcome anyone's comments.

Thanks.

[Beetlemania]

I've heard of a MacMini under the dash, with the display either built in the the center dash piece, like a pop-up display, or in the overhead bin if you don't have a sunroof.

[Dragonspirit12]

I want to do this too when I can afford it I would also have it hooked in to my car so as to mesure fuel economy diagnose error codes and if possible retain trip information from the gps

[TDI-Sport]

Originally Posted by spinjector

Does anyone have an in-dash pc...? Such as the Lilliput...?

Hmm. As far as I know, Lilliput only makes monitors, not computers. The title on the auction you linked is misleading - there is no PC there.

Originally Posted by spinjector

Is anyone thinking of installig one..? (I am!)

Been thinking about it for several years.

Originally Posted by spinjector

They seem to come in two flavors:

- those with the PC & touchscreen completely in the dash

- those with the monitor/touchscreen/DVD/ports in the dash, and the pc in the trunk

I've only heard of one company ever making dash PCs - AutoPC, and they never really took off. I'm avoiding dash PCs - the amps in the stock head unit can already cook an egg, combining the audio amps with a PC would probably melt the dash .

The following are pretty good resources for "trunk mounts".

http://www.mini-box.com/
http://www.mini-itx.com/
http://www.solarpc.com

Originally Posted by spinjector

as long as my phone was near the car, the PC would have internet...and Google Earth linked to a GPS receiver - why pay $200-$300 for map software when Google is free?

Gotta remember good ol' Murphy's Law. I expect to get lost only in places with no cell phone coverage. Besides... DeLorme Street Atlas is only $40.

[marvins_dad]

One of my favorite beetles with a computer...
http://www.dellabarba.com/ibug/

Love that display!

Couple more links...
http://www.mp3car.com/
http://carputers.org/
http://www.dashwerks.com/

[Beetlemania]

I guess that's the screen I remembered.