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iPad mini and eyes free = best in car infotainment system?

A

Alphaforcex

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 23, 2010
56
0
I never thought an iPad mini is a good idea but I do see some use of it in car. Then I saw the eyes free feature in iOS6 and then it just strikes me... an iPad mini actually makes sense in car. You know, some car manufacturers are working on adding a Siri button in car. What stop them from integrating an iPad mini in that case? Anyone thinks the same??

I am thinking you can even use the iPad mini to stream video to another iPad(s). With the way things are designed, you might even be able to upgrade the iPad mini when the new versions come out. And how about app for in car entertainment?? The possbilities seem to be endless...
 
Why not just use the Ipad?

The make devices to mount them to the seat back. Our family already uses the ipad for games, email, web surf, watching videos.
 
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I have a head rest mount from rocketfish...works great for traveling in the car. we watch movies and tv shows on the ipad throughout the whole trip!
 
Not to burst your bubble, but I don't think there is a market for this at all. The iPhone (and in some cases the iPod Touch as said above) already fill this idea you're having.
 
May be I am not describing my idea clearly since I don't think you guys understand what I am talking about. I am talking about using an iPad mini as a center hub in car for navigation and internet radio etc. IPhone/iPod touch might be able to do this which I am actually using an iPhone right now with a windshield holder but it's way too small for navigation. I have a 3G iPad and I have used that for navigation but it's way too big to be used in car. It's perfect for my boat though.

So with a detachable cradle for in car use, you can dock the iPad mini and it runs in in-car mode which has a primary interface for navigation and Internet radio or other car related apps like gauges control etc. The backseat ipads if equipped will be able to stream contents from the ipad mini hub. And once the ipad mini undock, it will close or put the in car app in the background for normal use.

does this make sense??
 
Alphaforcex said:
May be I am not describing my idea clearly since I don't think you guys understand what I am talking about. I am talking about using an iPad mini as a center hub in car for navigation and internet radio etc. IPhone/iPod touch might be able to do this which I am actually using an iPhone right now with a windshield holder but it's way too small for navigation. I have a 3G iPad and I have used that for navigation but it's way too big to be used in car. It's perfect for my boat though.

So with a detachable cradle for in car use, you can dock the iPad mini and it runs in in-car mode which has a primary interface for navigation and Internet radio or other car related apps like gauges control etc. The backseat ipads if equipped will be able to stream contents from the ipad mini hub. And once the ipad mini undock, it will close or put the in car app in the background for normal use.

does this make sense??
Click to expand...

I already have NAV in all of my cars, but I certainly use my iPhone as the primary source of entertainment in my hour long commute. I already have a dock that plays the iPhone through the stereo while charging it. I can control the tracks with the controls on the radio and the steering wheel. The audio is a direct connection so there is zero static. The mount also swivels and rotates to view in landscape mode. I put all of my car apps like pandora and Netflix (for documentaries that I don't have to look at the screen for) into a folder. It's basically what you described but without the bigger screen which I hope the iPhone 5 will remedy. Plus it's small enough to fit in my pocket unlike an iPad mini which I will either have to lug around or hide because of thieves.
 
JMG said:
I already have NAV in all of my cars, but I certainly use my iPhone as the primary source of entertainment in my hour long commute. I already have a dock that plays the iPhone through the stereo while charging it. I can control the tracks with the controls on the radio and the steering wheel. The audio is a direct connection so there is zero static. The mount also swivels and rotates to view in landscape mode. I put all of my car apps like pandora and Netflix (for documentaries that I don't have to look at the screen for) into a folder. It's basically what you described but without the bigger screen which I hope the iPhone 5 will remedy. Plus it's small enough to fit in my pocket unlike an iPad mini which I will either have to lug around or hide because of thieves.
Click to expand...

The iPad mini idea is to replace the nav in car. You could take it with you or just leave it in. Now if you are car manufacturer, would you just add an integrated button to your vehicle just like what Apple proposed for eye free? I would take a more integrated approach which is to integrate the iPad mini as the in dash unit which is detachable. Now think about how much an in car nav unit costs and how much an iPad mini 3G costs. If Apple can work with car manufacturers and bring all these as an option for less than 1k or even 500, I think it's going to be a game changer.

I was one of the first groups of people who bought the orig iPhone and not that many people bought one due to its cost and monthly fee back then. I think its the same thing for car navigation. You can do so much more with an iPad mini.

Just take your use case as an example, you have navigation and still need an iPhone for all the apps. Would you buy this if you can have it for half the cost of in car navigation and yet can provide much more functionality. I would buy it just for Navigation with Siri alone.
 
Alphaforcex said:
The iPad mini idea is to replace the nav in car. You could take it with you or just leave it in. Now if you are car manufacturer, would you just add an integrated button to your vehicle just like what Apple proposed for eye free? I would take a more integrated approach which is to integrate the iPad mini as the in dash unit which is detachable. Now think about how much an in car nav unit costs and how much an iPad mini 3G costs. If Apple can work with car manufacturers and bring all these as an option for less than 1k or even 500, I think it's going to be a game changer.

I was one of the first groups of people who bought the orig iPhone and not that many people bought one due to its cost and monthly fee back then. I think its the same thing for car navigation. You can do so much more with an iPad mini.

Just take your use case as an example, you have navigation and still need an iPhone for all the apps. Would you buy this if you can have it for half the cost of in car navigation and yet can provide much more functionality. I would buy it just for Navigation with Siri alone.
Click to expand...

I would not want to bring my ipad mini around with me like we used to bring around our stereos back in the early 90s. I would rather have a dedicated ipad for ipad stuff and a nav for nav stuff. Here's the thing, I already have what you described on my iphone with my mount. I also could mout my ipad. It's actually just inconvenient to have to mount something everytime I want to use nav. If it's built in, there is no hassle.

BTW I don't know what this eye free thing is, can you explain?
 
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BMW (and maybe several others auto manufacturers, idk) already offers complete and seamless integration of iDevices with their iDrive system to accommodate all of the features that you mentioned. However, no video entertainment is available while the car is in gear, to my knowledge.
 
Many ppl already started installing ipad minis to their dashes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCXJIjxvPNE

It's going to be even better with the LTE version. I am excited!
 
Considering the OS does a poor job at customizing fonts for a smaller device then a car mount is tough to navigate since text is so small.

Personally, I am considering a nexus 7 for this because it has GPS and downloadable google maps
 
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