HP Slate 500 Car-Puter - Post your pictures here

[TopTongueBarry]

My HP Slate 500 Car-Puter:
I bet I'm not the only one who's thought of doing this, with the 8.9" size of the Slate 500 and the number of applications designed for mobile use of a Windows PC. - With no football every Sunday afternoon for awhile now, it was no problem finding the time for this project. I was surprised at how easy it was to install a HP Slate 500 as a "Car-Puter" in my 2005 Cadillac CTS.

What you'll need:
Extra Slate 500 cradle (ordered from HP parts or the SMB store)
Additional Slate 500 30 W power supply (ordered from HP psrts or the SMB store)
Home Stereo speaker mounting kit (Ceiling mount).
Extra Machine screws for mounting
Phillips head screwdriver

Add-ons to increase the Slate 500's versatility when used in a mobile enviironment:
3G USB Data card (preferrably with support for voice calling)
Mobile connection software for use with the 3G USB data voice connection card.

Audio connection:
The Slate 500's bluetooth adapter connects effortlessly to the car stereo's bluetooth system, and works well for all audio functions (including voice calling using the data card connection) so there's no unsightly wiring needed for audio.

Power connection:
The jury's still out on this one: With the uniqueness of the power connector that's used to deliver the Slate 500 its power, I'm leaning towards using an original HP Slate 30 watt AC power supply purchased from the HP parts store, or from the SMB store and plugging it into an AC power iinverter. The inverter and extra cabling will be stashed behind the glove box.

Here's the Initial Pictires:






TTB

[rockface]

Years ago I installed a CarPC in my Mustang. It was cool to auto-sync music with my home network while pulling into the driveway. A few other things you may want...

1. Car Computer front-end software (Gives you nice big buttons for easy navigation while driving)
2. USB - GPS
3. USB - OBD-II reader and supporting software (Gives you on-screen temps, MPG, RPM, MPH, Engine codes...)
4. USB - FM Radio

Also visit the forums at mp3car.com for help and ideas.

[dgoodisi]

I'm sorry, but this idea is scary.

The last thing we need is more distracted drivers too busy browsing the web or watching a video to pay attention to the road.

Yes people will say "l'm only going to use it for navigation," but the temptation to lookup that restaurant or catch up on the Sunday football game while driving is just to great.

Also, many states have laws governing the size of driver viewable displays and what they can do.

[thierryb]

I did not succeed to access your pictures
I will use my future one for this purpose too

[rockface]

The last thing we need is more distracted drivers too busy browsing the web or watching a video to pay attention to the road.

Agree, their is risk of distracted driving. That's is why the 1st thing people should do is look into car computer front end application. Several are available. It makes the system similar to a touch screen radio.

Also, many states have laws governing the size of driver viewable displays and what they can do.

Governments are just stupid! We don't need laws for screen size, cell phones, smoking, or texting while driving! It ALL falls under distracted driving laws already. We have so many laws in America it's choking us! The problem is laws never go away, you just keep getting more.

Anyway... yes, size is important.

[Rossman]

The problem is laws never go away, you just keep getting more.

The problem is people who think they can do whatever they want behind the wheel! It's been years now that we have had studies showing talking on cell phones is more dangerous than drunk driving and yet still every day I see a wide number of people talking on their cell phones while driving...and without exception, always driving badly as well. Adding car-computers into this mix is just an accident waiting to happen.

So, sure, the laws aren't great, but if people won't stay focused behind the wheel then what are we supposed to do?

Queue the "i drive well when on my phone, it's the OTHER DRIVERS that suck" crowd!

[TopTongueBarry]

This installation has really garnered interest at mp3car.com in the ipad alternative thread!

[Erik Latranyi]

It's been years now that we have had studies showing talking on cell phones is more dangerous than drunk driving...

I reject your so-called "studies" and submit FACTS.......

Traffic Deaths Lowest Since 1950

[krelvinaz]

It doesn't take an intelligent person very long following a car driving erratic on the road to make a good guess that the driver of the car is most likely playing with a cell phone in some manner or drunk. During the day, most of the time its a cell phone. They are extremely distracting even for the best drivers.

Anyone who says otherwise can prove it on a test track and lose that bet every time.

As for traffic death statistics... kind of misleading. If you put 1950 cars on the road today, those statistics would jump right back up.

In reality, Cars are safer, have better protection, seat belts, air bags, anti-lock brakes etc... yet too many get killed still despite all those advancements. Many times it is the extra safety features that embolden drivers to do things they wouldn't normally do because they think they are safer.

Your statistics show just how badly people are actually driving now that they have safer cars that protect you from simple accidents that used to get you killed in the past. More people survive traffic accidents than in the past, so basing your point on only fatal statistics is very misleading.

[rockface]

This thread on mp3car.com does a good job of breaking down the legality of having a large screen in your car. The bottom line (at least in Texas) is that you should not play videos while driving. The fact that the Slate 500 does not even have a DVD drive helps a lot in this argument. Many GPS's and pimp-out stereos have LCD screens with animations, on-screen buttons. I still say, if you investigate some of the cool front ends designed for car PC's you will not be distracted when driving and will not be breaking any laws.

If someone knows of a state that actually has a law limiting the LCD screen size of your stereo or specifically calls out dash-board mounted computers... that would be good to know.