The Mp3Car Blog

Introducing a new all-in-one Car PC solution!

For the last 6 months MP3car has been testing the Guru PC. The Guru is a new double din sized car computer that packs a serious punch. My review of the Garmin Mobile PC software was actually implemented using this hardware. This product is a significant step forward from previous “all-in-one” car computer offerings. We have decided to sell this in the store within the next 2 weeks. As with any new product, there are a lot of exciting things about this unit plus a few drawbacks.

The Good:

• Easy to install
• Fast. Really Fast. Garmin, StreetDeck, and Centrafuse fly. We might test Road Runner this weekend.
• Stable; It has only crashed twice in 6 months of testing
• Very nice sunlight readable screen. This isn’t quite transflective grade but it is better than most
• Tons of features packed in one box - Dual core CPU, Wifi, GPS, Bluetooth, PCMCIA, Amp, array mic, 120gb HD, 2gb Ram, shallow profile, low power, AM/FM hardware integrated, volume knob, programmable buttons, ambient light sensor, optical drive and more.
• The PCMCIA slot is a nice expansion option for high speed internet, more sound cards, CAN bus, MOST bus, or ther add on hardware. 

The Bad:

• There is currently no software support for any front ends; however, several front-end developers are aware of the hardware.
• No software support means clunky control of the AM/FM Radio, some of the preset buttons have no function.
• There has been no firm commitment from any front-end developers to support this hardware. We are told software support is just a matter of writing radio and button control plug-ins.
• Power management for the device is also software controlled. We hope to have an application done to handle all this by the time it gets released in a few weeks.
• The Price – The price hasn’t been set yet, but it will be less than $3,500

The Install:

• Here is a quick work log of my install.
• Hover your mouse over for an image description
• A full version will be posted shortly in the Blog Talk Forum(Link).
• If you can’t wait until this goes on sale, get a sneak peak this Saturday. 2pm. Lat/Lon: 38.963228,-77.154204