Thread: iPad alternative

Widescreen? that's kind of odd shape for a tablet. Who would want to use it in portrait mode? I think the iPad 4:3 like is more flexible and a better compromise for app/web surfing/film viewing.

Originally Posted by murphyslaww

In Austin, the cloud is reality.

We have city wide availability of 4g Wimax through a company called Clearwire.

I work in Cell tower data backhaul actually provisioning the circuits this rides on, so I have a bit of informed background in the area.

We just finished a 3 month project provisioning 880 major carrier 4G towers in Texas, so it's coming, perhaps a good bit quicker than one might expect. As long as you live in the same areas that 97% of the U.S. population does, you will have access to at least 1.5mb d/l and 500kb u/l within the year, I would imagine, but I can't speak to areas outside of Texas.

Much greater speeds will be available in some areas covered by LTE, and HSPA.

It's been interesting watching the tablet vaporware appear, get hyped, then disappear as back room meetings about supply chain reality set in and they realize they can't sell something that will be competitive at the iPad's price point now, much less if Apple lowers the price to what they can, (about $300)and still make a profit.

Well, I got 3mb/s download on my iPad via 3G here, but as soon as I'm in the car driving, the speeds drop like a stone. At 80mph you better forget movie streaming even with strong signal. For me, THAT is the biggest issue with 3G technology, the ability to follow a car down the highway.

I'm having second thoughts regarding the HP Slate. If it can run RR or CF that's not a long way towards being an acceptable car computer. If it can, as it should, host USB drives and what not, this by itself is a big advantage over other tablets.

I unfortunately gave up my wait on the HP Slate as well as a carPC for now, but a 1.8ghz atom with broadcom crystal hd and SSD on board is very appealing.

Anyone read dimensions on that dock? If it's about double DIN size I could see this being a great option, easy to leave the dock in dash attached to any accessories and take the tablet with you like you would a high end headunit screen that was removable to make it less appealing to theives.

Originally Posted by Sicarius123

I could see this being a great option, easy to leave the dock in dash attached to any accessories and take the tablet with you like you would a high end headunit screen that was removable to make it less appealing to theives.

Wow, that is a great idea.... where have I seen that before?

Haha sorry, just saw the double post, fixed now.

I'd think the slate should be quick enough to run what's needed. My new netbook is a 1.8ghz dual core and is pretty swift, the ssd should make more difference than the extra core.

Old thread, but something some may have not considered.

There are available lenovo/IBM X41 1.6ghz, superlight laptops that weigh 2.7lbs.( I picked one up for $145 on E-bay)

Lenovo has a 60gb 1.8" SSD available for it, at around $140 on ebay.

This laptop fits in my glovebox, and may fit slid into a dock in my glovebox. A highly mobile, removable Car computer, for $300 + remote screen purchase, which for the lilliput that will fit my Subaru is another $300.

600$ for a pretty versatile, Win7 running carputer seems like the best of most worlds.

My HP Slate 500 Car-Puter:
With the 8.9" size of the HP Slate 500, the number of applications designed for mobile use of a Windows PC, and no football on Sunday afternoons 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:
1. Extra Slate 500 cradle (ordered from HP parts or the SMB store)
2. Additional Slate 500 30 W power supply (ordered from HP psrts or the SMB store)
3. Home Stereo speaker mounting kit (Ceiling mount).
4. Extra Machine screws for mounting
5. Phillips head screwdriver

Optional add-ons to increase the Slate 500's versatility when used in a mobile enviironment:
1. 3G USB Data card (preferrably with support for voice calling)
2. Mobile connection software for use with the 3G USB data voice connection card.
3. Car Computer front-end software (Gives you nice big buttons for easy navigation while driving) (CF and RR run just fine)
4. USB - GPS
5. USB - OBD-II reader and supporting software (Gives you on-screen temps, MPG, RPM, MPH, Engine codes...)
6. USB - FM Radio

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.


TTB

Wow! I've been waiting for someone to test the speed of the HP Slate for media!


Your pictures are broken btw, you'll need to re-host them outside of the palm pre forum.

Any chance you could take a video of it running the carputer software? Also any chance of a video of it running windows media centre? (wanting to compare the speed to my D525 system).

I'd also really appreciate measurements of the dock, I've been wondering how close to double din it is.