Thread: August 13, 2008 - Go Go Guru

Originally Posted by Store Customer Question

I have gone through the specifications of the Guru computer (product code:
ccc-130), but am not able to make out how it would be better than the Infill
G4.

For starters, the Guru Computer has experimental written all over, no
support etc etc. no proper manuals, honestly it all sounds a bit scary for a
first carputer install. On the other hand the Infill has been installed and
blogged all over the interent on various forums and has been tested and
people are happy with its performance. The Infill also looks better
according to me. It has a C7 processor for low power consumption. Whereas
the Guru has a core 2 duo heavy power consumption processor. The price of
the Guru is way higher than the Infill. I''m looking for a capacitive or SAW
touch screen as opposed to the 4W resistive touch screen in the guru. I
could be wrong about all the assumptions I have made.

We are taking a much more conservative approach in regards to selling and positioning this product. We don't want people to get the impression this is a fully documented and software supported out of the box ready to go solution like you might get from pioneer.

In my opinion, this is a far superior product to the Infill. It is faster, has the same or lower power consumption, the construction and engineering are superior, there are more accessories included by default, it has only crashed once in over 6 months of testing. The biggest drawback is that software support is not finished yet. Again, in my opinion, the strengths far out weigh the lack of software support.

The guru is really so much better it is hard to draw a direct comparison. It is kind of like trying to describe the differences between a ~2002 year dell inspiron laptop and a modern day mac book pro.

Originally Posted by Store Customer Question

Also please tell me if the infill is available or not, if not when would be
available. Are there any other In-dash carputer kits which ya''ll have. 1
very important requirement for me is the capacitive touch screen like th
iphone. Please tell me if ya''ll can arrange that.

The infill has been completely discontinued to lack of responsiveness from the factory and a severe drop in quality on the last production run.

We don't sell any capacitive touch screens. To my knowledge they don't exist on consumer grade 7" VGA displays.

There are several in dash screens on the store but nothing is "ready to go" like the guru.

Originally Posted by [B

Store Customer Question[/b]] I see you guys are selling this unit (the Guru double din PC) as an "experimental" unit. Also in the description, it says there is no "front end" installed. Being somewhat new to car PCs in general, can you explain what that means? I take it from the description that it has something to do with the radio, correct? I see too that you mention that the programmable buttons "require software developer support", can you elaborate? For all of these features that are unimplemented, and/or require development work, do you have specifications, guides, manuals, or anything kind of documentation to help out? And lastly, do you know if this unit will work in a Toyota FJ Cruiser?

Please see the last post for more details on why this marked as experimental.

Examples of front ends would be Centrafuse, StreetDeck, and Roadrunner. There is a forum full of other options. Most front ends control all of the functions of your car computer through one software interface and have a suite of tools to allow developers to extend the functions of the core interface.

"require software developer support" - means they won't work outside of the radio application until front end developers or members of the community add support for them.

For your question about the Toyota FJ, you would need to carefully check the "Product Dimensions" listed in our product description.

Originally Posted by [B

Store Customer Question[/b]] Please note, I am a software engineer of over 20 years, very familiar with
Windows software development at low levels, and I would be interested to
know if there is enough information available to implement these missing
features, if they are indeed missing. Please feel free to answer in detail,
and don''t worry about talking over my head. Thanks, Ted

We will soon be releasing SDKs and programing tools to software developers as part of our wiki. A lot of this documentation is included on the CD that ships with the unit. We hope to move this documentation online soon so developers can look at this before they buy.

Originally Posted by ik632

I noticed that the frequency response is listed as 500Hz-10kHz on the purchase page. Is this correct or is this a typo? I would be ok with the main speakers crossed over that high if I had a woofer, but if I didn't and had a nice set of components I'd probably want the full range to them.

Here is the reply I got back. Let us know if you have more specific questions and we will try to clean up the audio specs:

"The -3dB range will be 20~20 KHz for the main speakers."

Well I have to say I am interested in the Guru but like many others here I have been comparing it to the Azentek Atlas CPC-1000. They look identical from what I can tell. The CPC-1000 comes with its own functioning front end software (running Vista OS though) and has an available option of running CAN-BUS/OBD II directly into it from what I have read. Pricing is roughly the same or even less depending on where you find it.

For the MP3CAR.COM staff, what are the pros and cons of the GURU vs the Atlas CPC-1000.

Thanks

Jason

Originally Posted by kb9kst

. Pricing is roughly the same or even less depending on where you find it.

I think the only place people have been able to find the Atlas CPC-1000 is at trade shows so it is hard to do a direct comparison.

I understand you're getting "a lot" of hardware, but go look at the forums and the people who frequent the site you're selling this on.

• No software besides windows and drivers
• No support beyond hardware with a 30-45 day window and the hassles of intl support (if I read the product page correctly)
• Targeted at labs etc... Would a lab really even consider paying that much for half a product?

You seem confused on who you're targeting with this. I was hesitant on the Infill at a 2G price tag. You throw a pre-fab unit out here for 50% more and don't even include a front-end of any kind? I mean really can't you at least put an interface on there for the price? I'm fine with the no support, but go that extra distance at least.

I have a 2005 Scion tC and when I first read about this I was psyched. But honestly, I'm not spending 3,000 for a product where, while to you it's a cautious approach, to me all you're saying is "good luck". I think you're really undermining people's confidence in your product by taking that approach. Think about it hard. If you're looking at labs etc as a target audience why would they spend this amount for what you're giving them?

I apologize for the length and I'm really not bashing this product as I think it has huge promise. Quite honestly it hits everything I would be looking for with regards to ease of installation, port locations, etc. I think you do need to take a step back though and re-evaluate the wording and the little things you can include to make people less hesitant to take the plunge.