Molding an In-Dash TomTom? Has anyone done/seen this before?

sina3001 · 03-06-2009, 02:54 AM

I know the reason for the car PC is to eliminate the need for a GPS unit, but that was back in the day when a decent unit cost $500-$700 US Dollars. Now, you can pick one up from eBay for less than $100 dollars.

My question is: Has anyone ever molded a TomTom or a stand alone GPS unit into a dashboard before?

What would be great is an in-dash mounting system. Think of a cassette deck on a boombox (not the style in the car). It would be great to hit a button, and have a door pop open. Slide the GPS unit into the "cassette door" where it would plug into a USB to charge or update using a computer, and then you close the "cassette door" so the unit looks built in. That way, it has the same look and convenience of a built-in unit, but you can still take it out to use in other cars or for security.

I searched for a while and didn't find anything. I saw a prototype that TomTom is working on, and it is A LOT like the way I envisioned the whole removable idea but who knows when it'll come out or how much it'll cost.

My ideal system for my Toyota Celica would be to have a dual screen system. TomTom unit on the top and computer on the bottom.

EDIT: typo

DarquePervert · 03-06-2009, 07:23 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by sina3001

I know the reason for the car PC is to eliminate the need for a GPS unit

That's not THE reason. There are lots of other reasons.

Quote:

My question is: Has anyone ever molded a TomTom or a stand alone GPS unit into a dashboard before?

I'm sure it has been done. I haven't seen it, but it's hard to believe that you're the first to come up with this idea.

The most logical way would be to use the included mount for the TomTom and mold that into your dash somehow.
The TomTom we have at work has a horrible circular mount that would make this a difficult task, and it may be the same for all TomTom units. I don't know.
The problem is the large ring mount. You would need to make a recessed area to fit the TomTom with the ring mount inside of that. That would keep the TomTom flush-mounted., yet still removable in case you wanted to program it with your PC or use it in another vehicle.

Perhaps other brands of GPS units would make this process easier.

sina3001 · 03-06-2009, 04:18 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by DarquePervert

That's not THE reason. There are lots of other reasons.

True, what I meant was that it is one of the big reasons, as well as video, audio, internet, and etc.

I doubt I'm the first one to come up with it too, it seems like a simple enough idea...

I was planning on actually having a second 7" screen in the car and running a PPC emulator, which in turn would run TomTom. I even got it working in widescreen mode, which would be perfect for a 7" screen.

My ideal setup would be to have two screen, the one on top would be just for GPS, so I always can see the map without switching around between the music and the other functions of the computer. The screen on the bottom would be for all of the other functions of the car computer.

The funny thing is that it would most likely be cheaper to actually buy a TomTom (I like TomTom, I'm use to it and it works well) off eBay for around $100 and mold it into the car than it would to buy a 7" LCD monitor to dedicate to the GPS. Even the cheapest 7" LCD VGA screens are at least $150-$200.

Although I'd like it to be removable, it would be MUCH easier to just get a cheap unit and build it in.

What do you guys think?

sina3001 · 03-06-2009, 04:20 PM

Just a side note, the GPS screenshots in the above post were taken with it in demo mode, so I wasn't actually driving on the highway at the time...

Bugbyte · 03-06-2009, 05:24 PM

I've thought about this - putting it right in my dash to give me a dedicated GPS device, but you have to figure out how to make it ejectable or you can't use it in other locations.

sina3001 · 03-08-2009, 11:36 PM

I keep bouncing back and forth between ideas. I'm trying to devise a removable device, but at the same time I wouldn't mind just getting a GPS and molding it into the dash. Plus, I already have a GPS unit, so I'll just use that one in, this eliminating the need for a removable design.