August 13, 2008 - Go Go Guru

vtecfelon23 · 08-13-2008, 05:30 PM

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.

Rear View of the Guru , Front View of the Guru Car Computer, Guru Bios

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 nice for adapting high speed internet.
Resumes from hibernate with 1gb of memory in 17-18seconds. More memory will slow resume time. (see a video here)

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 ( right here in this post)
If you can’t wait until this goes on sale, get a sneak peak this Saturday. 2pm. Lat/Lon: 38.963228,-77.154204

Full install notes are in the show off your project section.
Link to product in the store: http://store.mp3car.com/Guru_Double_..._p/ccc-130.htm

rijndael · 08-13-2008, 07:32 PM

it would be nice if you actually added the pictures.

Ramanator · 08-13-2008, 07:47 PM

Uh huh,

And i thought it was on my end

Fiberoptic · 08-14-2008, 11:06 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by rijndael

it would be nice if you actually added the pictures.

I updated Scott's post. The pictures were in the blog, but not in the forum.

The theory with this section is that it allows people to talk about items which are in the home page blog.

HiJackZX1 · 08-14-2008, 01:23 PM

I notice it has a DVI port in the back. Does this mean it can support Dual Displays (use the original screen and another screen), so you can extend windows?

shakuya88 · 08-14-2008, 02:31 PM

Is the mp3car.com replacment for the infill G4 which is no longer offered? Overall how will it compair to the G4? I was considering a G4 before it was removed so if this is similar You may have a new customer

SFiorito · 08-14-2008, 08:08 PM

this looks great....the price sounds like it might be scary, but i guess it's to be expected for such a full solution like this. for people like me that don't have the time/patience/knowledge in electrical or fabrication work it looks like a great product.

rogerdugans · 08-15-2008, 11:33 AM

That does look like a pretty good unit overall, but....
the price.

The PRICE.

Not for nothing, and I know I am a cheap SOB, but I have had a number of vehicles that cost less than that.
A number of them added together cost less....

I do realize that I am something of a minority around here, in that I have spent relatively low money on my carpc, and plan to keep it that way but seriously....
That is a LOT of dough for a computer.

DarquePervert · 08-15-2008, 12:01 PM

Any possibility of photos larger than thumbnails?

We all know the "less than $3500" price point means $3499.99. After shipping & taxes (where applicable), it will be well over that $3500 price point.

It seems to include all the hardware one would expect (bluetooth, GPS, optical drive, etc.), but it's still pricey for what you get, especially with no software.

What stack does the Bluetooth use? Bluesoleil or Widcomm?

Tidder · 08-15-2008, 12:10 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by rogerdugans

That does look like a pretty good unit overall, but....
the price.

The PRICE.

Not for nothing, and I know I am a cheap SOB, but I have had a number of vehicles that cost less than that.
A number of them added together cost less....

I do realize that I am something of a minority around here, in that I have spent relatively low money on my carpc, and plan to keep it that way but seriously....
That is a LOT of dough for a computer.

Hobbyist isn't the target market. Makes sense why it's probably gonna so much. Quick and easy install for someone that doesn't know jack about PCs, and won't care about the price as they have nothing to compare to. Most of us here can build a better machine for under $1000, but that's why we're here.

We know what we're doing. This probably won't even be viewed as a CarPC by the target market, just a really super duper HU that does eveything except wax your dog.

All in all, neat idea, like the ambient light sensor. Nice touch.

Bugbyte · 08-15-2008, 02:18 PM

Yeah, this is something a car stereo shop will install in your car. I doubt the buyer will be the actual one doing the purchasing of the unit. They'll just be paying for an installation of a car PC.

ik632 · 08-15-2008, 06:50 PM

This looks a lot like the Azentek Atlas. Are you guys going to offer your own branded version of it? The pricing from Crutchfield is still a bit too high for me.

Tidder · 08-15-2008, 07:02 PM

Sure does. From the look in the pics, it will be rebranded. For all we know though, the Atlas is rebranded too.

Wonder if price will be in the same park. A roughly similarly spec'd Atlas is going for about $2400, but with only a gig o ram and unknown hdd size.

Fiberoptic · 08-15-2008, 07:06 PM

I added a little bit of extra detail in this "Show Off Your Project" post.

Fiberoptic · 08-15-2008, 07:09 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ik632

This looks a lot like the Azentek Atlas. Are you guys going to offer your own branded version of it? The pricing from Crutchfield is still a bit too high for me.

Crutchfield has had a coming soon / out of stock flag on that thing for months. This product will be branded guru as you can see in the bios screen shot above.

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