Larry Grubbs 
Lake Oswego, OR
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| 07/24/2008 4:41 PM |
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| It's a Pentium M 753/ 1.2GHz. |
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Tony Sims
Beaverton, Oregon
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| 07/24/2008 5:11 PM |
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Posted By Craig Miller on 07/06/2008 11:27 PM
When considering the cost it helped me to remember that besides navigation, a UMPC can be used to:
- Store a RAVE manual
- Download and store photos
- Read an OBDII code
- Send an email or surf the web via the free WiFi available at many rest stops.
- Keep a travel journal
- Store and play music, movies, etc...
- ????
Craig
Craig, do you know if there's software to support an FM tuner or a Satellite radio tuner? Then the space occupied by the car sound head unit becomes available for other uses, like a Ham. I could probably live without FM, but I would miss my NPR.
(Apologies to any conservatives present -- Among my many flaws, I support and enjoy public radio. But I swear, when I need a good laugh, it's always a toss up between Fox News and Comedy Central.)
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Tony
'92 County "Thirsty"
"Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything." ~Charles Kuralt |
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Craig Miller 
Mt. Vernon, WA
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| 07/24/2008 9:24 PM |
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Yep... I ran RoadRunner (free) when I had my carputer in the truck. It supports an FM Tuner, Sirius, and XM... amongst other things like DVD movies, DIVX movies, mp3 jukebox, CDROM music, OBDII, navigation, mobile phone integration, etc.
Check out http://www.mp3car.com
Craig
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NW Overland Society Badges (Click Here To Order)
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Craig Miller
Mt. Vernon, WA
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Todd Eliason
Nights who say Ni, in Sherwood
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| 07/24/2008 9:43 PM |
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| Where are you guys finding the best pricing on these? |
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1993 RRC LWB - 300TDI
2000 DII
1986 Rollerblades - 33mm mudders |
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Larry Grubbs
Lake Oswego, OR
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| 07/24/2008 10:00 PM |
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| So far I've just been watching eBay. |
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Tony Sims
Beaverton, Oregon
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| 07/24/2008 10:20 PM |
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Posted By Craig Miller on 07/24/2008 9:24 PM
Yep... I ran RoadRunner (free) when I had my carputer in the truck. It supports an FM Tuner, Sirius, and XM... amongst other things like DVD movies, DIVX movies, mp3 jukebox, CDROM music, OBDII, navigation, mobile phone integration, etc.
Check out http://www.mp3car.com
Craig
Hmmm... I'm creeping ever closer to abandoning my Luddite ways...
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Tony
'92 County "Thirsty"
"Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything." ~Charles Kuralt |
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Craig Miller
Mt. Vernon, WA
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| 07/24/2008 10:23 PM |
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Posted By Tony Sims on 07/24/2008 10:20 PM
Posted By Craig Miller on 07/24/2008 9:24 PM
Yep... I ran RoadRunner (free) when I had my carputer in the truck. It supports an FM Tuner, Sirius, and XM... amongst other things like DVD movies, DIVX movies, mp3 jukebox, CDROM music, OBDII, navigation, mobile phone integration, etc.
Check out http://www.mp3car.com
Craig[/quote]
Hmmm... I'm creeping ever closer to abandoning my Luddite ways...
It is quite a bit of work to integrate it all. Fun, but quite a bit of work. In the end you replace 1/2 dozen truck gadgets with one screen which really cleans up the interior of the vehicle.
C
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NW Overland Society Badges (Click Here To Order)
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Todd Eliason
Nights who say Ni, in Sherwood
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| 07/24/2008 10:53 PM |
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| Craig, do you think the UMPC is better than the carputer? Or a tablet PC? |
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1993 RRC LWB - 300TDI
2000 DII
1986 Rollerblades - 33mm mudders |
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Dan Cronin
Bothell, WA
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| 07/24/2008 10:59 PM |
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| Nice avatar Dr. Cornholio :) |
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Craig Miller
Mt. Vernon, WA
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| 07/24/2008 11:19 PM |
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Posted By Todd Eliason on 07/24/2008 10:53 PM
Craig, do you think the UMPC is better than the carputer? Or a tablet PC?
I'm not sure I could say whether the UMPC or the carputer is best. They are more different than I expected.
I preferred the clean look and integrated functionality of the carputer install. It was an all purpose entertainment and navigation system.
The UMPC is nice because I can take it out of the vehicle. I can plan a route at the picnic table, walk into Starbucks and surf the web, carry the OBDII reader to a friends truck, bring the RAVE manual to the job, sit at a table and journal, store/share photos, or hand the *map* out the window for someone else to view. It doesn't replace the radio, XM/Sirius, DVD/CD player, etc though. While it isn't as clean of an install as the carputer in-place of the factory headunit, the UMPC *is* small enough to mount in the truck w/o cluttering or cramping up the cabin too much. It can be dash mounted like a larger GPS (Think Garmin 276).
If you don't mind the room it takes up, the tablet PC works the best for navigation do to its large screen and is similar in functionality to the UMPC.
Craig
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NW Overland Society Badges (Click Here To Order)
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Larry Grubbs
Lake Oswego, OR
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| 07/25/2008 6:41 AM |
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I agree with Craigs assessment as well. For me no GPS had all the features I want. The fact that the UMPC is an actual PC is another draw for me. I won't be leaving in the truck and essentially won't use it in the truck except when off-roading. However, now I'm adding another PC to my stable that will eventually help me with my plans for world domination.
It's very useful. |
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Ben Bailey
Portland
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| 07/25/2008 7:51 AM |
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| I had wondered about doing this, and someone I met this summer did. He bought one of those cheapo 12" touch screens off of eBay for $180 (no brand name, made in Xxxxxxistan) used a simple mount to put it in reach of the driver, then simply ran a normal RGB cable to the back footwell where he had his laptop sitting there. Essentially, if you've ever hooked your laptop up to a projector, this is what he was doing. And either Windows or some 3rd party has a touch screen keyboard that is probably free. Anyway, he had been running it that way for a year with no problems. I may get around to trying it some time. |
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RBBailey
Images
Rovers |
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Paul Wilhelm
Snohomish, WA
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| 07/25/2008 1:02 PM |
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UMPC vs. Cheepo notebook vs. carputer vs. Garmin vs. PalmPC vs. ???
There's always a trade off in cost and capability. I was bewildered over which way to go for a while and was caught up in the "for a few dollars more" cycle many times but in the end just picked a flexible platform and went for it. I got the ASUS R2H. It is a good starting point for a touchscreen IMHO. There are certainly faster, tougher, brighter, lighter, bigger, smaller, more capable machines out there but no combination came close to the $600 price point for a complete unit that did what I wanted it too. Besides all that, these have been out for well over a year and are readily available.
I should get my RAM mount this Saturday. |
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93 SWB RRC (trail rig)
93 LWB RRC + 81 Series III 109 = (hybrid to be) |
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Paul Wilhelm
Snohomish, WA
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| 07/27/2008 9:58 PM |
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So here is what the R2H looks like in it's RAM mount. Visibility is pretty good.
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93 SWB RRC (trail rig)
93 LWB RRC + 81 Series III 109 = (hybrid to be) |
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Craig Miller
Mt. Vernon, WA
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Larry Grubbs
Lake Oswego, OR
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| 07/28/2008 10:43 AM |
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| Is that the permament mount ram-mount or the suction cup mount? Good, or bad, thing about the Disco II is that I see a lot of hood out of the windshield so I doubt visibility will be a problem. Also, I noticed they have an 18" flexible mount available that's not listed for the Asus but will work according to their tech support. It is however shown under the Motion LS800 mounts. It would position the GPS over the center console like a lot of the other laptop mounts do however it appears that it won't interfere with the passenger as much as the others. |
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Paul Wilhelm
Snohomish, WA
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| 07/30/2008 11:28 PM |
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It's screwed to the dash. That's one of the beautiful things about the old Rangie, screwholes aren't as big a deal.
The RAM mounts are quite interchangeable. For mine there is the 2 base pieces with a rubber coated ball and a connector clamp. That's it.
I wan't very confident when ordering on the RAM website since they are rather skimpy on pictures. For $6 in shipping the mount showed up on my doorstep in 3 days though. I think the plastic holder is the only thing unique. If you get a gooseneck, windshield suction cup, or pivot stand, they should all use the same connection. I chose the screw down, shortest length connection they had because I didn't want the computer dangling on the end of some contraption when things get bouncy. I'm very impressed with how solid this mount is. Visibility certainly isn't a problem either. It also happens to be within comfortable reach for touchscreen use. I can't wait to hit the trails armed with my new gadget.
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93 SWB RRC (trail rig)
93 LWB RRC + 81 Series III 109 = (hybrid to be) |
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Larry Grubbs
Lake Oswego, OR
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| 08/19/2008 9:44 PM |
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| Alrighty, picked up a Motion LS800 of of eBay with the Ram Mount, Garmin software & crappy GPS reciever. My question is, who makes topo software that is compatible with touchscreens? I checked out the Delorme and they claim it doesn't support it, but their city stuff does. I know about Overland Navigator and have been in touch with Craig about it. I am hoping to have something for my Eastern Oregon trip over Labor Day. |
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Gene Sparks
North by Northwest
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| 09/11/2008 3:40 PM |
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Posted By Paul Wilhelm on 07/03/2008 10:11 PM
It has one SD slot on the top
2 full size USB 2.0 and 1 mini USB
1 wired ethernet port and an expansion bus port under a little cover
1/8" mini plugs for microphone, headphones, and a/v out too
Built-in 1.3 M camera and mic
The GPS has a "flip-up paddle" but no reception unless you plug in the external antenna.
The front panel around the screen also has various buttons for joystick navigation, scrolling, mouse buttons, fingerprint scanner for logging in, etc.
In most reviews I read they mentioned slow processor (900mhz Celeron), heat and short battery life as negatives. For what I've messed with so far, none of this has been a problem. The battery goes for a couple of hours at full tilt usage (it has options for slowing speed and dimming display). The screen is daylight readable though not especially great when wearing sunglasses with polarizing lenses.
I am concerned about dust getting sucked in though. I'm thinking about this issue and might rig up a tiny 12v CPU fan/prefilter for it.
The GPS comes with a nice voice guided street map. I like being able to scroll and zoom the map around to see where I am (like Overland Navigator which I need to buy ASAP) and with one tap on the screen button I'm back seeing my location on the 2D or 3D map. The voice gives PLENTY of warning for upcoming turns.
I'll let you know how well my iTunes install goes 
Paul,
I just bought one of these but won't get it till next week. I assumed that the antenna was built in (the paddle) but you say that you have to hook up an external antenna, is that correct? If so where does it hook up and do you have to buy one?
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Gene in Aberdeen |
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