ArcherMind shows off 'world's first' Android-based in-car nav system
By Darren Murph 
posted November 24th 2009 9:33AM
posted November 24th 2009 9:33AM
posted November 24th 2009 9:33AM
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I'll wait until KITT comes as a factory default option.
I will wait until KITT comes as a factory default option.
I will wait until KITT comes as a factory default option.
I will wait until sKITTles comes as a factory default option.
This isn't exactly what I've been waiting for, but they are on the right track here. I've been playing with the idea of installing a car-pc, carputer, or whatever they're being called these days, but having Android as the OS running things sound like a much better idea than having Windows. I'm hoping Pioneer or SONY take note and create something that's a little more visually appealing.
Personally, I am waiting for a complete in-car computing solution hosted by Android. Throw in am FM radio just for fun, but...
Youtube, pandora, navigation, email, alerts, calendar, etc....this could work in conjunction with your existing android device and the android device can actualyl be used to tether for 3G (though the head unit has wifi perhaps). This way, one does not need to be signed into two devices with one account. the phone becomes the slave in this instance.
WoOP.
Would be very interested when it eventually comes.
Quite fed up with the unreliability of car PCs now.
Does android support tethering from a phone? Hook this up to a phone for cell service, use internet, and run the google navi app. That would be a whole bunch of win.
Android is designed with captive attention in mind which is very dangerous in the car. The UI and everything else must be designed so that I can at-a-glance do everything. A number of the many android apps will work, but most of them won't.
That's why something like OpenICE's LinuxICE is a better choice. http://openice.org
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how one looks at it), if this sort of thing is new right now, it'll take several years generally before it actually trickles down into a regular passenger vehicle as a factory option. Automakers generally prefer to go with things they have had a lot of time to test and integrate with other components, for reliability reasons (reduce warranty claims and avoid tarnishing their reputations).
But there are a few other industries that move even slower - the power industry and passenger aircraft industry to name two. But again, it's because they require an extremely high level of reliability for obvious reasons.
Does it hook up to the OBD II bus of the car so that it can display engine and car performance stats in real time?
oh come on the Sprint Hero had Sprint Navigation before the Droid came out:)
Yeah... that all sounds cool.. but the last new car I bought had a stereo with 2 (that's right ... two !!) banks of FM channels.
Rock that mofo...
Looks more like the world's first Android-based in-suitcase nav system.
Anybody notice the volume knob is missing?
This would be perfect karma for Motorola, the company that first put radios in cars (hence the name "Motor" + "ola"), to return to it's roots after 80 or years.
"One could argue that the Motorola Droid is in fact the first-ever Android-based in-car navigation solution"
One could argue more that the G1 running CoPilot was the first-ever Android-based in-car navigation solution. I've been using it for months.
Have you been on ArcherMind's website? I've said it once, and I'll say it again... no pictures, no product.