I started this little pet project to dock a xoom tablet in my Armada. I went with a Xoom tablet because it has my favorite music player, Music PlayerPro(which I actually did some of the skins for :) ) and also because it of Google's maps/navigation.

To begin, here are the concept photos when I was trying to determine where and how it will fit:

Concept Before:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/womount.jpg

Concept W/ Dock
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/wotab.jpg

Concept W/ Tablet in Dock
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/wtab.jpg

My goal was to build something that looked clean and matched the interior. I didn't want it to stand out to the point of looking tacky/cheesy. I also didn't want to harm the existing interior/dash. Partially this is because the speed at which technology changes. If I built it into the dash, then sold my car a few years for now, who the hell is going to want a Xoom when there is the ipad 5 and some sort of augmented reality gadget.

Anyways, right now this is how it looks(quick cell phone pic):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_1.jpg


Tonight or tomorrow I'll try to snap some more photos with a better camera. I'll also take some without the tablet in there, though I'll warn you now it's unfinished(still needs a bit more sanding/priming and some paint).

If there is enough interest I'll post more photos when it's done and talk a bit about my set up and how it was built. I should note, the cell phone pic makes it stand out more then it does in person. The glare reflecting on the dash makes the contrast much higher then it is in normal use.

That is nice. Good job.

...and I would get some gas soon if I was you :D lol.

Those are some very good reasons not to intergrate it into your dash... I noticed that it drops down fairly low, almost covering the disc input slot... do you use the OEM head unit at all or just the Xoom?
Nicely done install. From the pictures it looks very nice n clean- definately not tacky. :)

That's a huge screen! Are you able to play video on it as well? Sorry for the questions... not familar with Xoom tablet at all... haha

wow, thats nice!

@97trakin: Lol! I think it's because the car motor is off and the camera's flash is reflecting... but now I think I'm going to double check haha.

@Kooshtaka: My thought process was that if the tablet is in place, I won't be using any of the head unit. I left just barely enough room so that you can still access the disc drive and eject buttons. The only thing I could see needing to adjust is the bass/treble/etc, however I can also adjust those on the music equalizer on the tablet, and I also have a knob beneath my driver seat for my subwoofer.

I am able to play video, music, stream songs, browse the net, etc. It basically has the functionality of an android phone, though less apps made specifically for it. Most phone apps scale pretty well, but some do not. I think that is one of the big things the ipad has over the xoom right now is the sheer number of made for tablet apps. I joke with my friends that I'll be the first guy to get a ticket for playing angry birds while driving(don't worry, I wont).

I also chose not to incorporate a power cord because the battery life is really solid(8 hours) and I charge it most nights anyways. It connects to the audio using bluetooth. My car lacks a built in bluetooth unit, so I got one of these . Which basically plays bluetooth audio through my AUX input. I originally had a parrot, but this works 100 times better for music and sounds as good as running an aux line straight to the device. The cool thing about that device I linked is that when I start my car, my tablet (and/or phone) will automatically connect to it and fire up the music player and start playing the last song I was listening too. This makes the whole process really effortless.

The nice thing about using bluetooth is it allows for my friends to pass it around the car and use it for other things while it still plays music. I should also be able to control the music from anywhere in the car(or outside the car for that matter) from my phone or tablet depending on whatever I have connected. If I ever go on a road trip I can just use the second power port to run an unsightly charging cable to the tablet, though that is on rare occasion!

Thanks for the compliments!

Nicely done & good thinking!

I really like the creativity you employed for this one.....Im a tech guy and I like it, stuff like this gets me excited

Good job man....looking forward to more pics/updates

This is an awesome mod, can't wait for more pictures and a how-to lol.

I appreciate the feedback! Snapped a few more photos as promised. It's still a bit rough, but thus far I've focused on getting the size/angles/curves/etc correct. Next comes the polish. Will tighten up the fit and smooth everything out. Then some primer and paint. Thinking right now I'm gonna go with matte black.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_2.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_3.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_4.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_5.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_6.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_7.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_8.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_9.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_10.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_11.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_12.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/53830/xoom_tablet_armada_13.jpg

Once I wrap it up I can throw together a little how-to. Though this is my first project of this type so it may be a bit unorthodox haha.

Nicely done!... i like how made it removable. :) One question thought: What happens when you hit a big bump, drive a really bumpy road, make a quick sharp turn? Will it stay secure and the whole mount not fall off your dash?

very nice photo. do you have the wifi or 3G model?

i have the 3G model. bought it launch day 24 feb. love the xoom!!

are you a member of any forums with xoom sub forums? im a mod at one of them,, ;-)

this looks real nice for an 04-07 model. no go for the 08+.

RAM has docks designed for the xoom. one guys used an laptop dock for the xoom in his suv. looks real clean. im holding out for one of those. they have a gooseneck arm that mounts to the seat bolt.

Looks excellent..!

Could you give some more info....

I wanted to know what type of I/O-connections the tablet has? Are you using the AUX interface for it's audio output?

Any info on the GPS feature?
Do you need to have a service provider in order to use some of it's functions?

@Kooshtaka: Ha! I've thought about this. I have a few ideas in mind. One is to be to put a strip of velcro on the part that it hangs from(inside the little shelf on top of the dash). Then you wouldn't be able to see it, but it should hold it more snug. The fit is snug enough right now that it won't slide side to side, nor shake around, but i'm sure if it were to get lift some how it would definitely fall off. If velcro isn't enough I'll probably throw some double sided foam tape. That stuff has like 2lbs of hold strength on it's own, so if it's only keeping the thing from rising off, it should be plenty strong again without damaging the dash.

@marctronixx: I went with the Wifi only one. I'm signed up with tmobile and I have a Nexus One, so I put a shortcut on my home screen to enable hotspot with 1 touch. Then the xoom will automatically connect to that if none of my other connections are available.

What forum are you part of? I've posted on 1 of them a few times, I think it was phandroid. I haven't found one that I've liked enough to keep me coming back time and time again. Mostly just because it seems to be random people asking the same questions over and over haha. I don't know the interior of the 08+ off the top of my head, but id be happy to check it out and give you ideas should you want to try to make something!

@Invanity: I'm actually using bluetooth. I got a TuneLink which is connected to my AUX(though also lets you use FM at reduced quality). I originally had a parrot installed, but the tunelink through AUX sounds substantially better. It honestly sounds about as good as plugging the tablet straight into the AUX. The xoom also has microUSB and microHDMI outputs and it's own proprietary power plug(ugh). Since the tablet has such strong battery life I've opted not to connect any wires to it. If I go on a long trip I'll just use the second power port to connect the tablet car charger. The nice thing about the tunelink is it has a USB out as well so that I can charge my phone from that without needing to use up another socket.

As for the GPS, the GPS will work no matter what, however you need some means of loading the maps from the internett, othewise it'll just give you your location on a blank screen(or cache data which means you cant load anything new). Your options are basically to get the 3G/4G version of the tablet or to get the one that is wifi only. The 3G/4G version requires a contract with verizon and you'll pay monthly for data(full internet access), where as the wifi one will require some sort of wireless. As I mentioned above, for this I chose to use my phone as a wireless hotspot, so my tablet just connects to that and shares the internet. It works very well for my situation.

As for the maps program itself, Googles navigation app piggybacks their map software. It gives you turn by turn navigation from a 3d viewing angle. You can choose between satellite and street views. You can view traffic(which is scary accurate), you can look up places to stop(gas stations, food, etc), amongst numerous other things. The navigation app is all free, again, it just requires some sort of internet connection. In my opinion, the quality of googles navigation trumps all dedicated GPS units I've seen. The one area it will suffer though is if you frequently travel in areas outside of cellphone range. If you load a route, it will cache that route so that you still have the maps outside of cell range. However, if you are outside of cell range and you try to change your route, it will be unable to load any of the new maps.

Let me know if you have anymore questions!

NICE! I like the xoom too! droid user here too. but the xoom is to costly for me. Im waiting for the Transformer :) man, there will be a market for this if you can mass produce it for other cars ;) cant wait for ur how to :D

Thanks for the info man! Great info.

I have T-mobile as well so if I do get one it will be the WiFi version and I will run my Droid G2 as the hotspot (luckily I am in the HSPA network, pretty quick speeds)

How big is the internal memory? Is it expandable?

I would primarily use it for music and of course GPS.

So what apps does it have? Is there a big app market for it?

Thanks again man

Very impressive! I wish I had room to fit something like that in.

dru, the real estate on our dash is at a premium. the xoom (or any 10 inch tablet) could be something you should look into. with GPS, turn by turn directions, android scanner apps, etc, it coulld possiblt take over one or two pieces of equipment in your car already. ram mounts make mounts for the xoom and flypad :D.

he xoom is avail in 32 gb and there is a 16 gb coming out possibly in the next couple months. there is an sd card slot for 32 gb max however its not yet activate on the OS (very LONNNNNNG story and beyond the scope of this thread).

i have the 3G version and its completely taken the place of the laptop.

yes th site i mod on is phandroid: http://androidforums.com/motorola-xoom/ . i promise if you come by ill take care of your questions.. ive had this sucker since feb.

the asus is also a great contender. there are so many tabs coming out this year! if you guys are looking for tabs, hold out until may/june. the majority should be out by then.

htc is coming out with a 7 inch tablet..

Very helpful post Mactronixx! I may get to see the Xoom on Monday, at work. :)

very nice photo. do you have the wifi or 3G model?

i have the 3G model. bought it launch day 24 feb. love the xoom!!

are you a member of any forums with xoom sub forums? im a mod at one of them,, ;-)

this looks real nice for an 04-07 model. no go for the 08+.

RAM has docks designed for the xoom. one guys used an laptop dock for the xoom in his suv. looks real clean. im holding out for one of those. they have a gooseneck arm that mounts to the seat bolt.


Why no go for the 08 model?

the mod the OP made is designed for 04-07 model armadas. the 08s and up have a different dash.

Ouch....just looked at the prices for a WiFi Xoom without a Verizon contract...DAMN IT

Ouch....just looked at the prices for a WiFi Xoom without a Verizon contract...DAMN IT

Two words

Asus transformer ;) but that sucker is sold out everywhere. It's funny how I recommend the transformer and other android tablets to other people but I'm typing this on an iPad lol. It's free so I can't complain :D

Welcome to CA mikeCSU! Helluva nice concept!:2cool:

Two words

Asus transformer ;) but that sucker is sold out everywhere. It's funny how I recommend the transformer and other android tablets to other people but I'm typing this on an iPad lol. It's free so I can't complain :D


I'll have to check it out....

the asus is ok. under the hood its not as good as the xoom. the xoom is vanilla android which means when google releases updates the xoom will get it immediately.

the xoom has had a major update to 3.1 whereas the asus is still 3.0 due to the fact asus has to step on the OS (put their code, etc into th honeycomb os) plus their use of SD card is not exact.. more like a bastard process.

the asus is the hot ticket next to the xoom. do not even think about the playbook...