Hello,

I am trying to figure out a way to integrate a 7" tablet in the front, primarily for GPS. Nothing fancy with the dash. Satechi car mount fits nicely in front the climate control display.

What I would like to do is connect the tablet via USB so it can keep charging and leave the BT for my cellphone. I was going to use the 2013 Nexus 7 with Co-pilot app which has offline maps but when I plugged it in the USB, it did charge the tablet but the display blinks "unsupported"
My friends iPad works nice but the Wifi only Ipad mini does not have a GPS chip so it cannot be used as standalone GPS with offline maps!!!

Has anyone tried doing this? Would appreciate any ideas/feedback.

Thanks

 

the car is looking for a specific file folder format.
if the nexus 7 or any other tab does not display this format, the car will not recognize it as a media device.

 

Sounds like the RDX is trying to read the music file format and it can't from the USB connection. If you are trying to just use the tablet as a GPS unit only and not music/movies, I think you are done. Your cell phone can connect using BT or USB for music and you just need power for the tablet/GPS unit only using the 12v outlet.

 

The problem here is that the car is trying to connect to your tablet as a data device, when all you want is power.

To fix this, either get a usb cable that does power only (and no data) or buy a usb car charger and plug that into your tablet. If you want audio from your tablet, you can use the aux line.

 

Power charging is working fine via USB. I want the audio to work also. I can do aux, but the audio via USB reduces clutter and it works great with iOS

 

I think the problem is Nexus 7 is using a different file transfer protocol when connected to Acura/Honda compared to Apple.

Apple products since birth have always had music playback and entertainment in its DNA. The data x-fer protocols haven't changed much or at all for countless years. Other than planned obsolescence with Apple products, you can plug-n-play or just update the iOS and you are ready to rock-n-roll.

The android OS is new on the block and it is always evolving with each generation that pops out every 3-6 months. The FAT/FAT32 based music file x-fer protocol is established in Honda/Acura products; unfortunately, the Nexus 7 is using a different protocol to x-fer files/music. I think they are using MTP and PTP.

MTP stands for Media Transfer Protocol
PTP stands for Picture Transfer Protocol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol

MTP is like NTFS (FAT/FAT32 with more data attached); and Honda/Acura is looking for just simple FAT or FAT32 file format. MTP has extra data contained in the file which an OS can interpret for file management and security of data. Acura/Honda doesn't have an Windows/android OS to read/understand the extra data and it doesn't know what to do with the extra information and it gives up.

Your Nexus 7 is too smart/advance for Acura/Honda vehicles, you need a dumber device like a iPhone or FAT/FAT32 USB stick. Your only choice is Aux or bluetooth for music and USB or 12v for power only.

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I tried out the Nexus 7 with its own audio and copilot app with onboard maps. The setup works ok but the routes which copilot takes are weird! Not wrong, but just something which don't make sense. I think I will stick to the Garmin 5" unit and hook it up in front of the weather display.

 

I think the future of these infotainment systems will be a slot where you can plug in your Ipad / android tablet.

I saw that Apple is going to be in a few car manufacturers but my fear with these is that anyone who has a phone not made by the company who owns the infotainment system code will be out of luck for features and compatibility. Microsoft and Google are also fighting for this space.

Plus, with the speed that technology changes in 4 years your infotainment system will be antiquated compared to what is out there. I am confident that they can probably add blue tooth sensors for a back up camera, lane changing, and collision warnings that can be through such a tablet too.

I am actually surprised we never got a device that does all of the following:
- GPS system (like Garmin or Tom Tom)
- blue tooth calls (some have this)
- XM radio
- radar detector

This way if you rent cars often you have 1 plug in for all. If you have an older vehicle you are good with this add on. If you are on the frugal side and don't want to pay for a tech package ($1000s of dollars) you can still get the features.

 

That is where I see everything going down the road. A hand held cell phone sized mini-computer you can plug-n-play in your car, home, and work for voice/text/photo/movie/TV/video/music entertainment or business/home/car/health/school/games apps you subscribe to. We will just have monitors, keyboards, and docking stations everywhere and we will need a 1-100TB dataplan to access your data. Not looking forward to paying +$1000 per month for this friends and family data service from whatever AT&T/Walmart/McDonald's mega-corp is offering this in the future.

I'm already paying $500 a month for HD cable, internet, VOIP phone, Netflix, and family smart phone service. At least tickle my balls when you reach in my pocket to take my money (rant over).