Xzibit would be proud.
Yo, Dawg...
Anyway, enough of the ropey Pimp My Ride link…
As well as having an unhealthy obsession with tech and all things Apple, I’ve had a life-long love of cars and all things automotive. Cars and tech seem to go hand in hand.
So when I stumbled across this video of a chap installing an iPad into a car dashboard, the 5-year-old in me almost exploded with excitement, and the 20-year-old on the outside mentally planned out how this could be done in my mum’s Corsa.
The video stars Doug Bernards, who talks you through installing the iPad into a Toyota’s dashboard and, as you can see for yourself, the results are stunning.
What I’ve always liked about ICE – or in car entertainment – is the back-to-basics approach of it all. Plastic is cut and moulded with a Dremel drill, loads of filler and fibreglass is used to round off rough edges and the whole thing is glued together. And yet, with this bargain basement techniques, the results can look very professional.
Great fit, but I see glare...
I do have a few issues with this iPad setup though. Firstly taking the device out looks to be a real pain, and you just know the first time you forget to remove it, some kid in a hoody will do it for you. And secondly, the power button looks to be pretty much impossible to reach.
Also, can someone please say ‘glare’? The shine of an iPhone or Macbook used outside renders the device pretty much useless, so can you imagine trying to focus on the iPad – as a passenger, officer – with loads of sunlight, glare flying all over the place and while moving? I’d be spectacularly unwell.
And can you imagine trying to poke and prod the screen while moving?
The guys have done an impressive job and I expect to see loads of iPads appearing in show cars very soon, but I don’t see it as a practical replacement for a car stereo, or even integrated DVD player.
Alistair
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Posts that may relate in some tiny way to whatever I’ve just said:
When Did ‘Need’ Become ‘Want’?
iPad Applications Blog 