Hi I've been following this thread with interest as I'm keen to do the same. I run a Nozatec (cheap Chinese Sat Nav) but I prefer TomTom running on Android. I was wondering how the Zenpad was coping and to see how far you have gone. I'm particular interested in whether you have managed to get working a rear view camera as I have this working on the Nozatec. Regarding starting & Stopping the Zenpad there is an App called Auto Sleeper which works very well.

Hi Culagh,
Works for me very well. The on/off stuff is made with Tasker. I also use a plugin which (Twilight) to auto adjust the brightness, works flawlessly. The tablet can be rooted (I only found the how-to on a Russian site, see links above) but I expect the guide to pop-up somewhere on a more accessible site soon.
I had to drill through the left-hand side vent to bring the power in. Did not do it for the aux, bought a Himbox HB01 bluetooth from Amazon and I'm very happy with the setup.
Tablet is not amazingly fast (launching waze would take a couple of good seconds without anything else running) but it works. I've only crashed it once, with waze on, music on, and wifi hotspot on.
Also - the battery does not charge when navigation runs. It's simply too power intensive. I've fixed that somewhat by configuring Tasker to put the thing in flight mode on power off. Therefore the battery drop during a day when the car is not started, for instance, with screen off (of course) is negligible.
Otherwise it looks very OEM - I even put a LR logo as a screen background... MY2011, TD4 Auto, Xenon headlights, fog lamps DRLs, sunroof, tinted windows, almond electric seats w/ lumbar support, leather steering wheel w/ audio controls, dog/luggage guard, ambient lights, flush Whispbars, Mantec sump&tank guards, Xtrons Head Unit

PS: did not bother yet with a reverse camera, but would be nice if someone finds a way. MY2011, TD4 Auto, Xenon headlights, fog lamps DRLs, sunroof, tinted windows, almond electric seats w/ lumbar support, leather steering wheel w/ audio controls, dog/luggage guard, ambient lights, flush Whispbars, Mantec sump&tank guards, Xtrons Head Unit

inaftanaila wrote:

The tablet can be rooted (I only found the how-to on a Russian site, see links above) but I expect the guide to pop-up somewhere on a more accessible site soon.

Also - the battery does not charge when navigation runs. It's simply too power intensive. I've fixed that somewhat by configuring Tasker to put the thing in flight mode on power off. Therefore the battery drop during a day when the car is not started, for instance, with screen off (of course) is negligible.

I don't speak Russian either, just worked with Google Translate and figured it out. I've asked a friend to help with an account so that I can download the necessary files. I'll see if I can download them and upload them here somewhere. MY2011, TD4 Auto, Xenon headlights, fog lamps DRLs, sunroof, tinted windows, almond electric seats w/ lumbar support, leather steering wheel w/ audio controls, dog/luggage guard, ambient lights, flush Whispbars, Mantec sump&tank guards, Xtrons Head Unit

Glad to hear it's working okay. I also trialed a Nexus 7 (2012) Velcroed to my dash. Navigation works, starts and stops with Auto Sleeper but it's to big for the Freelander and I'm still want the Rear view Camera. I have read some where that installing a WiFi camera may be an option and I may try this before committing to the ZenPad.

I read about attempts to fit a camera but gave up pretty quickly as it seemed like way too much hassle trying to automate the function. I can use my tablet to view my dashcam though

I trialled Autosleeper but found that anything running in the background woke the tablet up again once the countdown had finished. So I ended up with Tasker and a native display timeout. Whatever works I suppose

I'm also in this game of installing a tablet in car's dash.
Initially I wanted to install a Pipo u3t. It's a China tablet which has the advantage of a sim and micro sd card in the same time. It also had hdmi output, which was a nice thing to have (for me, at least).



Unfortunately the screen is too big for freelander's dash (although is a 7 inch one). Also, as many China gadgets it had a few bugs let's say, like GPS only working with some apps, restricted access to play store, and others.
So....I gave it back.
Now I have a new candidate for the job:
Lenovo Phab Plus





So far it seems to work flawless.
Taking into account the measurements I made (150mm X 90mm) the screen has the right dimensions (150mm X 85mm, 6.8 inch). This way I can also access the notifications bar.
The tablet is actually a phablet, so it also has a sim (and micro sd) and can be used as a car phone (although I don't intend to).
The only thing I have to figure it out is how to access the charging port and the audio one without having to screw with the air vents (cause the tablet fits perfectly)

I'm currently working on fitting a Asus ZenPad as recommended in this thread. If anyone is interested there is now a root guide in English available here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/de...d-t3311752

So far I have managed to test mount the tablet but have needed to make some fairly major modifications to the vents on both sides in order to install a micro USB lead for charging and a 3.5mm jack for audio. This despite using the slim audio cable recommended in this thread and a similar slim right angled micro usb cable. I did open the tablet with a view to soldering to the motherboard but chickened out based on the size of the micro USB solder pads!

I will let you know how I get on. Does anyone have any recommendations for applications? I am currently using Tasker as recommended here. I don't want to use Waze as I would like offline maps and therefore I am thinking of going with NavMii unless anyone has an alternative? Which audio players are you using that looks good in the car please?

There is a way to connect the device to power without modifying the air vent, but you won't be able to use the data transfer capabilities of the usb port as my idea involves only two wires.

I had toyed with the idea of using the ribbon from a wireless charger but wanted to have the usb lead accessible to use as a data transfer cable. I hope to run the lead to behind the glove box and then connect it to a 12v/5v adapter. I can then disconnect this from inside the glovebox to allow data transfer.

The other idea I had was to use one of these: http://uk.farnell.com/global-connector-tec...dp/2537023

In the end, as I wanted to use a wired audio connector I thought as I was modifying one vent I may as well do the two . Although, with that said the solder points on the ZenPad motherboard for the audio jack did look a lot easier.

I really like your bracket - what metal did you use for that?

It's aluminium.
I bought it from a local construction store

@ Johnny...

Have you tested that charging setup yet? What is the charging rate? I found that with the majority of think/cheap cables I'd collected from around the house the tablet would drain faster than it charged running nav with an always on screen etc. I had to go for a thick Anker cable to get it to run positive. That's using a 2.1a power source of course, and when using the 3G. In flight mode it was OK.

I always use the phablet with 4G on.
When using Waze, also, the charger seems to give the exact amount of energy. The battery doesn't drain nor charge.
Next step it to use it with mirroring option also active.
Anyway, I'm thinking of changing the power method to always on. I don't know if this will have a significant influence on car's battery as long as the phablet is supposed to stop charging when it reaches 100%.
Now is connected to front cigarette socket, for testing purposes. I've installed an app which is supposed to turn on/off screen when powered on/off. But, as Android has some bugs, from time to time although the power is off the tablet shows charging. So I have to find another method for turning the screen on/off according to contact

I have a zenpad fitted with a permanent live via the rear power outlet. I have a on off switch placed in the hole where the audio aux used to be. I just pushed th audio aux underneath and connected a bluetooth adapter to the
audio aux. I use poweramp for music player and am able to adjust audio levels with it , I dont have any probs with sound quality. To turn screen off i use auto sleeper , to turn back on just toggle installed on off switch and screen is back on. Also use car home ultra as interface , which dims screen after 5 mins while in use, just tap to bring back. This has been installed like this since December with no prob with car battery.