Create Your Own Android Auto Car Tablet Infotainment System
My car came with BlueTooth support for handling calls as well as streaming media from my phone, but that's about it. No control over the phone and no GPS. Of course that was no problem as Google Maps far surpasses most built in car GPS systems and I had a mount that I would put my phone in on my dash. However, when my spouse got a newer car that had a built in infotainment system, I was a little jealous of the large touch screen and integrated music controls. So I decided to get one for myself via a 7" (perfect size) Android Tablet equipped with just the right apps to make it the perfect car companion. I created a YouTube Series (below) with videos showing some of my set-up and certain tricks to do some things. If you're more of the reading type, here are my suggested steps to create your own super cool Android Tablet Infotainment System:
for me. You can see it in use as well as some OBD2 adapter reviews on my YouTube Car Tablet playlist.
- Overlays - allows you to have floating widgets which can be useful for some audio streaming/music app widgets and other things.
- Media Utilities - Allows you to get info from streaming music and display/use it as well as have music controls. Free and very useful.
- HERE - Nokia's answer to Google Navigation, HERE is cool because you download any maps for anywhere in the world for full offline
navigation for FREE! I still use Google Maps mostly, but good to know this is on my tablet should I lose my data connection.
- Newsbeat - great app for having snippets/summaries of news articles read to you while driving.
- Google Play Music (subscription), Audible, Jango, Pandora - these are my music (and audiobooks) streamers of choice.
- AAA Mobile - only useful if you're a member of course; even then, not THAT useful, but I figure why not!
- PushBullet - great for sending notifications to your tablet from your phone/computer (and vice versa)
- Verizon Messages+ - allows you to send/receive text messages to your tablet (only for Verizon customers; must have app on phone as well).
- MySMS - allows you to send/receive text messages to your tablet (for anyone; must have app on phone) and see who's calling you too.
- Yelp - handy when you're looking for a place to eat and Google Now supports "Search Yelp for _______" to search on the Yelp app.
- FlightTrack - Great for when you're picking up someone from the airport and want to track when their flight lands.
- MyLog - Excellent mileage tracker if you need to track driving mileage for your job.
- CereProc Voices - Great Text-to-Speech engines for more human sounding voices. (Unfortunately, Google Now will always use the built-in).
- Buy the RIGHT tablet! Again, for me 7" is perfect, though 8" would probably work as well. Anything larger than that is overkill in my opinion unless you have a large enough dash to accommodate a larger tablet and plan on somehow mounting it in the dash. But if you're going to just use a standard mount and not have it IN the dash, then 7-8" is large enough without being in the way. You also want to think about the processor, RAM, and how much memory you need. I recommend as much RAM as you can find/afford as well as the fastest processor you can find/afford. You want this infotainment center to work fast and well. And you'll need extra RAM so you can have Google Now (or other voice assistant) always ready to take your command. I would suggest ideally 2+ gigs of RAM, but minimally 1.5. Also make sure the tablet has at least Android KitKat 4.2 so you can have the Google Now "always listening" feature. Lastly, try to choose a tablet that has the least amount of bloatware OR perhaps better, a tablet that can be rooted so ALL unnecessary bloatware can be frozen! You can get away with a little less RAM if you can root and remove bloat. My personal tablet is the Asus 7" Memo Pad 176CX w/1 GB RAM and a 1.33 Quad-Core Processor and a 64GB microSD card. It is rooted and I froze almost 50 bloat apps! Still I wish I had at least another 1/2 Gig of RAM and would go for 2 Gigs total next time. Amazon usually has about the best price you can find for tablets, though you find a better deal during a sale somewhere else.
- Pick the right type of mount for your needs. There are all kinds of mounts out there and the right one for you will depend on the layout of your car and your personal preference. I demonstrated two set-ups in my video series that I think will best serve most people. The first is the Mountek nGroove Snap 3 CD Mount - it attaches to your dash by using the CD Slot which most cars still come with but none of us really use any more. One of the coolest aspects though is how it holds the tablet using magnets. This allows a "floating" look with no mount arms around the tablet and also allows for very easy removal/storage when parked or not in use. The other benefit is that it will hold a 7-8" tablet with no problem. It's surprising how few "arm" based mounts will hold a 7" tablet - phone mounts are generally not wide enough and tablet mounts are too wide! That's not an issue with this mount and might also be a reason to look for a magnet based mount that attaches to the dash like this one if you don't want to use the CD player slot. The second option in my video series and the one I ultimately stuck with is the Arkon Spring Mount (or another similar design like this one) which uses spring loaded arms to hold the tablet. This mount is very versatile and can hold a phone as well or a larger tablet using the leg extensions. It also worked perfectly for my dash to put my tablet in line with my car stereo system as you can see in the videos. Of course, as I started out saying, the best mount for you will depend on your tablet and your car dash layout, but this will give you some things to think about and consider. If one of these two isn't right for you check out all the car mounts on Amazon and find the right design for what you need making sure to pay close attention to the dimensions for use with a tablet.
- Choose your Launcher. One advantage you have when creating your own infotainment system with an Android tablet is that you can set up the interface any way you want! Since Android and customization go hand in hand, the possibilities are really endless, but one big choice you will have is whether to use your Home Screen as your interface or use a "Car Dock" app as the interface. If you go with just using a standard home screen launcher, make sure you choose one that allows enlarging the icons. You want things to be BIG on your car tablet so they are EASY to tap almost without looking so you can keep your eyes on the road. Nova Launcher is one of the best and is fairly simple as is Apex Launcher as an alternative. If you have a LOT of time and are very tech savvy, you might consider Lightning Launcher which is probably the most customizable launcher ever, but also has a very steep learning curve. I started off using my homescreen launcher but later decided to go the car dock app route. After testing several of the highest rated, I went with Car Home Ultra. The amount of features and customization options built in to this app make it the only real choice in my opinion. It's well worth the small price tag and definitely made my tablet more of a real "car infotainment system" which is the goal. You can see both my original home screen set up as well as the newer Car Home Ultra set up in the videos.
- Decide how to connect to audio. Of course you can use your car's Bluetooth connection if your car is equipped with one, but you might not want to. I still want my phone calls (which obviously will always come through my phone, not my tablet - bummer that Apple does connect calls to iPads for Apple fans and Google doesn't yet) to go through my car's system. Since my car has an auxiliary jack, I decided to connect my tablet to my car sound system through the auxiliary jack and leave my phone connected to the Bluetooth so I can still make/receive calls through the system as well. Your sound set-up will depend on your car, of course. If your car doesn't have a good system, you might even consider something like a UE Boom which is an AMAZING sounding BT Speaker in a small format and will fit perfectly in a cup holder and can be used for streaming music and making calls and can connect to 2 devices at once.
- Choose a voice assistant. The obvious choice is Google Now. It's included on your tablet already, is fairly robust, and has the awesome feature of "always listening" even if you're playing music. But there are some other things to consider. Google Now is great for searching and getting info, but is limited in actual functionality like changing volume levels or enabling/disabling features. And don't even think of asking Google Now to send a text message on a tablet (another place where Apple/Siri have Google/Android beat). The first consideration is extending the Google Now functionality through an app like Commandr, an excellent app that allows you to add custom phrases with triggers to Google Now Voice Commands. If you want more power, like the ability to create your own voice assistant with advanced features AND Google Now Voice Command integration, then you'll want to get Tasker and AutoVoice (as well as possibly AutoContacts, AutoLaunch, AutoShortcut, and AutoRemote). Tasker and AutoVoice allow you to create your own voice assistant with custom phrases/commands that trigger custom events. The other apps add additional functionality to the mix like being able to create a text message on your tablet and then send it to your phone for processing or start a phone call from your tablet to get sent to your phone. Be warned - learning how to use Tasker and AutoVoice is like learning a programming language. If you've got the time and the desire you can do it by starting with my Tasker 101 Tutorials. It is worth it if you want to have the most kick-ass car infotainment system out there, but it will take a lot of time and some frustration to learn what you need to make it all work the way you want. You can also consider other 3rd Party Voice Assistants like Dragon.
- Choose your apps. This seems obvious, but it might be the most important part. Especially if you don't have a lot of RAM, you don't want to overcrowd your tablet with apps that are not really "car-centric". Only put the apps on there that you will actually use while in the car or that add to the functionality of your tablet as a car infotainment center. Here are some of the apps I have or have had on my tablet (aside from those mentioned already):
for me. You can see it in use as well as some OBD2 adapter reviews on my YouTube Car Tablet playlist.
- Overlays - allows you to have floating widgets which can be useful for some audio streaming/music app widgets and other things.
- Media Utilities - Allows you to get info from streaming music and display/use it as well as have music controls. Free and very useful.
- HERE - Nokia's answer to Google Navigation, HERE is cool because you download any maps for anywhere in the world for full offline
navigation for FREE! I still use Google Maps mostly, but good to know this is on my tablet should I lose my data connection.
- Newsbeat - great app for having snippets/summaries of news articles read to you while driving.
- Google Play Music (subscription), Audible, Jango, Pandora - these are my music (and audiobooks) streamers of choice.
- AAA Mobile - only useful if you're a member of course; even then, not THAT useful, but I figure why not!
- PushBullet - great for sending notifications to your tablet from your phone/computer (and vice versa)
- Verizon Messages+ - allows you to send/receive text messages to your tablet (only for Verizon customers; must have app on phone as well).
- MySMS - allows you to send/receive text messages to your tablet (for anyone; must have app on phone) and see who's calling you too.
- Yelp - handy when you're looking for a place to eat and Google Now supports "Search Yelp for _______" to search on the Yelp app.
- FlightTrack - Great for when you're picking up someone from the airport and want to track when their flight lands.
- MyLog - Excellent mileage tracker if you need to track driving mileage for your job.
- CereProc Voices - Great Text-to-Speech engines for more human sounding voices. (Unfortunately, Google Now will always use the built-in).