I am a long time G enthusiast and owner. Thought the community would get a kick out of this.

Check out the install video of iPad mini in dash. Turned out pretty wild. There are some tweeks to be made, but happy with it over all. We were pressed to make this build happen in only a short number of hours. We are going to go back and make it have a removable slot on the side, and a profesional paint. We plan to make this a kit for the G35 guys. Check it out.

Not too sure how to emmbed on here so here is the link....

 

Nice! Do want!!

 

awesome! Is that your coupe?

 

That's really cool man, I love it! I have zero need for another iPad but I totally want one now.

 

The install was done really well, great work, especially considering the time. It's a shame there's no thin 90° lightning connector so you don't need the wire coming out the passenger side like that.

That said, when the original iPad came out, I was considering doing it, but there were a few reasons against it, and I consider the iPad Mini an even worse choice as a primary headunit.

The reasons I think this is a horrible choice:

1. The OS and interface are not "minimalist" - one suitable for driver use, so it's downright dangerous for the driver to try and use this while operating the vehicle, and if the passenger's using it, there's no reason for it to be mounted in the relatively hard-to-access position in front of the shifter.
2. No 3G or 4G/LTE, so you don't get streaming internet radio.
3. It doesn't connect to your phone to take hands-free calls like any decent radio.
4. The screen is horribly reflective, so any sun shining onto the passenger or passenger seat are going to make the screen impossible to read, compounding problem #1.
5. There is insufficient storage for all my music, which compounds problem #2.
6. The screen won't work in the winter when wearing gloves.
7. No FM tuner. Compounds problem #2.
8. Doesn't interface with the steering wheel controls. Compounding problem #4.
9. No GPS or A-GPS, so no turn-by-turn navigation.

So basically, by putting this in your car, you get the storage of a really old iPod in a much less usable format than the iPod would be attached to about any aftermarket radio. Any neat-o things you can do with the iPad in the car permanently mounted in the dash, you could easily do by just pulling the thing out of your bag and using while sitting in the driver's seat while parked, and be able to easily take it with you.

Essentially, you've made something that's useful largely only because of its portability and taken that away. I suspect whatever smartphone you're using to provide the iPad with a hotspot would provide you with a much better experience.

 

Just wanted to add, that I guess the reason I hate iPad (or android tablets for that matter) installs, is it shows just how easily somebody like Pioneer, Kenwood, Clarion, Alpine, etc, could easily take virtually hardware identical to the $199 Kindle HD, throw 3G, wifi, and an external GPS antenna on it, swap the 720p screen for a little bit less resolution and a decent anti-reflective screen, and put a driver-friendly interface on it, and let the android community make the rest of the software. You'd already have turn-by-turn navigation built in, voice control of a lot of stuff (thanks Android Jelly Bean!) and a huge app ecosystem to draw from.

Instead, the closest you get is the AppRadio, which costs more than double what a good android tablet costs (although admittedly, does have the built-in amplifier), but is nowhere near as good, functionally.

 

Very nice install!

 

Why would anyone spend that amount of money for something obsolete?

 

That should make you hate pioneer, kenwood, clarion, alpine, etc.... Not google and apple...

 

I don't hate google or apple, I hate seeing some excellent work go into putting something in that's terrible as a headunit, functionally. It's the audio equivalent of when you see a donk car with a pristine, gorgeous 5-color paint job of the Trix rabbit on it. Great work, but it just makes me ask "Why?".

Yes, I hate Pioneer, Kenwood, Clarion, Alpine, etc. for failing at innovation.

If you read my post on Pioneer's late-2012 lineup, you'd see how appalled I am at the garbage they just dumped out. The only thing that seems to be going in the right direction is Pioneer's AppRadio, but instead of making something dependent on a smartphone, they could have just built an android tablet with a built-in amplifier, a driver-friendly interface and pretty much called it a day. Give it a way to share your smartphone's internet for location searches, weather, traffic, and you've got something that's nearly future-proof.

 

They don't want future proof, they need you to keep buying... But I totally agree with your viewpoint. It would be nice to pick a different audio player/navigation app from the Play Store. But still retain FM Radio, CD, Flash Media functionality.

 

Neat install.

I am with Wrath, not a good install for a car that already has a useful stereo.

Perfect for my jeep, bad for my G.

 

Without GPS its nav is rather worthless IMO.

 

It's just not a replacement for a stereo in any way, and an iPhone does so much more without requiring an elaborate mounting scheme.