I am well into my stereo/dash project in my G35, and decided from the beginning that I would be installing a 10 inch Android tablet to handle media center duties in the car. I also knew that I wanted to be able to use Bluetooth on my phone to make/receive calls, so I needed to use a wired connection to the car and still use a car stereo. In order to allow everything to fit I had to relocate the head unit down to just above the hazard switch, into the trim shifter trim panel. I bought a shallow mount Pioneer media receiver (no CD player) and built bracket to hold the head unit steady and modified the plastic used to limit the depth back there. I also bought a Metra double din kit and moved the HVAC controls to the bottom of the panel allowing the tablet to stand to about where a factory nave screen would pop up to. I don't have greatly detailed pics and the ones I have are before I finished trimming out the head unit. I haven't finished the bezel for the tablet since I just switched to a 4G tablet (from a Nexus 10) so I don't need a hotspot.





Finally the question... to those of you that have done this while retaining a head unit, How have you connected the tablet to the head unit? As stated above, I'm not doing bluetooth, the built in DAC for the headphone jacks are notoriously horrible in Android tablets (especially the cheaper/older ones), and USB audio is very limited. NOTE: I did pre-order a GROM Wirelinq cable, but they keep delaying the release. This cable will allegedly transmit all audio from android USB to head unit USB and leave the DAC duties up to the head unit (whick I would love), but assuming a- the cable never comes, or b- it doesn't work as advertised, what would be the best alternative? I currently have a USB OTG cable -> cheapo Berringer DAC -> RCA to AUX cable -> headunit, which sounds pretty good, but charging is very hit or miss with OTG splitter cables/powered hubs/etc. I would even consider hard wiring power to the tablet and making it a permanent installation if I knew of a safe effective way to do this.

What is the best way to get audio from and Android USB port (specifially the Sprint Slate 10 tablet) and charge it simultaneously. I have tasker installed to put the tablet to sleep and the battery is great which means I'm not worried about the time in between, just need audio from and power to the tablet.

Thanks in advance!

 

Does the tab not have an audio jack you can use? Or is it a problem because it's on the top of the device? If that is the case, you could consider opening up the tab and connecting wires directly to the aux jack connectors and run the wire to the bottom of the tab where it won't be seen. You could even leave a female jack connector hanging off to allow you to remove the tab when you want.

I am using the jack for audio and usb for charging/data. The stereo is in the glove box.

 

I saw your thread and love the work you did! I just don't find the audio from those ports to be a good quality. I know it is very dependent on the specific tablet and the DAC they've used, but the one I have is terrible. I'm hoping to find a way to rout the audio from USB and have the conversion handled by a purpose built DAC.

Thanks for the I fo though, I may do that and run it through an external amp if I can't figure anything else out.

 

I changed the tablet a bit.... It's taking a lot more Fab than planned for, but it's coming along. I have an 8 inch Samsung tablet that I'm building in landscape mode and retaining the the storage compartment at the top of the center stack. It should be done in the next 4 years.... Lol

The dash test assembly



Tablet and HVAC contol setup