[ajaysthinkin]

This is a DIY for setting up an infotainment system based on the 2013 nexus 7 for our e92 / e90.
I will go ahead and cover this in 3 parts -
nexus 7 software setup
mount fabrication
install

Software:

I choose the nexus 7 because i wanted it to be an android kernel to be able to flash kernels with power management and customization possibilities for installing in a car. the 2013 nexus was chosen as it came in a good package, had excellent community support and also has low power bluetooth for the jb4 kit. i made one mistake of not ordering the 4G model. I honestly wish i did coz turning on the hotspot on your phone every time is a pain.

as far options for flashing the device you have two options. one is a low power enhanced kernel from a guy called timur which is considered the better one. the other is a community project called elementalX. elementalX is free except for the kernel manager app that costs 5$ and timur's will cost you a 'donation' of $30. he does the donation thing coz selling the kernel is actually illegal because android is open source and whatever mods you do its still android and can only be passed on for free. i decided to go with elementalX even though timur's is a better option because of his reputation of being a greedy soul who doesn't care about the community he's benefitted from.

if you are going to use the elementalX route, you can install a cyanogenmod ROM and then flash the elementalX kernel. there are plenty of guides so i will not delve into this. Google

if you go with timur, he has guides on how to get it done.

PS: ill try to add the home screen customization to this and other details as and when questions arise.

Mount:

This was the part that i spent so much time on. i have spent almost two months looking for the perfect mount. On a side note, the whole decision to write up this DIY came after i saw someone selling a lowes corner bracket that he bent into shape for 50$ on here in this ever so hlepful community. i guess he has never benefitted from any other. that being said, someone spending time and effort developing a product being worthy of selling is different from bending a lowes bracket and i know we all appreciate and accept that. back to the topic, let me show you how to make our 'not a vader clip' for 1/10th of the cost.

go to lowes get a corner bracket shown

you don't have to buy a vice but its a suggestion to bend the metal easier.

bend the corner bracket as shown in the pic ( a vice and hammer is really helpful here) it took me 5 mins to get it done.



once the bracket is fabricated, you have a few options. you can get some kind of rugged plastic case to hold you tablet but it will show wires and won't be all that neat. the 'padholdr social' is a slightly more expensive option but is one i think is the best option we have right now. i got one from amazon for 50$.


to mount the padholdr social onto the 'notavaderclip', remove the four front hex bolts with the included tool. mark the points and drill holes to match the clip. make sure the mount would sit straight and not tilted. also, we used bolts with a head that sat flush so that it won't catch the tablet.



before getting to installation, i'd also like to note that i got a 10ft long right angled aux cable and micro usb.

Installation:

Installation is very straight forward and perhaps the easiest part of all this.

Start by removing the trim just above the AC vent using a pry tool. its easier if you start from the extreme corner. you don't have to fully remove it so let the wires stay attached. fit the clip on to this trim around the portion where the hazard lights button is.



remove the ac controls using a pry tool at the bottom part.


remove two screws holding the stereo


put the gear in neutral, press the button on the shift knob and pull straight up.


using a pry tool, remove this panel



route the wires from the tab to the center arm rest and connect the aux and usb to a charger. it isn't too difficult





Fix everything back up and thats it. we got our own infotainment setup.
now for some eye candy shots









Feel free to post here or PM me if you have any questions. I'm happy to help.

[Mike_Ripper]

In my setup I use tablet talk to start the hotspot. There's a tablet talk module for tasker. You can setup a tasker task so when the tablet connects to power and it automatically connects to tablet talk it will start the hotspot

[ajaysthinkin]

Originally Posted by Mike_Ripper

In my setup I use tablet talk to start the hotspot. There's a tablet talk module for tasker. You can setup a tasker task so when the tablet connects to power and it automatically connects to tablet talk it will start the hotspot

I have xfinity and i seem to be getting wifi almost always driving around in houston. but thanks for the tip.

[DLNKWNT]

Subed

[jellish]

So what are your UI customizations?

[AviatorBimmerFL]

ajaysthinkin

Awesome build! I am going the same route but I just purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7" WiFi tablet.

I'm going to hit XDA-Developers and see if this tablet can be rooted so I can go ahead and install ElementalX as well.

What ROM are you using? I would LOVE to be able to setup the ROM just lime you have it. Looks clean and OEM'ish. Great job indeed.

[ajaysthinkin]

Originally Posted by AviatorBimmerFL

ajaysthinkin

Awesome build! I am going the same route but I just purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7" WiFi tablet.

I'm going to hit XDA-Developers and see if this tablet can be rooted so I can go ahead and install ElementalX as well.

What ROM are you using? I would LOVE to be able to setup the ROM just lime you have it. Looks clean and OEM'ish. Great job indeed.

i used cyanogenmod. got a wallpaper and touch enabled the buttons using something called beautiful widgets i think. tasker helps with power on/down action. let me know if you need more details

[AviatorBimmerFL]

Originally Posted by ajaysthinkin

i used cyanogenmod. got a wallpaper and touch enabled the buttons using something called beautiful widgets i think. tasker helps with power on/down action. let me know if you need more details

Let me see if I am understanding. The buttons on your wallpaper, you assign them to open a specific app by using Beautiful Widgets?

[ajaysthinkin]

Originally Posted by AviatorBimmerFL

Let me see if I am understanding. The buttons on your wallpaper, you assign them to open a specific app by using Beautiful Widgets?

yes sir thats what it is i can send you the files if you'd like

[3twenty8eye]

I want to do this

[AviatorBimmerFL]

Originally Posted by ajaysthinkin

yes sir thats what it is i can send you the files if you'd like

That would be awesome! Here is my email:

aviatorbimmer at gmail dot com

Thanks!

[Guido S]

Wow, what an awesome setup. The problem is nearly everything you said was Chinese to me. I don't know how to even begin. Could I do something similar with an Apple Ipad? If you ever have the time to write a dumbed down version I'm subscribed. Could you give me some Cliff notes in simple terms?
Thanks

[ajaysthinkin]

Originally Posted by Guido S

Wow, what an awesome setup. The problem is nearly everything you said was Chinese to me. I don't know how to even begin. Could I do something similar with an Apple Ipad? If you ever have the time to write a dumbed down version I'm subscribed. Could you give me some Cliff notes in simple terms?
Thanks

you could do it with an iPad and integrate it into the car but apple UI customization is almost impossible. so you would essentially have an iPad in your car. wouldn't look like an integrated system.

[ajaysthinkin]

Originally Posted by 3twenty8eye

I want to do this

bite the bullet, go for it

[Smoke4U]

You da man! Thank you for this setup. Ordered the cheapest Padholdr Social which was $20 on Amazon and got this installed. BTW the Padholdr said it was for a 7" tablet but i have a NuVision 7.85" tablet and there was room to spare so I'd say it could handle an 8" tablet and if you removed the side squeezing pieces (just unscrew it) it could probably work with a 9" tablet (if that even exists).

Used a large rubber patch for inflatables I had laying around and cut it to size to fit inside the hook that slides onto the wood trim to protect it. Mounted it closer to the driver's side so one side rests against the rounded part of the dash to stabilize everything.

Picked up the OTG right angle connector for $7 and an on/off switch OBDII cable so it doesn't drain my battery when not in use.

Added a 3.5mm stereo Y splitter cable and 6' right angle 3.5mm cable to allow two audio sources (my iPhone via the BMW audio cable and the tablet's audio) for when I want to put a movie on for the kids.

Also ran a 6' left angle micro usb cable to the center console where it plus into an Aukey 4.8A charger to keep the tablet powered up when I'm not using the D+CAN cable for MHD.

Great job!

[ffyntik]

such a good DIY!!!
but i have a question
i bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab A and then found this thread. and im also new to android((( Is there any way to install whatever was installed in the nexus to see the same menu and functions in a Galaxy? really liked the idea!
thanks in advance!

[ajaysthinkin]

Originally Posted by ffyntik

such a good DIY!!!
but i have a question
i bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab A and then found this thread. and im also new to android((( Is there any way to install whatever was installed in the nexus to see the same menu and functions in a Galaxy? really liked the idea!
thanks in advance!

definitely possible but you'd have to find a way to root it and install a rom and kernal with good power management features. power management is the key when installing in cars. rest of it, tasker and the menu setup can be replicated on any

[ajaysthinkin]

Originally Posted by Smoke4U

You da man! Thank you for this setup. Ordered the cheapest Padholdr Social which was $20 on Amazon and got this installed. BTW the Padholdr said it was for a 7" tablet but i have a NuVision 7.85" tablet and there was room to spare so I'd say it could handle an 8" tablet and if you removed the side squeezing pieces (just unscrew it) it could probably work with a 9" tablet (if that even exists).

Used a large rubber patch for inflatables I had laying around and cut it to size to fit inside the hook that slides onto the wood trim to protect it. Mounted it closer to the driver's side so one side rests against the rounded part of the dash to stabilize everything.

Picked up the OTG right angle connector for $7 and an on/off switch OBDII cable so it doesn't drain my battery when not in use.

Added a 3.5mm stereo Y splitter cable and 6' right angle 3.5mm cable to allow two audio sources (my iPhone via the BMW audio cable and the tablet's audio) for when I want to put a movie on for the kids.

Also ran a 6' left angle micro usb cable to the center console where it plus into an Aukey 4.8A charger to keep the tablet powered up when I'm not using the D+CAN cable for MHD.

Great job!

thats nice you made it better lol

[ffyntik]

Originally Posted by ajaysthinkin

definitely possible but you'd have to find a way to root it and install a rom and kernal with good power management features. power management is the key when installing in cars. rest of it, tasker and the menu setup can be replicated on any

so i decided to buy a nexus 7 2013 too, cus i wasnt able to figure out how to install all that to a samsung
i have a question - will you help me to customize the screen as you did? that would be awesome!
i already installed cyanogenmod and elementalEx
you can sand me info at ffyntik@ gmail dot com
thanks in advance

[ajaysthinkin]

Originally Posted by ffyntik

so i decided to buy a nexus 7 2013 too, cus i wasnt able to figure out how to install all that to a samsung
i have a question - will you help me to customize the screen as you did? that would be awesome!
i already installed cyanogenmod and elementalEx
you can sand me info at ffyntik@ gmail dot com
thanks in advance

shoot me a pm with any questions you have. i'd try my best to help