Filed under: Aftermarket, Audio, Gadgets, SEMA, Trends, Tech
SEMA 2007: Infill G4 in-dash PC
While cruising through the enormous American Racing display area at SEMA, we spotted a pretty cool Mustang that made us stop for a closer look. While the car itself will be detailed elsewhere, one of its trick features really stood out. There was a keyboard on the passenger seat. Thinking it might have to do with a programmable engine management system or something, we were told that it was actually controlling a fully functional Windows XP in-dash computer. The computer system is made by a company called Infill and this was its newest G4 offering. The system features a 40 GB hard drive, 1.5 Ghz Pentium 4 CPU, 512 MB RAM, 800 X 480 6.5" Sharp touch screen display, wireless internet, a 3-second boot up time, built-in GPS, 3 USB ports, rear-view camera display compatibility and a DVD-ROM (What, no Blu-Ray?).
It also features steering wheel controls to operate the integrated 5.1 channel A/V system. And if you want to control any of the computer's functions while under way, it also has text-to-speech capability and advanced KT-HUVOIS speech recognition. Not that we'd recommend using it while in motion, but this system can turn your vehicle into one heck of a mobile office or den. The entire thing is also entirely self-contained in the dash-mount unit -- no remote HD or peripherals – which is impressive. The company promises a 40-minute install in most applications at any decent install shop. We'll try to get you more details when they become available, but for now you can get more by clicking on the Read link below or the image above.
[Source: Infill]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
VP 6:51PM (11/05/2007)
Not that i would ever need a PC in my dash, but compared to the other outrageous stuff on display at SEMA this actually looks pretty good.
Now let's talk about the cost.......
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Mallory 6:59PM (11/05/2007)
Not sure why I would want one but that's pretty cool. An aftermarket Sync unit would be even better though. And am I the only one who thinks G4 is an odd name for a Windows based PC? When I read the title I figured it was some wacky PPC/Mac thing.
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Leaf 10:41AM (11/06/2007)
I think they're hoping it's been long enough since the PPC G4 was discontinued that they can swipe the name. The last Mac to use a G4 was discontinued back in Spring of 06.
riggs 7:43PM (11/05/2007)
why you would want one?
http://www.mp3car.com
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riggs 7:44PM (11/05/2007)
btw im not promoting "my site" im posting the reason.
mikey 9:20PM (11/05/2007)
I seriously doubt, also, that it's powered by a 1.5gHz Pentium 4 - more likely a ULV 1.5ghz Pentium M or Core/Core 2 based chip.
Netburst hasn't been a primary line for Intel for a long time now.
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Spencer 10:30AM (11/06/2007)
Apparently it's a VIA C7 chip. Low power.
Guenther 9:21PM (11/05/2007)
The reason you'd wan't this is simple- it will actually do whatever you want it to do-
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mk 9:47PM (11/05/2007)
yeah... no copyright infringement there... G4 personal computer...
The pic doesn't look so bad. With the previous SEMA tech article about the new diagnostic and engine management software, some real technological ehancements might be in the wings for the automotive world.
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Mark 10:10PM (11/05/2007)
Car-puters are no different than the newest DIC and nav units. This is pretty awesome and judging on the price, it should sell well.
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Fooman 10:18PM (11/05/2007)
2100 usd is the price they sell it for in Korea. Looks pretty slick to me, as long as they have the harnesses correct, would be a great plug and play replacement for my M3's radio.
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Dario 1:05AM (11/06/2007)
What you'd want it for... where to start... mine is a nice 80Gb music player to start - any digital format that comes out. Stick stuff on the USB drive, copy, paste, play music - no more discs. Or synch the music folder with my desktop via WiFi from the driveway; news podcasts too. Same goes for video, though not as useful when driving. Then, I got a $99 GPS receiver/nav software bundle (there are several). It talks, it listens, it re-routes me when I screw up, has satellite imagery and makes coffee. Ok, no coffee. It's not Google Earth, but that's there too. I also have logs of my car's position and speed every few seconds going back X weeks, and as a bonus, I get speed-sensitive volume adjustment on my old Elantra. The Bluetooth adapter was $30. $30! and I can use my phone as a photo/video camera or speakerphone or broadband modem to check weather and traffic. I can pull up live feeds of my twelve favorite traffic cams. For $45 I got an OBD2 reader. The novelty of watching the A/F ratio wore off fast, but it does read/reset trouble codes and I have the entire shop and electrical manual for the car in the computer. Add a TV/FM tuner card for $50 and you can "pause live [TV/radio]" in your car. Buy a webcam and get your commute on tape - erase it unless you have an accident. Heck, buy an infra-red night-vision webcam, add a password to your ignition system, or a USB fingerprint reader, or USB breathalizer or...
I just wish it didn't drain my battery in StandBy in less than 24 hours. :(
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Dustin 2:51AM (11/06/2007)
"I have windows in my car!"
...well, duh!
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Thanh T. 7:01AM (11/06/2007)
Hmmm...The Windows XP in dash vehicle computer system by Infill looks exetremely interesting. If you have more info. please post. Thanks. (nice gadgets...add it to your holiday shopping list...)
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Justin 7:44AM (11/06/2007)
Assholes just busted in and stole my Pioneer AVIC-D3....had it 3 weeks. I imagine this would go even quicker, lol.
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Mike Daul 9:11AM (11/06/2007)
"3-second boot up time"
I'm not sure I'm buying that, but looks cool otherwise...
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MoparKid 10:20AM (11/06/2007)
This would be great...everytime windows freezes or crashes you will have to close all the windows and restart your car.
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HSM 11:14AM (11/06/2007)
Heh, that's original. You're hilarious.
Shane 11:19AM (11/06/2007)
Its not too orginal...Mircosoft was bashing the auto industry once before. To sum it up they were saying if companies like GM would keep up like mircosoft we would have flying cars. GM responese was saying if we built cars like Mircosoft we would have to pull off the side of the road, close all windows, and restart.
http://mistupid.com/jokes/msvgm.htm Here is a link for those who would like to read it.
Tom 12:10PM (11/06/2007)
I have one of these, and ironically have it in a Mustang as well. The hardware is decent for what it is, though the Via 1.5ghz CPU shows it's weakness at times. The "3 second boot" is the time it takes to resume from standby, the default power down state. Otherwise, a full boot is like any other PC, running around a minute.
I bought mine from MP3Car.com, and they toss in the StreetDeck software. While I was initially impressed by the wow factor of their interface, using it day to day has brought me much frustration, mostly due to the poor choice of Microsofts navigation software. It provides horrible routing. As for the makers of the software, they are a bit elitist, and don't respond well to suggestions for improvements.
For anyone looking, consider alternatives on the software side, like Centrafuse. They include a proper GPS bred nav system, and while the interface isn't as slick, it's still functional, and works.
For my install, I had a 7 port USB hub put in the trunk, and used a Turtle Beach sound card to get 4 channel sound directly to the amplifier also in the back. Be warned however, USB 1.1 sound devices will bog down the CPU on the unit badly if plugged into a USB 2 hub, so keep the sound card pared to the same USB standard. I also have a WiFi adaptor, ODB-II reader, and wireless keyboard receiver hooked up in the trunk. In the center console I have 4 more ports wired in where a small mouse can be attached, along with bluetooth and an iPod cable.
Oh, that also reminds me, these systems have some issues doing bluetooth for cell phone calls. I haven't been able to make a successful call with mine yet. Either the audio is half duplex, or other mic issues come up due to other complications.
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