Entries by Jeff Barringer

What can you do with a tablet in the car? Well you can Tweet your current 20 to your legion of followers, or you can listen to or watch the last release from Slayer, but really that's pretty bush league. While an iPad or Android tablet can do a pretty stand up job replacing a normal stereo head unit, as long as you don't need local FM, really that is just the start and the combination of cars, computers, and wireless internet opens up huge possibilities. Auto manufacturers aren't slow on the uptake and already Kia has a test mule/show car on the circuit where the traditional instrument panel has been replaced by 2 Android based tablets. But once again, that is really just the starting point. The best things haven't even been thought of yet and the fun won't really begin until 4G.

A number of hardware and software platforms DO already exist, however, that allow you to take advantage of some of these unique possibilities and the number of apps and hardware applications is sure to expand rapidly from here on out. A few of the more interesting things you can do today are download and monitor live weather radar information, data and warnings, internet based radio and other media, monitor your engine and vehicle status and warnings from your cars on-board diagnostics, use the geo-location functionality to replace a GPS, or have your friends and family track your progress on a cross country road trip. Now that we have our iPad mounted and installed in OUR test mule we will be putting a few of these apps and accessories through their paces. And just to be fair we will be adding an Android tablet to the mix, hopefully soon, because not everyone has swallowed the Apple kool-aid. Our next review is KIWI WiFi OBDII automotive interface from PLX Devices, a device that lets you connect to your cars on-board diagnostics in real time like a pro mechanic. With the right apps do a whole bunch of cool stuff like track your skidpad results, plot out a race track and time your runs, check your timing and your intake temperatures and more. You can even monitor and plot your fuel economy to increase your mileage. We will be reviewing lots of cool hardware and software for the car. If you would like to see your product reviewed drop us an email.

So you've been running around with your iPod jacked into your stereo for a couple years now and now you have an iPad. You can't just stuff it into a cupholder and asking your best friend to hold it up while you drive is going to get old in a hurry. How can you bolt this puppy into place and keep it from becoming a projectile during your next short stop? RAM Technologies has the answer with it's universal iPad mount for cars. In fact, the RAM mount we bought consists of two components, the RAM-B-316-1 RAM POD I universal No-Drill™ vehicle base and flex arm, and that couples with AP8 iPad 1 & II cradle. Together they are the RAM-B-316-1-AP8 and you can get it for about $75.00 We got the non-locking cradle, but a locking version is also available. Other cradles for 7 and 10 inch Android based tablets are available with the same mounting base. Mounting it in our 2009 Corvette project car was a bit more problematic than most, due mainly to having to squirrel it in with the 6 point restraint system and having to make sure to leave clearance for the fire suppression system, but since the base bolts to your existing seat bolt location even then it only took us a few minutes and a 10mm socket to get it done. Once the base was installed we then inserted the soft aluminum flex arm and carefully bent it to a shape that braced it against the transmission and console. Finding a way to snug the flex arm up tight was difficult, and we found that once you tightened the vehicle base around the flex arm, it dug into the soft aluminum making repositioning the base in the mount difficult. In the end we had to remove the base and flex arm from the car to disassemble them, and once we got it re-installed still were not completely happy with the result.

Non-Locking Locking

With the base and flex arm in we then installed the cradle, snapped in our iPad, plugged it in and started the car. Immediately there was a problem as the 18 in flex arm had no real support and with the weight of the iPad at the end of the stalk the vibration made it unreadable. Finding a 1x3 inch rubber block in our spares kit we jammed it between the flex arm and the console, providing the flex arm enough support to kill most of the vibration. We have been using it for a while and haven't had any other issues. Though it's not quite perfect, it's close, and for most people it's all they will ever need. For more information on RAM's iPad and Android mounts, or for other unique mounting solutions check out their web site at http://www.ram-mount.com .

Austin's Circuit Of The Americas track jumped another major hurdle this week by getting the approval of the Austin City Council, paving the way for the State's $25 million dollar annual funding payout. And all this effort seems to be paying off as yet another race series has announced a contract for Austin to host their event at the new track.

The Australian motorsport championship V8 Supercars will be heading to the all-new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas after a five-year deal was announced on Friday. The V8 Supercars race will be broadcast by cable network SPEED televising both 200km races live throughout North and South America. What is a V8 Supercar you ask? Check out the V8 Supercars site at http://www.v8supercars.com.au/ and find out!!!

That didn't take long. The first of what will probably be many lawsuits has been filed over Austin's Circuit of Americas Formula 1 track. The suit which seeks to block the use of $25 million in state tax dollars from the economic development fund, seems to be a minor speedbump on the roadmap the massive F1 PR machine is following.

The suit was probably to be expected, and probably was, but if it ever reaches a jury it will be tough to find a Texan that hasn't been reached by either the news or the advertising. And it's not halting construction, as the trucks are still rolling at the building site. For F1 to get state funding the City of Austin must approve the state's F1 deal. The bigger question remains, however, and that is - in the end will Austin screw up this unique opportunity? It would be tough but possible. Austin is not Dallas, Houston or San Antonio. In fact it's not like any other major city in the United States, except for maybe San Francisco. The environmental lobby here is strong and has apparently been caught off guard. But this year the bugbear is the education lobby, also strong in Austin, and fuming over statewide budget cuts and massive teacher layoffs. They feel, and with some justification, that it's wrong to give F1 $25 million when the state can't afford to pay for it's education system. They are right. And they are wrong. The economic development fund was set up to do exactly this, attract business to the State of Texas. If they don't give it to F1, they won't turn around and give it to the education system. The money won't be returned to the general fund. It will be used to attract some other business to Texas. In the end this suit won't stop the track from being built, it doesn't even ask that, and the track will probably be built before it ever sees a court. And it's probably just the first of many to come. What do you think of Austin's Circuit of the Americas track? Should public money be used? Will you go when it's open? Let us know!