asofine

Well, at long last Goofball, we agree on an issue. I'm not going to say I've never taken a call while behind the wheel, but I agree that anything that takes the driver's attention off of the road is bad.

With that said, the two non-driving activities I find myself doing most behind the wheel are playing music and setting destinations on my GPS. Like I said, the primary function of the iPad would be those two things. Apple's music player interface is easily my most preferred one on the market. Until its recent maps app debacle, its maps/GPS interface was also very good for my purposes. So, again, the primary function for the iPad would be a music source and GPS. Secondary purposes for the iPad would likely be used by the passenger rather than the driver...calculator, weather, whatever.

gonzilla

A more economical choice (both financially and space-wise) would be to use your phone for either. Most new radios over $100 seem to have bluetooth streaming. Plus, you won't have a damned iPad sitting in the middle of the car, ruining that rad spartan 993 interior. If you are stuck on using the batphone console, you should try to sit in a car with one installed as it does encroach on the driver's legroom a bit.

Lots of choices of head units for our cars here:
http://www.crutchfield.com/g_300/Car...ml?o=d&tp=5684

asofine

IMHO, the solutions you're proposing are both less economical and less practical than an iPad Mini (emphasis on the "Mini:" they really are quite small...substantially smaller than the normal iPad...I don't think it would be any more of an affront to the spartan interior of the 993 than an oversized headunit would be). My phone isn't an adequate GPS while on the go (screen is too small). I suppose a phone could function as a music selection device, but again, that's a very small screen to touch from the driver's seat if the phone is mounted elsewhere in the car.

The head units you've linked to are very expensive. At $329, the iPad Mini is less expensive, touts a better interface, has better versatility in terms of its feature set, a higher build quality, and MOST importantly, it's not limited to use in my car!

As for the space that the batphone occupies, that's one to consider. With that said, there are some advantages to being a mere 5'7" - this might be one of them

gonzilla

Like I said, most sub $200 radios have bluetooth streaming (I see 25 different DIN sized head units below $200 with bluetooth on Crutchfield's site).
http://www.crutchfield.com/g_300/Car...treaming%7cYes
The least expensive on that site was a "Dual" for $55, but it sounds like you're committed to the iPad mini.

Do you have some sort of dock in mind so that you can easily remove it to take out of the car? How do you plan on amplifying the speakers? Powering the iPad?

asofine

I currently connect my phone to the 6 CD changer via an RCA to aux cable. Presumably that same aux cable could connect the iPad as well. I'm not worried about powering the iPad (I would plan on mounting it in such a way that it could be removed...wouldn't want to leave it in the car 24/7 anyway).

The remaining issue is basically mounting the iPad. That's where the whole Batphone thing came into play. I was hoping that I could modify that Batphone console with an iPad mount. That may prove to be unrealistic from both a cost and fitment perspective.

gonzilla

I get it now. You're leaving your OG stereo in the car. OK. I guess the main concern after "does it fit?" and "can I fab a dock?" would be "how can I get power to it?" Although I'm sure that it wouldn't be too hard.

If you source a batphone console, you'll find that they're just a fairly crude fiberglass frame covered in leather. I'm sure you would have no problem getting a quality upholstery place to make the opening the exact size you need and recover it accordingly. Good luck!

asofine

That's what I'm leaning towards. I didn't realize that the batphone console was part of the entire center console piece, nor did I realize it was so rare/sought after. I should probably buy an iPad and go to an upholstery shop

gonzilla

That's what I would do.

CarreraX

I have an Ipad mini and a 993. Want me to hold it in place for a visual?

asofine

Please!

The basic question is how/whether it will fit in this general space:

aarrow

If you use a case, you could use Velcro strips and stick it to the underside of the dash. Flip open when you need it - easy to remove when you don't.





On the passenger side by the glove box...





taking pictures of an iPad on top of an iPad with an iPad... iPadCeption




Edit: vertical configuration

David in LA

Access to **** if it's off limits in the house

My earlier idea of strapping it on top of the sun visor - when you need a GPS map or change album or Pandora station flip it down, then fold back up when not in use so it's not in the way. For the time being you can just run the cable up there and rubber band it into place and see if the location works. A plus is that when tucked away, prying eyes will not see it up there in case you don't want to take it in and out all the time.

asofine

Thank you!

I'm still having a bit of trouble discerning whether it will fit horizontally in there (in the pic where you have the iPad on top of another iPad). What do you think?

Arena993

asofine,

I have mine out of the car and on a workbench. Do you want me to take measurements of the phone area.

Mike

e3photo

I would think that the bat phone console would be a nice platform for an ipad mini. A little wider platform,and a convenient location.



Emerald