Well as you may have read the Tab 7.7 build has failed due to the tablet giving up the ghost... However, it did result in this build as I'd already gone so far with the design of the interface and the general set-up.

Below is a photo of the dash without the Xperia docked, but the docking station installed in it's basic form, there is still work to be done but does show the viability with some slight adjustments which I'll get to later.



As you can see the Xperia dock is located above the hazard warning light switch and fits in seamlessly, or at least will once the final orientation is fixed and the dock wrapped in felt tape to prevent any squeaking or rattling.

The power connection is the same as before via the cigar lighter and will trigger various Apps and Actions to be initiated to set the 'phablet' up for car mode.

Below a few photos of various screen shots:








Now to the problems...

Firstly the phone is angled far too flatly as seen below:



To resolve this the dock will be cut down on the top to allow it to be positioned in a more horizontal position as it was designed for, currently it is mounted flush with the switch housing for the hazard warning lights, ultimately the bottom of the dock will be parallel to the ground and not angled down by 10 degrees as it is now...

This should give the correct viewing angle.

The other problem is ensuring that it stays in place not only to protect the phone but more importantly the occupants under sudden braking or change of direction.

This is going to be done by mounting a small metal plate at the back of the dock and installing a corresponding bracket on a case for the Xperia. Whilst this probably won't keep the Xperia under extreme off roading where it would be thrwn from side to side it should keep it secure under emergency braking and direction changes.

This metal plat should fit into the design quite well and not look out of place once the Xperia is docked. I'll provide a sketch later show show more clearly wat I mean before I get it done.

The rest is done using various Apps, and and custom interface for the operation of the Xperia.

To be honest in hindsight this build actually provides more benefits than the old build in that sms's are on one device, the device is removable, it's easily within reach, only one sim card is needed and it frees up the OEM SatNav location for additional storage.

The only downside is that the screen is smaller 6.4 inch diagonal compared to the OEM 7 and Tablet 7.7, however this is really negated due to the closer proximity and hopefully the fact it won't be effected by the sunlight so much.

Also of course is the greatly increased functionality over the old OEM system, it could almost negate the complete ICE system if I wired it to an amplifier and some how overcame the requirement of a headphone cable for the built in fm radio, then the old system would be completely redundant freeing up more real estate on the centre console and uncluttering it of several buttons, but that's a whole other story....

Hope you enjoyed, let me know your thoughts..

Cheers

Guy 2006 RRS S/C CONSTANTLY under modification...
1994 RRC 4.2l not LSE sadly gone but not forgotten
LR Defender 300Tdi - affectionately know as "The Black Beast"