Hackable In-Car GPS Unit? 208
gigne writes "I'm in the market for a new, in-car GPS/sat nav. I am preferably looking for one that has live, up-to-date traffic information and route planning that doesn't make you want to cry. I'm not quite dumb enough to drive off a cliff, but something that doesn't even try and lead me to watery doom is preferable. The only thing I absolutely must have is the ability to hack it. It would be preferable if it ran GNU/Linux, but given a convincing argument, I would be swayed to another OS. Without wanting the Moon on a stick, what is the best device that would offer a decent modding community and a good feature set?"
in-car computer (Score:5, Informative)
Mio GPS (Score:5, Informative)
navigon (Score:4, Informative)
Easy options (Score:1, Informative)
Many car GPS units use a cut down WinCE. There are plenty of these around, and they are cheap. I use a Binatone X350 to run XCSoar [xcsoar.org]. MS can provide the development environment if you want it.
I also have a TomTom. I bought it because the OpenTom [opentom.org] stuff meant there was a development environment for it. I never went further than getting a few simple non graphical progams compiled for it, but the information is all there if you're keen on development.
Re:Proprietary Issues (Score:2, Informative)
I don't doubt it is, but please check this site where they explain reverse engineering further: http://www.chillingeffects.org/reverse/faq.cgi [chillingeffects.org]
Obligatory XKCD Reference (Score:4, Informative)
Get a TomTom. (Score:3, Informative)
It runs Linux, uses mplayer for media output, and is very hackable.
http://www.webazar.org/tomtom/index.php [webazar.org]
Tripmaster is the #1 3rd party app that you can install. There is lots of other stuff you can do to it too.
You're a couple of generations too late (Score:3, Informative)
Earlier TomToms had a developers kit. With the latest versions of the OS that offer many new features, like text to speech and use of faster aquiring GPS chips, they've removed the ability to do any kind of hacking. A real pity. I came into the game just a little too late. So I get the nice features, but not the nice hacks.
not exactly "hackable", but... (Score:5, Informative)
the new garmin units plug in like a usb thumb drive and you have direct access to their .GPX data files. The files are in flat XML, heavily documented, and very flexible. (apparently garmin has gone away from NMEA/serial, good riddance)
They come with two pieces of software, one that runs locally on your computer and the other is a browser plugin that I assume gives java control over the same things. I was very impressed with the software, but it does have its limits. (such as building routes) But since the files are xml you can use any off the shelf standard .GPX editing program (there are several, and I recently wrote my own too) to edit things how you need to. Some are free, most are pay. But the software for the garmin is free with it.
You can't ssh into the thing, but as far as file/format goes, this is about as "open" as it gets. FYI I have an Edge 605, use it on my bike. It's got a really small screen unfortunately but those are the breaks for small and long battery life.
Re:Proprietary Issues (Score:3, Informative)
What he proposes would be quite legal in the USA even if part of the firmware is encrypted. Breaking DMCA-protected encryption for interoperability is explicitly allowed.
Omnitech GPS sold at Staples or Nextar (Score:3, Informative)
The most hackable GPS I have seen and owned is the Omnitech 4.3 inch GPS unit sold at Staples. On a good sale day you could get the GPS unit for under $80, and some have even found them as cheap as 50-60. They run Windows CE5, and all of the files are stored on the SD card so it's incredibly easy to modify. There are already SD card images on the net that include multiple GPS programs like iGo8, TomTom, Nav N Go, Destinator, etc. and also come with a lot of games, programs, utilities, Office for PocketPC, etc. The Omnitech GPS can be had on eBay for as little as 70-80 dollars new if you can't find it in stores. If you cannot find an Omnitech unit, the next best thing would be one of the lower tiered Nextar units sold in Kohl's and Best Buy. I also own the Nextar 43NT (this is the one I use on a daily basis) and my GPS unit normally runs iGo8 as the GPS naviation program, and I also play games on it when I have down time, and have even been known to watch an XviD TV episode on the highway on long trips.
The downside to almost all GPS units though is that they don't accept SDHC cards. Theoretically 2GB is the maximum for a non-SDHC card to hold, but Transcend does market a 4GB non-SDHC card on Newegg for around $14 bucks. They all have about the same processor speeds and RAM though....the more you pay for the unit, the more you're paying for the software that comes on the device. Do yourself a favor and stick with the cheapie GPS and hack the unit to your satisfaction
Freerunner (Score:5, Informative)
Get a Freerunner. It's an open phone with: GPS, internet via gprs, accelerometers, full bluetooth, wifi, 640x480 touchscreen. It runs any of several flavors of Linux (including Debian or Android, but my personal choice is SHR) and there are already Free gps programs that use OpenStreetMap (TangoGPS or Navit).
It's about $250, IIRC, but of course you can carry it around and use it to browse the web and receive calls, as well as using it in-vehicle for navigation.
It doesn't get any hackabler.
A Nokia N810 with Maemo Mapper . . . ? (Score:4, Informative)
. . . it fit's your GNU/Linux/Hackable requirements . . . I dunno about the "live, up-to-date traffic information and route planning " stuff. But worth taking a look at.
Pioneer AVIC (Score:4, Informative)
I just got a Pioneer AVIC-F700BT (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/Navigation/In-Dash/AVIC-F700BT). It doesn't quite do everything you asked, but there are other models that add traffic updates, etc.
It runs Windows CE (bear with me here..), and has ways to boot into it. There are people that have hacked the firmware, and added various features to it - check out avic411.com. I haven't tried this myself, but it doesn't look overly difficult. I get the impression that community is not really full of "programmers" per-se, more just enthusiasts, so it's likely that someone who actually knows how to program would get quite far. (Note, I am a programmer, I just haven't had time to mess with my car stereo which works satisfactorily).
Pros: relatively cheap (note: the MSRP is $900-something, but it can be found for $500), has pretty decent maps, decent directions, plays MP3s from USB/CD/SD (and DVD, in some models), ipod interface, has XM/Sirius capability via add-ons, bluetooth with voice recognition (which works extremely well)
Cons: slow-ish bootup time (~7 seconds to playing music, another 7-10 before UI is fully available), music-related voice control features only work with ipod (eg, "play songs by ____" doesn't work on cd.. but you can say "next track" or "change source to FM" - which frankly, is kinda useless), playback from SD/USB won't resume right where it left off, it always starts the song over, fast-forward/rewind is frustratingly slow (both of these are probably fixable via firmware, or even hacking.. unfortunately, they contribute to mean I can't really listen to podcasts, which is one thing I was hoping for with the ability to use SD cards). Ships with a stupid "feature" where you can't change Nav destination/settings while driving (luckily, this is easily bypass-able by connecting an extra wire while installing).
I'm quite happy with it, honestly, and I'd definitely recommend the unit. Like I said, I haven't really gotten in to hack it yet (I likely will), but then again, I haven't really needed to.
Re:Freerunner (Score:2, Informative)
Re:You're a couple of generations too late (Score:4, Informative)
Without the developer API you can still access the functions that were there, you just need to roll your own code. The site http://www.opentom.org/Main_Page [opentom.org] is a good reference for source code and documentation.
I've got a TomTom One V3 that doesn't have Bluetooth and got console access by running a scope over the external connector to determine the functions and attached a TTL to serial converter, I've posted details of the connector pinouts for anyone interested http://blog.peter-johnson.com.au/?p=49 [peter-johnson.com.au]
Mac Mini (Score:2, Informative)
Don't ask Slashdot, ask OpenStreetMap (Score:2, Informative)
Re:in-car computer (Score:3, Informative)
Agreed. And If you go this route, you'll be interested in this list [berlios.de], since it tells you which GPS units are likely to work well the gpsd on Linux or *BSD.
Re:in-car computer (Score:3, Informative)