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Hardware Shuttle Ventures Into the Automotive Realm
Anh Tuan Huynh (Blog) - August 18, 2006 1:27 PM

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19 comment(s) - last by drebo.. on Aug 21 at 1:07 AM

Mercedes S-Class with Prototype Shuttle XPC. Image courtesy of DigiTimes.

XPC car systems in the near future

DigiTimes reports Shuttle is expected to enter the mobile electronics market with an XPC-based car PC system. Shuttle unveiled its car PC system at this year’s CarTronics show in Taipei, Taiwan. The system was based on Shuttle’s XPC SN21G5 barebones system equipped with an AMD Athlon 64 3700+ and 1GB of DDR memory. A 12V DC-DC power supply replaced the typical proprietary XPC G-chassis power supply to allow the XPC to operate in an automotive environment. There’s no mention if the power supply was regulated to withstand the voltage fluctuations of a car.

Shuttle had the XPC-based car PC system installed in a Mercedes S-Class sedan. The system was installed between the two rear seats and offers GPS navigation, voice control, audio and video playback functionality. Network programs such as Skype and MSN were demonstrated using a wireless 3G modem too. Various user input functions were available on the prototype car PC including an LCD touch-screen display, two keyboards and one trackball.

Shuttle is expected to spend $2 million developing XPC-based car PC systems. Availability of Shuttle car-PC systems is expected next year, though its more likely to XPC X100 based car PC systems than an SN21G5.

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Useful?

By Fenixgoon on 8/18/2006 1:38:37 PM , Rating: 2

Neat concept, and it kinda makes sense that MB is the MFR to go for such a product, but I really don't see how an in-vehicle PC would be of much use.

RE: Useful?

By Souka on 8/18/2006 1:45:43 PM , Rating: 2

phone calls
email
traffic updates
up to date best local fuel prices
map software
music
video

how's that for few ideas off the top of my head....

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RE: Useful?

By Fenixgoon on 8/18/2006 1:50:11 PM , Rating: 2

most of that stuff we already have though...

1) hands free cell phone
2) good luck checking/reading email while driving ;)
3) some GPS's do this, right? also, radio news gives you traffic reports :)
4) finding a gas station could be handy, but spending an extra few cents on 1 fill wont break the bank.
5) GPS?
6) cd player - though having an HDD offers a much larger library
7) i hope the driver doesn't intend on watching videos :P

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RE: Useful?

By Hare on 8/18/2006 1:51:19 PM , Rating: 2

How about the most obvious benefit... GPS Navigation with decent usability.

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RE: Useful?

By DukeN on 8/18/2006 2:16:31 PM , Rating: 2

Try maintaining all those devices in your car.

Having a charger for all of those 6-8 devices, plus input/output ways, plus just having all these different devices - total clutter.

Not to mention ease of copying music over and usable GPS as compared to proprietary manufacturer setups.

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RE: Useful?

By rushfan2006 on 8/18/2006 3:23:27 PM , Rating: 1

quote:

phone calls
email
traffic updates
up to date best local fuel prices
map software
music
video

how's that for few ideas off the top of my head....

Yeah because people drive soooo awesome already.....just what we need more distractions to cause accidents. And if you want the other spin....just what we need more devices to break down (meaning more chances to pay someone to fix things in your car).....great...yeah this is super...I'm so excited...

<rolls eyes>

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RE: Useful?

By Hare on 8/18/2006 5:04:42 PM , Rating: 2

Eh... This was not a crappy civic. It's a top of the line Mercedez so it should come with everything except the kitchen sink...

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RE: Useful?

By Hare on 8/18/2006 5:06:56 PM , Rating: 2

... and a prototype.

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RE: Useful?

By Souka on 8/18/2006 10:04:28 PM , Rating: 2

*sigh*

idiots.... obviously some of the features are not meant to be used by the driver, or when the car is in motion....

Also...hands free cell? You're still paying minutes, have to use your cell so either you're draining the battery or have to plug the cell in to keep it charged. Using Skpe you can call using your car's own 3G data network....

Anyhow...if ya wanna crap on thread, don't....it really doesn't contribute.

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for an $86,000 car

By matthewcaudle on 8/18/2006 4:34:33 PM , Rating: 2

i want a little more elegant of a solution than a keyboard crammed into my sun visor. not that bmw's idrive is more functional or easy to use, but atleast it looks like it belongs in a luxury car.

RE: for an $86,000 car

By matthewcaudle on 8/18/2006 4:44:19 PM , Rating: 2

i didnt even notice the track ball bolted to the leather arm rest. nice touch lolz

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Nahg

By Runiteshark on 8/18/2006 7:41:05 PM , Rating: 2

Sorry, why would anyone do this? You don't need such a powerful set of components just to do what other people said, its already done right now with nanoITX boards and really really cool running 1ghz Via chips.

I'ts not like you are gonna go "LOL GONNA OVARCLOCK MY PC IN MY CAR" and start getting serious mp3 benchmarks, -- its just a simple usage machine.

Also, its not like you are gonna play games on something like this either, and if you did, then I guess that would be ok, but then it would be more suited to be in the center console, with a touchscreen monitor attachment going in the front.

Really funny if you get into a minor accident and your drive crashes though.

RE: Nahg

By Anh Huynh on 8/18/2006 10:34:51 PM , Rating: 2

Mad Mike needs something to drive those Plasma TVs he keeps putting in cars...

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Maybe

By fk49 on 8/18/2006 1:42:35 PM , Rating: 2

Might be useful for cops
most carry laptops these days to instantly check tags and such

also could be cool for underground racing enthusiasts =p

Pimped Rides

By R Nilla on 8/18/2006 2:36:30 PM , Rating: 2

Mad Mike always puts a Shuttle in the Rides he Pimps on MTV. This seems like a somewhat logical progression.

meh

By EnzoFX on 8/18/2006 2:51:38 PM , Rating: 2

putting computers in cars is nothing new, its had its own market for a while now, check out mp3car.com, they have barebones starting at 300ish, but it can get pricey, oh and obviously not as powerful as this shuttle one

By One43637 on 8/18/2006 6:08:38 PM , Rating: 2

actually, my friend had an idea similar to this a year ago where he wanted to use a Mac Mini in his C-class.

then the news of Apple switching over to Intel CPUs hit and there was no point in getting a Mac with a CPU they wouldn't support in the near future and the project got sidelined.

It's unfortunate that shuttle's products are complete crap...

By drebo on 8/21/2006 1:07:59 AM , Rating: 2

It's an interesting idea, but Shuttles are just plain poorly made.

I would never embed a Shuttle system into a car, where it costs thousands in labor just to get the damn thing out, let alone replace parts in it.

Shuttles are the second most prominent brand we see in our repair shop, bested only by Dell.

Safety concern?

By wing0 on 8/18/2006 1:43:21 PM , Rating: 1

This is so COOL!!!
Since people couldn't watch DVD on their GPS system while driving...how about putting a computer!! Nothing better than encoding video on the go and playing games while driving...