Thoughts on iPad Mini install

Has any tried / considered installing an iPad mini in their 996? It appears ever so slightly larger than the opening of the horse shoe. I think it's probably close enough to be easily modified. I know a guy over on the 997 forum is in process of doing the same but the console set-up in the 996 looks to be a good bit smaller.

Can you provide a link of said 997 install? I might be up for this. Nevermind...got it. For everyone else: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...the-997-a.html

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I wouldn't even buy a mini iPad. You are buying essentially a shrunken iPad 2. Apple no longer supports updates for the iPad 1. Within a year the iPad 2 and more than likely the mini won't be supported. It was quite a let down for apple to put such and old processor in the mini.

Been thinking about it as well, got as far as researching where to buy a holder and then stopped... However, to contribute to the idea, here you go: http://www.fifieldfabrications.com And an audio converter http://store.soundmancaraudio.com/ip...-audio-cl-rlc/ You will need a mess of cables, Lightning to 30 pin converter to audio out + USB cable, then this mess connected to your AMP.

I'm confused, are you eliminating the head unit and using the mini as a head unit via the lightning cable-harness adapter to factory amp and speakers?

And the outcome will be someone steals the Ipad out of your dash instead of from it laying on the seat?

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This is simply amazing to me. I was one of the first buyers of the original Ipad as gift for my mum. I remember bringing it on the plane with me and everyone stopped to ask about it. That was a whopping two years ago... and already Apple has washed its hands of a product purchased by many (senior) people who never even owned a desktop until they bought the Ipad. And they can not update the OS unless they go out and buy a desktop.... even on the 3G Ipads which could easily accept an OTA update. Reason #234 I don't buy Apple stuff.

The 997 install is fantastic. Once I get my mechanical and suspension upgrades done, I am going to do a similar install. With PCM1, there is plenty of room to install an iPad mini. I tinkered with the idea of installing a full Mac Mini and a screen, but the power management is tough to overcome. With the iPad, it is a no-brainer.

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Not true. Posted from my iPad 1

Oh yeah. Try updating the iOS. Current version is 6.0.2.

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I went into the Apple store and was told it is indeed true. Many of the apps on my mother's original Ipad, like for instance her bank's app, will no longer function at all. This is where Apple comes in to sell you on "your first Apple desktop" so you can get your original Ipad to work with all your apps again.

So ideally I would like to elimate the head-up it. I may try it out for awhile going through the Bose system to see how I like it (same way I use my iPhone). I would think you could move the head and a/c units down to the center stack w/o too much trouble and place the iPad mini in the horseshoe. One potential issue I thought about, since I have a cab, is would the iPad mini overheat? Sometimes my iPhone in direct sunlight will display a message that it's too hot. David Clarke vey helpful links! I wonder if those prefab pans have magnets in them to hold the iPad mini? It almost looks like you could bolt a prefab pan in where the radio and a/c controls are and snap the horseshoe back in place?

This is pretty cool, I will be following it. iPad mini would probably drop weight in comparison to the factory head unit too (racecar).

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That's too bad. I have a few dozen apps that seem to work just fine. How does the new desktop facilitate getting the iPad to work again?

subscribed Go for it... I don't see how you could do it without also having something to get the sound into the OEM stereo. Like the Dension 500 for example. I'd be interested doing it, if you can find the space But in our car, there is no bluetooth and even connected via the Dension500 , you would have no way to control the volume, if you place the iPad mini in front of the radio... should that even be possible Looking forward to see how this DIY turns out. It would be great to have the OBDII info right there.

a little image to help...

seems like the top storage tray is large enough to accommodate the standard radio size.... Keeping the oem radio is the simple way to go.

double din is 7" x 4" ipad mini seems a little larger ...

Confused as to why use an iPad mini instead of a Double Din unit? What are the advantages as overall cost would be similar plus the adaptive hardware is readily available? I assume you won't be surfing the web while driving.

For me the ipad mini would be helpful as it could display information from the OBDII reader, using app connecter to a bluetooth obdii reader. Amazon Amazon and then use an app like dashcommand: http://gopointtech.com/applications/dashcommand/ then there is the music and the gps application of course.

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need the desktop to connect the Ipad to Itunes: Select OS, select device, run update, etc. There are ~20 million original ipads that are SOL. Even the 3G orignal Ipads that could have received the update wirelessly. Apple like it when you buy their stuff sooner than you need to. p.s. I'd wait for the Retina Mini Ipad to do a double din display. That way you'll at least get a discount on the the currently over-priced non-Retina version.

What Philoo said. I currently use my iPhone mounted horizontally in the lower console for music, nav, obd, Harry's laptimer, etc... I connect to the Bose system via Sosche IPFMRDS http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ejOo7pP...l?i=142IPFMRDS Pretty cool as it will display the song name on the radio and dash and charge my device. I would think if using the stock head that you could connect the iPad mini that way.

For a non-DD or highly modded car, I always thought it would be good to just run an audio output to amp. Control everything with ipod/iphone. But using the ipadmini it would look much better in the car.

That is a good idea...keep us posted on your progress.

is anybody working on installing the ipad mini in their 996 ?

PFBZ over a 6Speed is working on it. http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...-997-a-11.html

I haven't had much time to work on this since last week, but everything is pretty much ready to go back into the car. Here's what I'm doing: Relocate HVAC to lower slot in lower center console. Relocate head unit to upper slot in lower center console. Replace head unit with Pioneer single din with USB input and enough charging current to keep iPad mini operating properly. Custom mount mini in upper dash. Modifications to horseshoe bezel and cup holder trim only. Can be returned to stock easily by replacing $60 bezel. Mini will feed into pioneer stereo, then to upgraded speakers in dash and rear.

On the hookup, you could eliminate the head unit and go directly to the amp, but there are several considerations... Head-unit solution: A top of the line Pioneer 1Din head unit (DEH-X9500BHS) is only $182 on Amazon. It has dual USB inputs with adequate charging current for an iPad mini, three sets of high-voltage RCA outputs if I want to drive an amp, HD radio, Sat-radio ready, and adjustable illumination color so I can exactly match the OEM amber lighting. It also has full bluetooth integration with my iPhone for calls. A volume **** rather than some slider is very nice. Built in amp is adequate for my current needs Easy to mount into one of the existing DIN openings. No head-unit solution: There are various ways to do this, but they all have some limitations. IMHO the BEST way would be iPad mini iStreamer digital-analog converter (DAC) ($230). This will allow you to bypass the relatively low quality DAC's built into the iPad to get a higher quality signal and simultaneously charge the iPad. Audiocontrol three.2 equalizer (~$300), fed by analog output from iStreamer. This will provide a real volume control **** as well as a front/rear fader (though still no balance control). 1/2Din form factor, so it will need a bit more custom work to install. Four channel amp. On the inexpensive/small/light side, something like the Fosgate punch PBR300X4 ($150) would be fine. My original intent was to not use a head unit, but as you can see, it might seem simpler to eliminate the head unit, but it actually requires more stuff and is significantly more expensive to do correctly. It just didn't make sense with all the great low cost USB input head units now available to try and work around it. I suppose you could do nothing more than take the headphone output of the mini and use a headphone jack to RCA cable and run it right to the amplifier... It would likely not have sound quality, and quickly adjusting the volume is difficult. And it *still* would cost as much as a decent USB input head unit...

I function tested everything previously with the head unit and HVAC in their original upper position and the iPad mini just temporarily mounted to the lower console. Pandora, Slacker, Waze, MotionX, Harry's Lap Timer, Safari, Google maps, Apple maps, accu- weather all work great. You can even make phone calls if you want without a cell phone using a skype account. Inbound as well, but it takes a bit more work. One of the things I've been waiting on is the IOS/iPad-mini jailbreak which was just released today. The thing I really wanted jailbreak for was to eliminate the 'lock' slider and have the mini immediately go live to the last app in use when the ignition is turned on, and immediately go to sleep when the ignition is turned off, just like it works with the smart cover. Simple enough, but impossible to accomplish without jailbreaking the device. The jailbreak should also allow me to use the less-expensive generic OBD2 bluetooth devices to feed data to Rev, harrys lap timer, etc.

I just got out to the garage to do a final test fit. Everything seems to fit perfectly, though I still need to purchase the lower HVAC trim bezel (996.552.339.00-01C). Sorry for the crappy garage-at-night photos. I'll get some better pictures once everything is finished and cleaned up, but this will give you the general idea...

Looking great Pfbz! You had mentioned in another post the drink holder tolerance was off by a rch. Do you think there is any way to keep it functional?

humm, so you had to remove the cupholder function all together ? or just trim it a bit ? I assume you have a pre-most (fiber optic car), right ? I already have the dension 5000, installed on my most (fiber optic) car so for me it would be quite easy to isntall the ipad mini, If the thing fits. I'll probably try that mod once I am done with the other hundred mods I have planned

oh one more thing, please detail your install of the radio in the upper storage bin as I don't think anybody has ever done so.

Phil, How do you like the Denison? How well does it work? Does it give you full iPhone / iPad connectivity? How about the bluetooth with iPhone work well?

the Dension is great if you want to keep the whole factory look. It is difficult to pilot the ipod from the oem radio, but as I only play my song on 'shuffle all' mode. I simply use the radio to skip back and forth and leave my iPod always inside the glove box. it works great for me and has been easy to install, just a bit pricey but with our fiber optic (MOST) system, I have no other choice than Dension or brand new ..everything. I did not get the bluetooth addon for dension as I am very rarely on the phone, and did not know if the streaming via bluetooth was possible or not.

First, let me just say this isn't anywhere near plug-and-play. It is going to take a bit of fabrication and test fitting to get things to work. If you aren't comfortable with that, let a top quality stereo shop take a look. My approach is always to look at what it will take and cost to 'undo' anything I'm about to modify and cut. You never really know how things are going to work out until the point of no-return, without parts replacement at least. For example, I also looked at modifying the bottom console to more cleanly accept a Nexus7 as a possible alternative to the iPad. I began to trim up the vinyl covered side pieces, but decided I didn't really like how it was going to work out, so I replaced the side pieces completely. It cost me $30 for the pair for like-new replacements from a used Porsche parts specialist on eBay, but I checked out the cost before I started cutting. Also note that this is a later 996. The early 996's didn't use the single-piece horseshoe trim and din't have the thin, slide out cup holder. I suspect that installing the iPad on the earlier cars without the thin cup holder is actually easier, but have never actually taken apart an early dash, No, it is a 2004 with a MOST bus Becker radio. I do not have Bose upgrade though, which actually makes things cleaner (and lighter). I replaced the speakers and the head unit, the only part of the factory system that remain are the factory speaker grills in the dash and behind the rear seats and the speaker wire. MOST bus makes it very difficult to add something like an iPad to the stock radio without the expensive Denison adapter, and if you have MOST bus and Bose, it makes it difficult to reuse the Bose Amp/speakers with a different head unit, but if you are replacing the head unit and speakers anyway, it doesn't get in the way. I did not reinstall the cup holder, only the small trim piece from the front of the cup holder as a filler. The cup holder was surprisingly heavy and really silly in it's over-engineering, and as my 911 isn't a daily commuter, I was happy to forgo the cup holder. I could have trimmed the bottom of the radio support panel and retained the cup holder, but then would have need to fabricate more support for the iPad. I choose not to go that route. Most aftermarket 1DIN radio's mount into a metal sleeve/cage. It's what the radio locks into so it doesn't just slide ride back out. The DIN cage went into the upper compartment no problem. It was a very easy part of the install. The stock Becker radio doesn't use a cage, it locks into the dash directly. I'm sure the Becker will fit into the new location, but I didn't check to see if it would lock into place. Honestly, the Becker radio was such garbage that I can't imagine going through all this work and retaining it when great radio's are available for $140-$180. DIN cage Moving the HVAC to the lower slot in the lower console is also easy, direct screw in with a new trim bezel, but re-routing the wiring can be a PITA. Once you bite the bullet and remove the radio support frame, loosen the under-dash vent pieces, and unplug the ABS computer, it isn't that bad, but to try and just reach your hands through and snake the wire to the new location without doing the above was pretty difficult.

Visual notes on the cup holder could be retained...

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True for any company, I guess. What's truer is that Apple like it when you stay inside their eco-system. If you surrender to it, then their backwards compatibility and support is absolutely outstanding. In our house, we're running four generations of desktop/laptop, three generations of iPhone, two generations of iPad, two generations of AppleTV, and two generations of AirPort. Everything is seamless, and I have no update issues, including with the old click-wheel iPod I use in one of the cars. Their stuff lasts so long that you could reasonably defend it as a 'green' choice, compared to the disposability of hardware on some other platforms. But ever since iOS, they've become a little hostile to people who don't commit.

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Did you instal the Denision yourself or have a local shop do it?

I did the install myself, it was really super easy... if you have the spare time ;0 Simply dismount the cdchanger and you will have access to the most fiber optics cables coming from the amp. I made a DIY on renntech http://www.renntech.org/forums/tutor...orsche-996-c2/

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Great to see I can keep the cup holder! Thanks for all the great info!!

Pfbz how are you liking the iPad mini install. Any issues after using for awhile?

Recently finished up my install. Thanks to pfbz for taking the leap first! I have mine connected through the Bose system using a Sosche IPFMRDS. I was also able to keep my cup holder function by trimming the lower support bracket about an eighth of an inch. I moved the Bose system to the lower center console just above the AC controls. The Sosche unit charges the IPad Mini with no problems and displays the name of the song on the radio and dash displays. It cuts on and off with the turn of the key. I went with a 32GB LTE IPad Mini and connected it to a 32 GB WI Drive that will give me 64 GB of storage for music, etc... I'm also using a GoPoint BT1 Bluetooth dongle connected to the OBDII port. Works great with Harry's Laptimer and also has a pretty cool diagnostics dash board. For nav I'm using TomTom and built in Apple Maps. For music I have Pandora, IHeart Radio and XM Sirus Apps plus my ITunes library. I really like the setup works flawlessly. [/IMG]

Really slick!

If your thinking this would make a good GPS ? Don't depend upon Internet or Phone services for this function . Much more dependable is Satalite and its Free !

The LTE version has GPS chip set in it and seems to work very well.

I am absolutely loving mine! Had it in the dealer today and they were a bit blown away with how integrated it is... GPS functionality is superb. Great signal lock even in dash, several GPS apps allow downloading of maps in advance so no LTE data connection is required for nav (though you still need the LTE ipad model for the built-in GPS chip).

very impressive - nice work!

Through together a quick video on my install http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq5lxC8Ig2Q

Does EQu work if you are playing through Pandora or other streaming audio sources, or only local music files?

Only local music.

I wanted to thank the OP for this because I just got my iPad mini installation finished and I have to say that I completely love it! I pretty much followed the directions posted here but mine was a bit more complex because I have the MOST bus (Bose). I had to get some help on this from my local professional radio shop. Anyways, the new head unit in combo with the iPad mini really pushed me in to the 21st century. What a pleasure it is to have access to real time weather, my tunes, Sirius, maps/navigation and blue-tooth streamed info from the OBD2 port on the car - all right on the dash. (I have only to pick up the little trim pieces to complete the climate control edges.) Awesome! Thank you! IMG_4168.jpg

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Congrats! Looks great.

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Looks great, But you could have just got an Adroid Radio system for 1/3 the price of your setup and have a way better setup.

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The two things that I think the mini install has over the droid setup is full touch screen , no after market buttons and backlight colours to contrast with factory ( though in this case the deck already does this) and its removable ( I presume ) so you can have your mini out at a destination.

delete

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Hardly. The Ipad set-up will give you more flexibility and wasn't all that expensive. It was less than replacing with DD with Nav. Plus Android currently doesn't have HLT.

I just finished my install. I retained the factory CDR220 so the interface challenge was much simpler. However, there is almost no slack in the factory head unit wiring harness when moving it to the third DIN slot. I may remove it and spend some more time polishing the inside of the horseshoe; mine doesn't look quite as flush as either pfbz's or Slope's. I lined all the contact points with doublesided mounting foam to prevent scratching and rattling. Question for those of you who have the iPad jailbroken - does it actually turn off when you turn off the car/radio? I noticed mine gets power constantly from the back of the radio. I'll post some pictures later.

Mcfisticuffs looking forward to seeing your install. Mine cuts on and off with the ignition vs. the radio itself.

Re-visiting this thread... I'm considering installing an android based tablet instead of the Ipad mini as I am more vested in the Google ecosystem. The logical tablet choice seems to be the Samsung Tab 8: The width will help, not having to cut into the cup holder or lower bezel as much. But I'm concerned about the added 10mm height. For those that have done this install, can you comment on how much of a problem the additional 10mm is going to be in terms of fouling the windshield wiper and/or the cigarette lighter controls internally?

It is a super tight fit with the ipad mini, not sure the added 10mm are going to fit. Also, my cup holders work perfectly with an ipad mini.

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I agree, its going to be challenging to find that extra space. Very snug fit.

I have "installed" an android tablet, an Asus Fonepad (ca. $220 overseas). It is slightly less tall (but deeper) than the pads mentioned above with 196.4 x 120.1 x 10.4 mm (7.73 x 4.73 x 0.41 in). Not as fast or posh as an iPad but does all I need and I can remove it instantly.

why would you want this in your dash? the 996 is a raw car. you need the map and your driving a trip? not for me,but I guess the people who install have reason and enjoy

I've been looking at pics of installs, and I agree that the extra 10mm just won't work. Any 7" android but I want 8, and really, nothing works as good as the ipad mini. That and the 'gold brown' black of the tab 8 just wouldn't work aesthetically. To Souringman - the 996TT has pretty extreme performance, but I'd liken it more as a GT car. Besides, why can't we have it all and eat our cake too.

I had a Nexus 7 (120mmx198.5mmx10.45) at my disposal when I did my original iPad mini install... It wasn't going to work out nearly as well, but it was mostly due to the extra thickness of the Nexus 7. The Tab 8 is thinner, though still not as thin as the Mini, and it is that thinness that allows it to be easily mounted by sandwiching it between the front bezel and the plastic support panel. The extra height (width, if laid on its side) is also going to be a problem... Even the mini is a few mm to long and requires some careful dremeling of the lighter and wiper speed control plastic housing. The extra 10mm is going to make that much more difficult, and most likely also interfere with the rocker switches. Pictures below illustrate my point, the mini barely fits! Anything can be done, but the beauty of this install when I first did it was (in my opinion) how easily if fit, how few modifications were needed, and how it remained very 'factory' looking when completed. I don't think the Tab8 would work out without significantly more work and likely fiberglass. By the way, a much more detailed thread of my mini install (along with Slopesider's) is on the other forum, here.

A coupe of more pic's from the original install...

One more thing. (Credit for this idea really goes to Ivan on the sixspeed forum.) Its a bit techno-geeky, so skip right on by if that kind of thing isn't of interest.... I just installed ' veency ' on my 996 mini, a free cydia VNC app. So now I can have my 996 in the garage, just kick on the mini, and then do any administrative tasks/updates/song loads or whatever right from my laptop (macbook air in my case). I tried both OSX's built-in ' screen sharing ' and another excellent and free VNC app ' Chicken of the VNC ', both worked excellently. For those that aren't familiar with VNC (virtual network computing), it is basically mirroring and controlling one computer (in this case, my ipad mini) with another computer (in this case, my macbook air). I also use ' openSSH ', another free cydia app, that allows me to just mount the iPad mini file systems remotely on my macbook. Again, this kind of stuff isn't going to be all that interesting or easy to set up for most, but I know there are a few others that might take advantage of this setup. Reminder, make sure you change the default root and mobile passwords on an iPad or iPhone if you are going to open them up to networks... Screenshot of an iPad being "Veency'ed" on my MacBook. This is the iPad installed in my F150, but same idea...

Great response. Thank you for taking the time! I agree it will be a tight, or pretty much not fit. That's really too bad as I feel like androids have a few things going for them in terms of a more open eco-system for things like OBD-II monitoring and such. In the 8" range, there's basically no android tablets that will fit nicely at the moment which is really too bad as there's some that are oh so close, though most of the super cheap ones don't have GPS capability. Something like the Dell Venue 8" would almost work... but alas it doesn't even have an ambient light sensor.

Now that new iPad mini has been announced, I bet you can get a deal on the back stock of the first gen minis. Typically Apple will drop the price $100.

Yup, found the best way to get a low price one with a full 1yr warranty was refurb from the apple store. Just ordered a 16GB AT&T unit for $359. Yes, I could find a cheaper used one on craigslist, but I didn't want to run the chance of getting a unit that had issues with no recourse.

Thanks to PFBZ and some others on 6speed I just finished mine a couple of weeks ago and loving it! It really is amazing all of the items I can do, of course play all my music, Netflix for the kids, can even watch live TV using my slingbox, Nav, email, texting, of course all this while NOT driving! Check out the pile of wires pilled out from my old system that had TV, DVD, Nav, hard drive for music.

Hey Guys, Im looking to do the iPad mini install into my '05 CS. I figured out what you need to start. Here is what I think I need.. please correct me if I'm wrong.. 1. MOST-HUR/955 (This is used in order to keep existing BOSE system) > http://www.navtv.com/product/218/mos...eShowProduct=1 2. Sony MEXN5000BT > Amazon.com: Sony MEXN5000BT NFC Bluetooth Wireless Car Stereo Receiver with App Remote: Car Electronics Amazon.com: Sony MEXN5000BT NFC Bluetooth Wireless Car Stereo Receiver with App Remote: Car Electronics 3. iPad Mini with 3g 4. Female harness to radio? 5. custom bezel > http://www.fifieldfabrications.com iPad Mini in Porsche Cayenne GTS - YouTube

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Im looking to do the iPad mini install into my '05 CS ? '05 CS = Cayenne S? This is the 996 forum, so the info here is geared towards our 911's. 1. MOST-HUR/955: $655 so you can retain your so-so Bose amp & speakers? That wouldn't be high on my list... 2. Sony MEXN5000BT: Looks like it only has one USB port, on the front of the deck. Not a good choice for a clean install... Find one that has a USB connection coming from the rear or wiring harness, and also make sure it has enough charging current on the USB. Not all decks do... Or were you not planning on connecting the ipad to the deck through USB, setting up a separate charging system and stream bluetooth? 3. iPad Mini with 3g: Well at this point, I think an iPad Mini Retina with LTE is the right choice... 4. Female harness to radio?: I used a Metra 70-1784, about $8 on Amazon. Also, you'll need an antenna adapter. Metra 40-VW12 VW Antenna Adapter or similar, about $5 on Amazon. Again, this is correct for our 911's, not 100% sure what harness the Cayenne needs. 5. custom bezel: On a 996, trying to fit that custom bezel is significantly more work than modifying the stock horseshoe trim as described earlier in this thread and also over here .

Dead horse

Reviving this old thread I started. My iPad mini now 6 years old and very long in the tooth, needs a replacement. I was considering an Android option as a replacement. Anyone successfully install one in a 996.2?