When it comes to in-vehicle entertainment systems, you can be sure that plenty of leaps in technology has been made in this aspect, and gone are the days when you can just play a CD and be happy with it. Old school video game consoles have even been integrated into head units on a car seat, while more complex operating systems are being introduced as well. Toyota has worked alongside Asus-owned Unimax to deliver what they call the “Toyota Intelligent System”, which is actually a Nexus 7 that has been docked into certain vehicles.
Do bear in mind that this is no ordinary Nexus 7, as the TIS (in short) intends to be the heart of your mobile entertainment experience, and the replaceable tablet is touted to be a perfect platform for doing so. The interface of the Nexus 7 has been specially customized so that it can fit into the in-car experience better, and in other words, the likes of GPS apps and multimedia controls will look different from that of a stock Nexus 7 experience.
Still, when you undock the Nexus 7 from the TIS, it will revert to a usual Nexus 7 experience. I suppose this is great, but one might want to think twice about using this since car thieves these days are not shy of breaking into your vehicle just to steal that GPS device or tablet in this case, for a quick buck on the streets. To remove a Nexus 7 device each time you get out of the vehicle can be quite a hassle in the long run, but the advantage is, when a new device with better hardware specifications in a similar dimension arrives, one can basically upgrade the TIS to the latest and greatest.