A Carputer, or 'CarPC', is a general purpose computing platform installed in a vehicle. Until 2006, no OEM or major aftermarket supplier offered or supported carputer-class installations, limiting the installed base to the hobbyist, enthusiast and entrepreneur communities. In use as early as 2000, the term generally refers to contemporaneous personal computers retrofitted in a production model car.
Home made Carputer systems are usually built from traditional desktop components, particularly the increasingly compact small form factor systems and ITX systems. The first commercially available aftermarket Carputer systems involved two main components: a monitor in the dashboard and a PC in the trunk. There are now all-in-one systems that can directly replace the factory radio in a car, without any separate components.
Laptops also serve a useful role as Carputer system components, but laptops are harder to integrate cleanly into the car. The major problem developers face is the software that is to be installed. For instance, as of 2007 GPS navigation is a common OEM equippable option and roughly equates to a laptop running GPS software.
Most carputers currently use TFT LCD screens as their displays. TFT displays have become cheaper in the recent years, which makes them a good choice for a carputer screen. Early TFT displays had low resolution, high cost and used composite video inputs. They also lacked the touchscreen feature. Before TFT screens became mainstream, LCD character displays and even small CRT TV screens were used. Most modern screens are equipped with touchscreen, providing an easy way of controlling the carputer. The most common modern-day screen used is the 7 inch VGA touch screen..
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