Hi All, Here is another project that I have been working on.
I noticed that my Playbook was the size of two din boxes. I removed my storage box and my cup holders???? and placed them gently into the trash can. This freed up two slots; the stereo and air controls were then moved to the upper spaces. This is easy to do as the wiring harness is sufficiently long enough; it just takes a few minutes. I had already removed my CD player and wired in two RCA jacks that have a headphone plug on the end. The only other modifications were to reshape the side bolsters 996-552-973-01. I peeled back the foam-backed vinyl covers, then reshaped the plastic and stretched the vinyl again. So, really the only pieces that are damaged are the side bolsters, which is great because I can get two new bolsters and I can be back to stock in five minutes.
Another bonus is the two storage spaces are still usable under the playbook, I would need to trim the thickness of the play book from the storage box , but it would still be usable. I also believe there is a storage box that fits the lowest din space. If so, after the thickness is trimmed, I will have two storage spaces. My Playbook has 600 songs on it, so far, and played through my Bose system it sounds great. The screen turns off after a few minutes so you don't have the glare, and comes alive if I swipe it. I have my Playbook bridged to my Berry Torch (or any newer Blackberry phone) so if my wife is taking too long at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I can surf with the Playbook in my lap.
On a trip back down the 401 last week, my wife Lynnie, surfed all the way home while the music played from the Playbook. Because the Playbook is bridged, there isn't a charge for a data plan. When I arrive home it connects to Wi-Fi and I use it as my lap top at home. You have probably noticed I did not talk about how to power the Playbook. I don't bother as it will play music all day easily on one charge. I guess a cigarette charger would work if it had enough amps. I really like being able to see the names of the upcoming songs with my distance glasses.
The Playbook has been bashed relentlessly by the US-based analysts, and when it came out it was a little buggy. The reason it was a bridged unit is because RIM could debug it without having to get every upgrade approved by the carriers. So now after three software upgrades that I downloaded, it's a really nice device.
I have a tool and die buddy who is building a piece to finish the lower trim to replace the stock piece, which is about !/4 inch to high. I would like to find a lower profile headphone jack as the one I have is a little too tall. I thought of using the Micro SD which is at the bottom of the unit, but I'm not sure it would work?