There has been some talk about choosing a cheap and widely available handheld device that could be used to run OtherTuningSoftware.
There are a few options that have crossed IRC...
Gameboy
At least three variants, all with the same 4-arrow button and 4 other buttons (effectively 8 buttons). All have some sort of serial "link", some even infrared. [a hardware FAQ]
- Gameboy Original, 160x144 4-grayscale LCD, Z80 based. There are millions of them around, going rate is now in the sub-$10 range.
- Gameboy Color, 160x144 x 56 colors and some other enhancements. Not nearly as common as the original, and discontinued.
- Gameboy Advance, 244x160 color TFT. 512 color sprite mode, 32K in bitmap mode. Arm7 CPU, going rate on ebay around $60 used. Still available new around the $100 mark. Flat and folding form factors.
- Gameboy DS ??? Has touch/pen pad. No good.
Pros
- Ergonomy. Large buttons and large (though slightly grainy) screens that are good for small kids, are also good for large kids in moving cars.
- Fairly cheap, widely available.
- Intuitive to use and navigate tables/menus with.
- Easy to program?
- Will it be taken seriously? [TurboXS] thinks so, and is setting precedent.
- New variants might start coming faster and faster, with the old ones discontinued and becoming harder to find. The advance is likely not going to last 10+ years like the original did.
- Entering numbers (table work) may be tedious with a limited number of buttons.
PDA
Pros
- Fairly common and standardized.
- Usually a relatively large color screen.
- No buttons.
- Touchscreens suck in a moving car.
- Can be expensive if you don't already own one.
Java phones
Pros
- Compact.
- People generally take it with them anyway. Many cars are fitted with holders.
- "Everyone" has one, or can get one basically for free.
- Has numeric keypad.
- Easy to program?
- Not all the same (different button arrangements and screen resolutions)
- Screen and buttons are small. (example: mine has 128x128 color TFT). No room for multiple pretty "gauges". Bargraphs or some other colorful creativity will have to do.