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Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard for Android Initial Impressions (Full Review to Come)

Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard for Android
So initially I was writing this on my Nexus 7 but lost everything I had written twice due to what seems like an issue with the Nexus 7's bluetooth. I'll go into more detail about that a bit later but for now here are my initial thoughts on the Logitech Bluetooth keyboard linked above. I picked one up on eBay for $29.99 (retail ~$69) and it arrived yesterday.
Layout & Form
Let me just say, this keyboard is stylish. From the moment you open the package (not that stylish) you can tell that much thought and effort was put in to the design of this product. It is very sleek (both the case and keyboard), and even matches the Nexus 7 down to the blue accent on the media/function keys.
Size-wise this keyboard is about as close to a full size keyboard as you can get while still being portable and comfortable to type on. It does not contain a NUM pad or Home/End/Page buttons, but it does have small arrow keys under the Enter/Shift buttons. Typing on this keyboard took absolutely no time to get used to. I was typing up documentation for work while playing Dota 2 on my desktop because I wanted to use this thing so much
It comes with an amazing case to protect your investment however, it also doubles as a stand for your tablet that allows your to adjust the viewing angle a bit. Great feature! Overall, the build quality of this keyboard/case feels top notch.
Function
Not only does the keyboard look and feel great, but it also works! It has a lot more functionality outside of just typing which I was quite surprised by. It connected quickly and easily the first time which was also a nice perk. It also did not seem to lag at all. When typing fast it didn't miss a keystroke. Features outside of typing worth noting:
Alt+Tab functionality to switch between recently used apps
Home key to bring you back to the home screen
Media keys
Calendar, Browser, Mail, Music function keys (the browser one doesn't seem to work for me)
Some typical hotkeys work (ie: Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V) however some I had no luck with in the app I was using (ie: Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U)
Ability to navigate around home screen or app UI elements using TAB
Keyboard Specific Cons
There aren't many things that I don't like about this keyboard. There were only two things that I could find that bugged me a little bit but are by no means even close to being deal breakers (more personal preference I would say).
The case does not cover the entire keyboard, only the keys so a little bit at the top sticks out a bit.
There is no female micro-USB port for plugging the keyboard into a power source. It runs on (2) batteries so when they die you'll just have to replace them.
Nexus 7 Experience Pitfalls
One of the major downsides for me were connectivity issues with the Nexus 7. However, I believe this a problem on the tablet side and not an issue with the keyboard itself. I had several instances where they keyboard would hang and the last letter would be repeated until I turn the keyboard on and off and reconnected it. This would not be a major issue if it weren't for another issue that coincides with this, and this is a big one. When turning the keyboard on/off and connecting/disconnecting it from the Nexus 7, the Nexus 7 will refresh whatever screen you are viewing. If you are on your home screen, it will redraw your home screen, if you are browsing the web, it will refresh all your tabs. When using the keyboard in evernote this wasn't a huge issue however, when I was initially writing up this review it would refresh the browser and I lost everything I had written.
This seems to be an issue with the tablet because I had similar issues when tethering it to my phone for using the internet. Regardless, I figured it was major enough to mention. Another issue which may be on the tablet end as well (with the default browser switching to chrome) is the lack of functionality of the browser media key. This is not a deal breaker for me though.
Overall Impression
Overall, I love this keyboard however, I cannot use it due to the major bluetooth connectivity issue that exists with the Nexus 7. Hopefully this is just a software issue that can be fixed, but until then I will have to keep this amazing accessory on a shelf. It's a shame because I really love this keyboard. I actually use it on my laptop now instead of the laptops keyboard

Quick update on the bluetooth issue:
I have old speakers that I use at my office that are not shielded. This may be what's causing my bluetooth disconnect issues with both my phone and keyboard but I'll have to test to see if this is actually the case. I was having minor bluetooth issues at home as well which leads me to believe it's the tablet.

Will Share My Experience
I have yet to receive my N7 and an ordered Logitech keyboard. I'll share my experiences, too, when I get them. That way we might be able to see if the bluetooth problem you're having is specific to your device or more generic.

Thanks for the input. I have left my tablet on with the keyboard paired with it off to the side of my desk and it seems to be doing fine so I'm thinking my old crap speakers were causing the interference.
However, I have been able to repeat the problem connecting and disconnecting of bluetooth devices consistantly. It seems that when you connect or disconnect a paired device, whatever screen you are on gets refreshed or redrawn. Seems like it may be an easy fix on the software end, unfortunately I am no developer. Also not sure if it would be on the kernel level or the OS level.
EDIT: I also started a thread more specific to the bluetooth issue here.

No Chrome Support?
Got the keyboard today for my Nexus 7 and everything works except the key to launch the browser. Anybody having similar issues - figured out how to correct?

mattmanb said:
Got the keyboard today for my Nexus 7 and everything works except the key to launch the browser. Anybody having similar issues - figured out how to correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's probably looking for the ICS stock browser to open I guess... Could try changing the name of the Chrome APK in system apps to match the old stock browser and see whether that works...

My wife has the ipad version of this keyboard I should try it out on my nexus 7.

EDIT: Also wanted to correct your review that it takes 4 AAA batteries, not 2.
I just got my keyboard today and I'm loving it so far. Haven't had any connectivity issues or any other type of issue.
I was worried about the stand/keyboard dwarfing the 7 inch tablet, but it works pretty nicely. Since I could never find any pictures of landscape and/or portrait of the Nexus in use with this accessory, here are some shots:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

This reminded me to try my wifes iPad version of this out, and works pretty good. Weirdly at first, it wasn't.. Shift key was behaving really weird, sticking... then couldn't type again until I hit it a few times.
Now.. After reconnecting once, it's working good. Control, alt both work.. the cmd key paired with other keys do app shortcuts, like cmd-a is calculator, cmd-c is contacts etc.. Interesting.
Media keys work.. so cmd-p launches Google Music, then fn-7 8 9 0 - + control things. Cool. Fn-Delete puts the N7 to sleep..
Told the wife her keyboard might go missing. Heh. But in reality, I won't use it... Rare I'd need a keyboard like this that I'm not near a computer anyway, and I'm not carrying the keyboard around with me 24/7, so.. Maybe useful for some things though.

My only question about this keyboard is the weight. I've picked up the package in a few stores and it seems *heavy*. I've a small Apple (hush now, I'm using it to run my HTPC!) bluetooth keyboard at home which feels like a feather compared to the box. Is it just oddly heavy packaging, or is this keyboard, well, a bit porky?

RikF said:
My only question about this keyboard is the weight. I've picked up the package in a few stores and it seems *heavy*. I've a small Apple (hush now, I'm using it to run my HTPC!) bluetooth keyboard at home which feels like a feather compared to the box. Is it just oddly heavy packaging, or is this keyboard, well, a bit porky?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a bit. But a surprising amount of that weight is the case. According to my kitchen scale... the N7 = 335g. Keyboard with batteries = 400g. Keyboard in case = 620g! 220g for the case / stand. My N7 will soon have it's own case / stand, so I think I'll ditch the keyboard one.

rwb2073 said:
It is a bit. But a surprising amount of that weight is the case. According to my kitchen scale... the N7 = 335g. Keyboard with batteries = 400g. Keyboard in case = 620g! 220g for the case / stand. My N7 will soon have it's own case / stand, so I think I'll ditch the keyboard one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on the same boat, my Portenzo case arrives this week.
Update: After returning the first keyboard I got and receiving a replacement everything works fine. The screen still refreshes when I turn on the keyboard which is odd, but now it stays connected with no sticking key issues.
I LOVE THIS KEYBOARD. Sorry to be absent, work has been nuts. I'll flesh out the original post sometime soon with updates.

bernjc3 said:
I'm on the same boat, my Portenzo case arrives this week.
Update: After returning the first keyboard I got and receiving a replacement everything works fine. The screen still refreshes when I turn on the keyboard which is odd, but now it stays connected with no sticking key issues.
I LOVE THIS KEYBOARD. Sorry to be absent, work has been nuts. I'll flesh out the original post sometime soon with updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, it works great with the N7.
I get no refreshing when I disconnect / reconnect here though. While paired, input is fast, then when I power the keyboard off, there is a delay of about 15 seconds until the tablet realizes the connection has been lost and the software keyboard pops up. When I turn the hardware keyboard back on it connects almost instantly and the software keyboard goes away. No refresh or loss of work (in Catch Notes, for example). I wonder if this is related to the currently selected software keyboard? I'm using Ultra Keyboard, which has settings specifically to work with a hardware keyboard, when present. The tool bar and some of the features are still available while the Logitech keyboard is connected. Text zoom in / out is very helpful in particular, for example.
I've also found that when I connect to another device (laptop for example) the Logitech gets finicky about later being used with the N7. I think it likes to play with just one host device. The fix for me is a battery pull and all the connectivity issues go away (until I use it with the laptop again that is).

Yeah as far as weight goes you'll definitely notice it in your pack, but at least you knows its solid construction.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Hi,
I've had my Logitech Bluetooth keyboard for a week now. It works well in Evernote, flawless actually. But my problem is that when I do a search in Chrome or use Google Now (or whatever it is at the bottom) I will start typing and it'll hang up on a letter going "tttttttttttttt" until I turn the keyboard off.
I *feel* it has something to do with instant search, I'm not sure. Anyone else experiencing this problem and have a fix? Is it an app I have installed that is making it do this mess?

The logitech keyboard looks cool. Looks a bit bigger than the amazon bluetooth keyboard though. I may look into the amazon one at somepoint. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EOWBKE/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

I've been using this keyboard to take notes within evernote in lecture based classes and I Iove it! I have a few questions though, in keyboard settings I see auto correct spelling as well as auto capitalization for the keyboard but I cant seem to get the keyboard to do this.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

Bluetooth Keyboard

Just wanted to share this item on eBay in case anyone else wanted a BT keyboard, but didn't like the idea of it being built into a case.
I can confirm that my stock (rooted) Nook HD+ recognizes this keyboard, paired with it with no issues, and that I am able to type with it in any application I've tried (including gmail, facebook, and trillian). Some of the function keys even work as well (like the volume keys).
Shipping took about a week to get to me, but I'm also across the country from them.

Note that for surprisingly little money you can get a case with a detachable keyboard.
I am using the Poetic KeyBook Bluetooth Keyboard Case for Nook HD+ from Amazon. The keyboard attaches magnetically and can be used independently of the rest of the case. Something like this gives you the best of all worlds: case/no case, keyboard/no keyboard.

I'd personally recommend the Anker Ultra Slim Mini Bluetooth 3.0 Wireless Keyboard off of Amazon. I've had good experiences with this brand in the past for other peripherals and the board itself is fairly compact. Although it's slightly Mac-biased in terms of its key layout, it's a bit more of a universal keyboard if you're going to be doing anything with the shell that requires F#-keys. Pairs, types and has pretty much everything working out of the box on CM 10.1. Unless you need to do remappings for an alternate keyboard layout like Colemak (as I do) you shouldn't need the External Keyboard Helper app to properly use this keyboard.
The only thing I feel that would be a caveat for this board is that the spot where the BT hardware and batteries go sticks out from the bottom of the keyboard to prop it up, so it's not the most comfortable if you're trying to use it on your lap or something. Also, some keys won't bind more than one keycode even with the fn key pressed. So far, the brightness keys are the only ones that seem to have this behavior, and F1/F2 is a bit more useful in my opinion.

I second the Anker Ultra-Slim Wireless Bluetooth 3.0 Keyboard, but I went with the one that had a Built-in lithium battery. It's $26 on Amazon and works out of the box on cyanogenmod 10.1, but I haven't found a way to get it working on 10.2 as of yet.

HowTo: Wake car mounted Nexus 7 from sleep without power button (2002 Mustang)

I have looked high and low for a way to turn on my Nexus7 without using the power button while it is in sleep mode.
The reason is because i am putting my tablet in my 2002 Mustang GT to replace the stock radio. Once installed , the power, and volume buttons are no longer accessible. I have bought an AMP and use the remote volume knob to adjust the volume. Next my issue was getting the tablet to wake from sleep.
After some serious thinking, i have found a way.
This does not require flashing,hacking, taking the tablet apart to rewire ANYTHING.
What i am going to do is connect the charging cord to a secondary cigarette lighter, then plug in a USB adapter.
On the power side of the secondary cigarette lighter connect a toggle switch. (The secondary cigarette lighter will be hidden behind the tablet)
Mount the cool looking toggle switch somewhere in the car where it is easily accessible.
When you want to wake the table, and or charge it, turn on the toggle switch. (This SHOULD work with any tablet)
You may want to download an app to put the tablet to sleep for when getting out of your car.
If anyone else tries this please let me know how it worked out for you.

LOL
A great solution to a unique problem.
Let's see pics when you are done dash mounting your N7.

I still have to cut out a small piece of the dash to allow room for the charging cable. That will be done tomorrow, along with a better video. I just wanted to show my progress.
Copy and paste link.
youtu.be/1psLH24ZsiE

Here is another video i made during the day, and after it was all mounted.
Copy & Paste.
youtu.be/P89paX9fcYw

Here's a thought, couldn't you just wave a little magnet over the bottom right part of the nexus screen? This should wake it up just as if you were opening a cover.

fangthorn said:
Here's a thought, couldn't you just wave a little magnet over the bottom right part of the nexus screen? This should wake it up just as if you were opening a cover.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While that is a good idea, that doesn't help with charging.
I personally would want the battery in the tablet to cycle threw its charges instead of always staying connected. (in case i ever wanted to take the tablet out)

Thanks for the videos. Looks like quite the fun project. You did some great work there.

RumoredNow said:
Thanks for the videos. Looks like quite the fun project. You did some great work there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks RoumoredNow. Its still a work in progress.
1. Better mounting of the tablet.
2. Add DC 4 port USB hub.
3. Add front and rear cameras.
4. Add 2 Standard USB connections built into the dash. (for passengers to charge there phone or play threw the audio system)
5. Another AMP
6. Replace the stock 8 speakers.
7. Add Sub-woofer.
8. Anything else i may think of, or suggestions i may like.

This is just an update to anyone wanting to mount there tablet in a mustang.
I have found that a simple piece of plywood does the job well. the area to mount a tablet in a mustang (without cutting up the dash) is about the same thickness as the tablet.
So using a piece of plywood, you can screw it to the BACKSIDE of the stereo mounting bracket. A couple of pieces of Velcro added to the plywood and tablet will keep it centered and in place while putting the radio bezel back on.
The Velcro also added cushion and a space filler to snug the tablet up to the radio bezel.
See images.

Just remember that baking a tablet in a car all of the time _will_ destroy the battery, and rather fast. Maybe that's fine. Just warning you.
As for turning the device off. If you have bluetooth in the car or something, you could use Tasker to watch for the BT device. When it goes away, start a timer, maybe 30 minutes or something, then shut down. That way quick runs into the store or it's not powered off/rebooting etc. There are many posts on this exact same subject in this exact sub-forum... Nexus 7 seems to be popular for cooking in vehicles for some reason.
But yes, the "unplug it from the power" solution is always the solution. Using a "pretty" switch is one way to do it. Some cars have lighter ports which are only powered when the car is powered, but I know mine are hot all of the time and a lot of cars these days are.

Use mKernel and a ROM that supports it and you can use the double tap to wake function, works great on my tablet, just tap the screen twice to wake it up.

U can use timur's kernel, And a otg-y cable, so when power unplug nexus go on stand by, And when plug power nexus start.
That rom is created Just for car installation.
Inviato dal mio Nexus 7 utilizzando Tapatalk

**EDIT: The ebay item i bought below does not fit well in the nexus7.
While it does fit, and does charge, it is loose and sometimes gives a bad connection then disables charging. I suggest to NOT buy it for a nexus7.
I just wanted to update that i have got my OTG cable for my nexus7 (2012) and it works great with timur's rom. Here is a link to the 1 i bought from a USA seller.
I have used a 16gig USB stick with it for testing till i get a larger 1.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=111423491796

A couple of things i wanted to point out about having a toggle switch connected to wake my tablet.
PROS:
1st. This will allow you to charge the tablet when your not in your car.
2nd. Your car does NOT have to be running or in accessory mode to charge your tablet.
3rd. Depending on how you wire your amp, you can still listen to music on your tablet when the accessory is off.
4th. You can still use ftp, AirDroid, ES File Explorer, ect.. (As im typing this, i'm transferring over 600 songs to my tablet in the car.)
CONS:
1st. Tablet does not wake when switch is moved to accessory mode. (toggle switch must be pressed)
There may be more cons, but i haven't found any related to my setup yet.
I'll add to this as i run across PROS and CONS.

my sETP N HELP PLEASE
02sonicblue said:
A couple of things i wanted to point out about having a toggle switch connected to wake my tablet.
PROS:
1st. This will allow you to charge the tablet when your not in your car.
2nd. Your car does NOT have to be running or in accessory mode to charge your tablet.
3rd. Depending on how you wire your amp, you can still listen to music on your tablet when the accessory is off.
4th. You can still use ftp, AirDroid, ES File Explorer, ect.. (As im typing this, i'm transferring over 600 songs to my tablet in the car.)
CONS:
1st. Tablet does not wake when switch is moved to accessory mode. (toggle switch must be pressed)
There may be more cons, but i haven't found any related to my setup yet.
I'll add to this as i run across PROS and CONS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have it set up with my acc line just connected to my ligheter cable and when ever i turn off ignition my tablet turns off and goes on airplane mode.. what i did was i bough a usb addapet that conects to positive n negative line. outputs 2 amps.. its located in the glove box ran the wire through the back and its pluges to the tablet.. so when i turn on the switch the table goes out of airplane mode, turns on my wifi (Wifi Teher) and Bluetoot (For bluetooth gps reciever) and lastly plays my music. . very pleased with the process.. now im hving one issue wich im trying to fix.. since i have booth bluetooth and wifi my tablet seems to drain more battery than it charges... im running c-rom 4.4.4 and i was looking into tfinding a fast charge. if anyone can help me setup fast charge please let me know and good luck. im pretty good with electrical in case you need any help..
****VERY IMPORTANT OPINION*****
I RECOMEND YOU SET A FUSE BEHIND EVERY WIRE TAP YOU MAKE, I HAD TO REPLACE MY ENTIRE WIRING HARNEST DUE TO A SHORTAGE.. SO A FUSE WOULD JUST BLOW AND NOT CAUSE SHORTAGE> :good::cyclops:

This post is old but I still have problems. Anyone had luck or did you just threw away your old and got a new model instead?

yattamove said:
This post is old but I still have problems. Anyone had luck or did you just threw away your old and got a new model instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got everything set up perfectly let me know if you need any help
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app

Good project! Have you tried timur's kernel yet? Maybe it will solve your problem.

yattamove said:
Good project! Have you tried timur's kernel yet? Maybe it will solve your problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing im using 4.4.4 rom and I believe timurs kernal is only for 2013 version of nexus 7. (Might be wrong) what I ended up doing is making a switch wich in case my battery dieson the tablet I can turn on the switch and charge the tablet over night even when the car is off..
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app

egren58 said:
The thing im using 4.4.4 rom and I believe timurs kernal is only for 2013 version of nexus 7. (Might be wrong) what I ended up doing is making a switch wich in case my battery dieson the tablet I can turn on the switch and charge the tablet over night even when the car is off..
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have 2 nexus7 (2012) models. My first one, i had timurs USB ROM for Nexus 7
I never could get it to fast charge even when fast charging was turned on. i was backing up my music and the rom went into a boot loop while it was backing up. So i tried to clear the cache and that didn't help. i then tried to revert back to factory (4.4.4) and i bricked it. It was hung at writing the bootloader. So i left it all nite while i went to bed and the battery died.
My 2nd tablet i left stock (i haven't even tried rooting it yet).

[Found] Good and cheap physical keyboard + trackpad

I wanted to control my computer from the couch, and just having a wireless mouse wasn't doing it for me. I have a Bluetooth keyboard, and it's okay, but it disconnects when it wants to and is generally unreliable. So I'm doing a computer upgrade, and I got well under budget, so I decided I'd toss a wireless keyboard into the mix. I didn't intend to get one with a track pad, but for the price, I figured why not. Amazon link — no referral codes
It's pretty good with my computer, but I took out my USB On-the-Go cable... and hey, it works with my phone as well. Track pad works like a mouse. The keyboard works great. That Bluetooth keyboard would get keys mixed up. I don't know if Bluetooth can only transmit so much at a time, but I type around 60WPM on average, I think, and that's not astronomically high (I believe secretaries/receptionists are expected to do 100WPM, and many do a lot more) but it's respectable. And when I type on the Bluetooth keyboard, my letters often arrive on the screen out of order. Once I realized there was nothing I could do but type slower, I just quit using it. This doesn't have that problem. I opened Google Docs, opened a new document, and just started brainstorming at it, and all the text came through right, up to my top speed.
The keyboard has a Home button which shows the desktop in Windows (may open home screen in the browser), and it works like a Home button in Android. I have a Play/Pause button, and Android asked me which media player I should use. F3 is Search on computers, and it opened Search on Android (not full-on Google Now, just the search). On the Bluetooth keyboard, CTRL+ALT+DELETE rebooted the phone with neither prompt nor warning. Didn't try it on the keyboard. Also haven't tried gestures (pinch, rotate, etc.). I'm not sure Android has multitouch trackpad support, as opposed to regular trackpad where it's just like a mouse.
Anyway, it's a good keyboard, it has a trackpad, and it's $25 shipped. Well, the shipping is free if you have Prime, which we do. You'll need a USB On-the-Go cable (here's Amazon's #1 best-selling USB OTG cable). And, if you need a push to get over $35, why not get a 2A charger, a screen protector, or a case? Preferably, a case with a stand, because if you're going to be doing a lot of typing, you'll probably want to prop your phone up. (I use a FlyGrip for that, but a FlyGrip is $40, though if you search Amazon for "FlyGrip," they have a ton of knockoffs.)
If you were ever unsure of the idea of a smartphone as a notebook replacement, using a physical keyboard to type an email or a document, edit a spreadsheet, or type out a document (oh, wouldn't it be neat if I said I typed all this on that keyboard, but alas, I haven't got it with me — though, I am considering buying a second one to carry with me on the road) might push you over the fence.

I just put this keyboard in my cart the other day. My mind is made up now.

The K400 is a great and durable keyboard. Had mine about a year keep one in the road bag and one at home. Highly recommended. I disable most of the multi features when using on Windows

[RESEARCH] External touch screen instead of AA head unit

Seeing videos of people integrating Raspberry Pis into their cars with OpenAuto got me interested in Android Auto. There is one thing I don't like about it, however: you're just adding another device to pass on audio/video/touch to an external display, from the phone. Why not cut out the middle man?
Back in the good old days of my Xperia S, phones had a dedicated micro-HDMI output. Delicous 60fps 720p (and even 1080p, with the UI drawn at 720p, but for instance video playback in full 1080p), and a free charging/OTG port. However, nowadays, we're stuck with MHL, and unless you have a Samsung phone, which has a proprietary connector, you can't use MHL and OTG at the same time, nor does MHL properly support touch functionality (only in theory), so we need the OTG.
DisplayLink to the rescue. We're going to sacrifice a lot of display smoothness/responsiveness here unless you have a modern phone with a USB 3.0 Type-C port (so you can use a newer high performance DisplayLink adapter), but we can use an OTG hub to get both HID touch functionality and HDMI through the DisplayLink adapter at the same time. More on this later. Also, I originally bought a $6 USB to HDMI adapter off eBay thinking it would be DisplayLink (or a compatible off-brand clone), but it turns out to be the really dodgy Fresco Logic FL2000, which is so cheap because it does none of the clever things that DisplayLink adapters do, and instead just spits out full resolution frames as fast as it can, which is completely incompatible with USB 2.0 or low power devices like phones. I found an affordable HP DisplayLink DVI adapter second hand from a Chinese seller that works.
On to the next hurdle: charging while using OTG. This is an interesting one, as it's not something I really gave a lot of thought initially. I mean surely just using a powered hub and giving the phone 5V over its micro-USB port would work, right? Well, it's a bit more complex than that, but Sony used to have an OTG dock that could charge, so I'm confident once I get the right OTG hub, it will work fine on my Z5. The one I got off eBay wouldn't do anything but charge, and when I opened it up, I saw it doesn't even use the 5th OTG pin, which would explain why it didn't work. I soldered a regular Type-A plug onto it and used my Sony OTG adapter to test, and I can get either charging or OTG, so something a bit less hacky is required. I ordered the Acasis H027, so when it arrives, we'll see if that works.
Touch: I haven't tested it yet. I have an HDMI touch screen in storage at my brother's house, so next time I visit I'll see if I can get touches to register on the phone. Based on my Googling most people on the internet seem to have gotten this to work fine, although there is no touch calibration on Android as far as I'm aware, like there is on Windows.
Portrait mode: this is my personal pet project and what I've been struggling with the most so far. It would be by far the easiest to just use a touch screen in landscape mode, but hear me out. Because HDMI (touch) monitors are cheap anyway, and in the 7 inch to 24 inch size range, bigger usually means cheaper, I want Tesla-style portrait mode. In portrait mode we can fit more screen estate in the centre console of the car than in landscape mode, and a bigger screen = bigger text = quicker glancing = safer driving. And it also happens to look extremely cool. If you have a big car you can probably fit a 20 or 24 inch screen, but I think I'm going for 13 inch. However. Using the DisplayLink Presenter app or the DisplayLink Desktop demo app which as far as I can tell does exactly the same things, I cannot for the life of me get native portrait mode to work. Android insists on pillarboxing portrait mode, and no amount of forcing rotation, setting build.props like ro.sf.hwrotation or persist.demo.hdmirotation works to change its mind. More worryingly, it seems that for the HDMI rotation prop to work, you need to also set persist.demo.singledisplay, which prevents apps from accessing secondary displays, which means DisplayLink Presenter, which itself is an app, cannot mirror the screen output any more and you get a sad single stripe of garbage pixels on an otherwise completely black screen. I probably need help here from an XDA developer, to hack the DisplayLink app, or to develop an Xposed module that causes all apps to draw themselves in portrait mode while the system is actually in landscape mode, or something along those lines. I've tried most things in my power that I could think of, and since my phone is unlocked, rooted, magisk'd and xposed, that is actually quite a lot, but nothing helped. So, uh, help?
Lastly there is DPI, which is one of the easier hurdles that I did solve. Android Auto (in phone mode, so not connected to any head unit) has a ridiculously huge UI on my phone's native dpi, and while I understand the reasons for it, with a larger external touch screen attached it just becomes unreasonably huge. With Tasker set to run "wm density 240" the entire Android UI becomes a lot more suited to a large screen, and even though Android Auto is still pretty huge compared to other apps, it's what I would consider reasonable.
More to come!

So, quick update:
While the screen portrait mode issues were "simple" to fix (although root was definitely required), the touch orientation issues as well as charging-during-OTG require kernel modifications to be fixed. I managed to compile a modified kernel with charging-during-OTG support thanks to @nlra 's work on that front, but I couldn't get the new image to boot.
A few things happened in the mean time:
- I discovered scrcpy
- I got an Xperia XZ3 (which I haven't rooted yet)
Scrcpy seems to be basically what Android Auto does, but for the whole Android desktop instead of only one app. I kind of don't like it because it involves adding a computer in between the display and the phone again (probably a Raspberry Pi), but the advantages are so huge it's basically the only realistic option right now.
Scrcpy:
- Basically always runs at 60fps, even on USB 2.0
- Handles portrait/landscape gracefully
- Integrates display, touch, (audio in a future version), and charging in a single connection
- Doesn't require root (although automatically setting the Android resolution to 1920x1080 and keeping the display on at 0% brightness are things that can probably only be accomplished with Tasker, which requires root)
So basically this simplifies and moves the project further immensely, however there are still some blocking issues right now. Touch screens only work on Windows because in addition to generating touch events, Windows also generates fallback mouse click events for touches, something that Linux doesn't do, and because there is no formal touch screen support in scrcpy, multi-touch doesn't work at all. Audio support also seems to be in an experimental state currently, and is not enabled for regular builds.
I hope ROM1V will eventually implement touch screen support (it's been in his GitHub issue tracker since March) as I have enough work to do as it is. I will focus on the hardware part (Raspi, cabling, VESA mount etc.) first and if by that time touch support is still missing I'll take a crack at it myself. Thankfully scrcpy is built on SDL which I'm fairly familiar with, although I've never worked with the touch input API before.

For the charging you need hub with usb-c PowerDelivery passthrough and HDMI. I am testing ones with less power consumption right now. I am not sure why you weren't able to use it.
I think people would be better of using following app for changing resolution, etc. using SecondScreen (I think root is required to run HDMI in portait mode, because it is grayed out for me).
I am doing the same project, but I keep the screen 1600x1200 horizontally and use apps in split view mode. I don't want root. I was thinking of using SamsungDEX for it, but the menus are too small.
The good thing is though, that on Samsung it is possible to create two-apps split screen pair (e.g. google map + music) as a launcher shortcut (using Good Lock (MultiStar plugin) from Galaxy Store). Unfortunately, I don't think it is possible to automate launching two apps in split screen automatically, nor create a split-pair shortcut on other launchers.
It would be good to have some multiwindow manager since I also wanted my BMW-tuning/logging gauges app to run in a floating window on top or minimized to a floating icon. It is possible naturally but it is a lot of manual clicking :/
One more thing that I don't think will be possible, is to completely turn off the phone screen. With the screen on, Note8 doesn't do fast charging. Can the screen be off with scrcpy somehow, I don't think?

So this dead?