Patent ID: 7561070

Claim:
An instrument panel for a vehicle, wherein the instrument panel is adapted to detachably support and operatively connect to a portable electronic device having a display screen such that the screen is viewable from a position within the vehicle, the device displaying at least one object selected from a first group of objects when the device is detached from the instrument panel, and the device displaying at least one object selected from the group consisting of the first group of objects and a second group of objects when the device is supported by and operatively connected to the instrument panel, the first group of objects including at least one of geographic information, email, internet-based information, and audio-visual information, and the second group of objects including current vehicle data, historical vehicle data, and current vehicle system information, wherein the relative size of displayed objects is increased when the device is operatively connected to the instrument panel and the vehicle is moving, and wherein the size of one object from the first group of objects, displayed when the device is disconnected from the instrument panel, remains relatively unchanged when the device is subsequently connected to the instrument panel and the vehicle is not moving.