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Anyone seen a car dock?

Metfanant said:
hmm...so VZW is carrying the iBolt in stores now??...i know they have it online and have just been dragging my feet on actually ordering it...
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rapidsandroid said:
Yes. I picked my iBolt at a corporate Verizon Store...unsure about 3rd party Verizon outlet stores.
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Something like the Arkon SM012 is also handy for something like this (e.g. quickly remove or move between vehicles while minimizing wear to the suction cup, where windshield mounts are illegal or where mounting to the dash is impractical):

Arkon SM012 Friction Dashboard Mount with Safety Anchor, with manual here (with lots of others offering something similar type designs, including the slightly better bean bag types for uneven surfaces ~$10).

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I used something similar for my Garmin GPS.
 
been using the iBolt car mount for couple days. Only thing I dislike is when you put it in the mount & plug in the attached USB cable, the phone stays on the home screen all the time. Phone is hot to touch after riding around for an hour with the home screen always on & charging. I wish a car dock could be launched instead or have the ability to turn off screen...can't because the on/off button is on the bottom along the long side of the mount. :(
 
I've been using the Infuse 4g dock for almost 2 months now and it's perfect! It even fits in with the OEM Samsung ultra-thin case on!!
 
i actually picked up the iBolt dock at my local VZW store yesterday...didnt have time to mess with it today...but tomorrow im gonna give it a go for a bit and let you guys know how i like it
 
been using the iBolt car mount for couple days. Only thing I dislike is when you put it in the mount & plug in the attached USB cable, the phone stays on the home screen all the time. Phone is hot to touch after riding around for an hour with the home screen always on & charging. I wish a car dock could be launched instead or have the ability to turn off screen...can't because the on/off button is on the bottom along the long side of the mount.
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I use Car Home Ultra - it launches automatically when I put the S3 in the IBolt dock.
 
akita said:
Oh cool. So the license is transferable?
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My understanding is that any app purchased from the Google Play store is transferable to another Android device (as long as that device is compatible). Most apps that I purchased for my Droid X - I also use on my Xoom (tablet) and vice versa. Also, any app that I purchased for my Droid X I can transfer to my S3 (if compatible).

Hope that helps. I really like Car Home Ultra - great app, and very customizable.
 
Anybody know how the S3 recognizes the dock? The Motorolas use a magnet, but the S3 doesn't have that, so I don't understand how it could differentiate between a car dock, home dock, or just regular USB power from a wall plug.
 
ylexot said:
Anybody know how the S3 recognizes the dock? The Motorolas use a magnet, but the S3 doesn't have that, so I don't understand how it could differentiate between a car dock, home dock, or just regular USB power from a wall plug.
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I had the same question. It doesn't seem to recognize the dock until you plug in the small connecting wire from the Ibolt to the phone.
It seems that it must have something to do with that connection (however, I wouldn't pretend to know what that "something" is). :-)
 
Found this thread. This helps to explain the "something" in the connector/wire. :-)

DIY docks & hacking docks tripping dock mode & AC charging mode - xda-developers

Edit - from the above article:

"Dock mode

Samsung phones will trip their dock mode when they sense a resistor of a particular value between the ID (pin 4) & Ground (pin 5) pins on the micro USB connector

  • Car mode - 619k ohm (Validate on my Galaxy S 1 & Galaxy S 3)
  • Desk mode - 365k ohm (confirmed finally thanks to mikejr83 cracking open the SGS3 dock his wife got him. 1k ohm for SGS1 & 1k or 365k for the SGS2)"
 
Cool. Thanks for the info. Good to know.
tdse said:
My understanding is that any app purchased from the Google Play store is transferable to another Android device (as long as that device is compatible). Most apps that I purchased for my Droid X - I also use on my Xoom (tablet) and vice versa. Also, any app that I purchased for my Droid X I can transfer to my S3 (if compatible).

Hope that helps. I really like Car Home Ultra - great app, and very customizable.
Click to expand...
 
I just got my iBolt and I have to say it's a pretty solid car dock. It allows me to hook up to my car's AUX even though the S3 mysteriously didn't recognize my car when it was directly connected from the audio out port to my car's AUX. The only annoyance is the lack of access to the power button.

Has anyone looked into drilling a small hole through the bottom of the dock that would allow access to the on/off switch. I'm sure a button-like object could be mounted into the hole to provide some form of access to the button. This is probably more work than the resulting benefit and for all i know, there might be important wiring/circuitry that I'd be drilling through. I was just wondering if anyone had attempted this with any success.
 
I re-read the post by the Ibolt rep in this thread and im not 100% sure if this dock can accomodate most cases so can somebody verify that? If not, it would seem that it would be cheaper to just get the Infuse dock.
 
akita said:
I re-read the post by the Ibolt rep in this thread and im not 100% sure if this dock can accomodate most cases so can somebody verify that? If not, it would seem that it would be cheaper to just get the Infuse dock.
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it has a "sleeve" (for lack of a better term) that you take out to accommodate a case...not sure how large of a case it would fit though
 
Metfanant said:
it has a "sleeve" (for lack of a better term) that you take out to accommodate a case...not sure how large of a case it would fit though
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Thanks for the info. Im guessing standard TPU cases should fit. It's the Otterbox type cases that probably wont fit
 
I have an Acase case (Amazon.com: Acase Samsung Galaxy S3 case - Superleggera PRO Dual Layer Protection (White/Black) (Fits AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon): Cell Phones & Accessories) and it fits the iBolt perfectly. It has a thin silicon cover with a hard outer shell. From what I understand this is similar to the otterbox commuter series. Also, for anyone still looking for a case, the Acase is great and also very reasonably priced at $15 on Amazon.

akita said:
I re-read the post by the Ibolt rep in this thread and im not 100% sure if this dock can accomodate most cases so can somebody verify that? If not, it would seem that it would be cheaper to just get the Infuse dock.
Click to expand...
 
Plugging the S3 into the iBolt auto launches just "Hello Galaxy." Is there suppose to be some other kind of car mode UI that I should be seeing? Is the screen suppose to stay on as long it is plugged in even if I am not using any application? thanks
 
Download something like "CarHome Ultra" or other car dock app. Inert phone into dock. The auto launcher will come up with CarHome and S-Voice. Select always use this action check box and then select CarHome so that it doesn't ask you again. Now when you insert the phone into the dock connector, it will launch CarHome automatically. S-Voice is useless.
 
khunfused said:
got iottie easy one touch car mount. its on ebay/amazon about 22-25 bucks. works fine for me :D.
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Certainly has glowing reviews on Amazon (~$20), although some seem to have issues with the S3 button placement.

iOttie One-Touch Windshield Dashboard Car Mount Holder

Also this regarding phones > 1/2" thick.

It also appears that the Note version may be more applicable to the Galaxy S3, given its size:

iOttie One-Touch windshield and dashboard car mount for Galaxy Note

51qDvL6fBWL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
laptopquestion said:
Certainly has glowing reviews on Amazon (~$20), although some seem to have issues with the S3 button placement.

iOttie One-Touch Windshield Dashboard Car Mount Holder

Also this regarding phones > 1/2" thick.

It also appears that the Note version may be more applicable to the Galaxy S3, given its size:

iOttie One-Touch windshield and dashboard car mount for Galaxy Note

51qDvL6fBWL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Click to expand...

on ebay i talked to an iottie rep about it. was going to get the note size but they said

It would work, however the side buttons on the phone are covered by the arms that hold the phone into place. So you should most likely purchase our One Touch Universal Car Mount for iPhone4s.

which is this
iOttie Easy One Touch Car Mount Holder for Apple iPhone 4 4S Samsung Galaxy 2 S3 | eBay
 
khunfused said:
on ebay i talked to an iottie rep about it. was going to get the note size but they said

It would work, however the side buttons on the phone are covered by the arms that hold the phone into place. So you should most likely purchase our One Touch Universal Car Mount for iPhone4s.

which is this
1
iOttie Easy One Touch Car Mount Holder for Apple iPhone 4 4S Samsung Galaxy 2 S3 | eBay
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I ended up with the Arkon SM412 (~$16 @ amazon), which has the pad included and doesn't block any buttons or ports. Nice to have lots of options.

41tg5H9ZcAL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
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