S3 Dock Mode won't come on??

[John I]

I bought an Amzer dock because it said specifically that it enabled dock mode. It arrived today and I tried it plugged into both a Samsung wall charge and with it plugged into the USB port on my PC and neither one seems to put it into Dock Mode. Am I doing something wrong or is this thing just a piece of junk?

Amazon.com: Amzer AMZ94183 Piano Dock with Audio Out and Dock Mode for Samsung Galaxy S 3 I9300 (AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular, Verizon & GSM Version) - Desktop Charger - Retail Packaging - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

For $35 this thing seems awfully cheap. I really liked the dock for my old Atrix a lot better. The phone sat on its side in a nice secure cradle instead of basically standing on end attached only by the USB port. This makes it a lot less secure when I am fumbling to shut off the alarm in the morning, not to mention a recipe for disaster with breaking the charging port.

I sure hope someone comes out with a side mount cradle for this thing...

Thanks for any help!

John

 

[John I]

It took me over an hour of searching the Internet to figure out that for some bizarre reason the audio cable has to be connected in order for dock mode to come on. I had no intention of using the audio cable and now I have to leave it there permanently and take it with me while traveling. Speaking of traveling the strange shape is also a lot less convenient for packing with you in a carry on bag than the Samsung unit which folds up.


The device came in a clear bag with absolutely no instructions. Other than that it feels like a cheap device that should be more like $10 than $35. For the price I would definitely buy the Samsung dock instead. I am seriously considering returning this one and getting the Samsung.

I really wish someone would come out with a dock that lets the phone sit on its side and actually cradled the phone itself rather that putting all of the stress directly on the USB connector.