There's a nice dock on eBay that will also charge a spare battery.
Has anyone tried it yet? It also claims USB sync for the PC.
Has anyone tried it yet? It also claims USB sync for the PC.
I will report back when it arrives.
So it looks just like it's advertised. It's probably a bit more bulky than other upright docks, but ceratinly not as large as a horizontal dock. It holds the phone in there a little more upright than the docks I've used before. This isn't a problem as I use it bed side mostly - it even helps a little bit.
It also holds the phone in there pretty snug. A couple of times it's actually been a little difficult to get the phone out to answer a call. This is good when I'm a bit clumsy in the morning fumbling for my glasses. Finding the docks Micro USB plug can be a little difficult in the dark though....
It does have a bright blue LED light that stays lit when the charger is plugged in - even when the phone is not in the charger. It's located behind the phone and not in the front, so the phone can hide it if you're using it at night. I'm sure I'll cover that LED at some point as it annoys me that it's lit 24-7 and not just when the phone is plugged in. Would have been a much better design, but beggars can't be choosers for $13.
It has a USB cable attached to it at all times and has a separate port for a Micro USB wall plug, which is included. I haven't used the included wall plug, as I use a USB wall plug adapter and charge multiple devices. The attached plug charges as "rapidly" as the stock charger - I say that tongue in cheek as they're both relatively slow compared to other devices I've used.
It has worked fine with USB storage transfers and USB debugging.
All in all I'm satisfied at $13 and will probably buy another one for my office.
Does the phone enter "dock mode" when using this cradle? Does the clock screen automatically come on?
No.
But I have an NFC chip programmed to take my phone into my preferred night mode anyway. God, I love this phone...
What you need to do is to get a writable NFC tag. Then you can download an app called NFC Task Launcher from market place. Then you would create a task and specify what you want to do. For example mine does the following:
Disable all sounds except for phone ringtone and alarm
Increase volume on ringtone and alarm to maximum.
Disable bluetooth
Launch Clock application
Then once you are satisfied with the task you write it to the tag.
I have the tag with adhesive back and I applied it to my night stand so before I sleep i turn screen on my phone, move the phone over the tag and it does what is defined on the tag.
What I did on mine also is programmed dual action tag. So first time I swipe it, it does what is listed above and on second time It enables bluetooth and adjusts volume back to normal
Works great
Oh and tags I got 8 different tags from here: RFID / NFC : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits came out to be under $30 shipped and I got different shapes and sizes just to play around with.
is this difficult to do?
are there particular tags you recommend?
There's a nice dock on eBay that will also charge a spare battery.
Has anyone tried it yet? It also claims USB sync for the PC.
I opted for this one instead as I really haven't needed a spare battery yet (I'm getting a day and a half with my NS4G).
It was also half the price at $13. I will report back when it arrives.
What are the outputs on these cradles?