Cradle for the Optimus?

[cmags]

About to bite on the Sprint free Optimus deal and am looking ahead for accessories. Two of the most important are a cradle/dock for the desk and one for the car. I'm not seeing much in the way of either, other than the generic universals.

Does anyone know if there are any other phones that are similar in dimension with a centered micro-usb port at the bottom? It looks like the HTC Desire and Droid Eris both have similar size/shape on the bottom but I can't confirm whether they're both micro-usb or if they're mini-usb. Has anyone tried dropping the Optimus on another charging dock and gotten it to work? Such as the one in the store here:

More important to me is the car setup. I am coming from an old Nokia Brick that had a nice cradle that I just sat the phone in, it locked solidly nto place, and was wired through the POP port to power and a wired headset. Removing it from both was just a button press. I had the wires routed cleanly straight into the dash so there were none hanging off the dock. It was a very streamlined install that worked great for 5 years.

Now that I look for a nice new sleek setup, I find that the only options seem to be clunky universal holders and a generic micro-usb wire hanging down the dash. ProClip Mounting System*-*Device Holders and Dashboard Vehicle Mounts has a setup for a couple phones but it seems this one is too new. I suppose I can wait for a while to see if they come out with one for the car, but if anyone can confirm if the Optimus fits in a Desire or Droid Eris dock snugly, or knows of another phone with even closer dimensions, I'll try there. This is what I'm trying to do:

Thanks!

 

[KSmithInNY]

I know the eris has mini-usb. Not sure about the desire but i think thats a micro.

 

[Bone_Enterprise]

I personally use the Gomadic vehicle mount, it is universal so works in between all my phones and other electronic devices, then I just use the 120v power or cigarette lighter charger to get juice from.
Gomadic also has lifetime warranties on their products, so if it breaks they send you a new part, so pick your flavor of style and pick one up.
It works wonders, and I have even actually been able to get two devices in the cradle at the same time so that is good too. =)

As far as desktop cradles, I have never used them it is just as easy and more convenient to just have an extra USB cable laying around and use that, so it saves from having to take my case off all the time and put it back on, so can't help you there.

 

[cmags]

That looks like one of the universals. I have one of those in the car already with a car charger. I was hoping to see if anyone knew of a cradle for the car that you can one-handedly drop the phone into and onto the charger. Ill definitely figure out something (even if I have to fabricate it myself) and will report back here with results.

 

[brockers]

I am looking for exactly the same thing. Ideally I would really like to see a cradle/charger that I could use as a clock at night, something like this:

or this

but I don't see one for the Optimus yet. I suspect that whoever comes out with one first will make some money though, as the first free Android phone it is very likely to quickly become one of the most popular models available. I LOVE mine!

Bobby

 

[cmags]

Those look incredible. The LG one doesn't look like it'd fit, but that Samsung one, depending on the width of the phone it's designed to hold and the placement of the charging port thereon, might work. Do you have any more info on it?

The fact that LG came out with that really nice one for that phone gives me hope that they might design a similar stand for the Opti. It's a really sharp looking stand.

 

[cmags]

Made a discovery today. The Optimus is within a millimeter or two in all dimensions of matching the size of the iPhone 3G/3GS. This opens the door to a million cheap cradles/holders that would probably hold the Optimus pretty nicely, and likely *very* securely in a case/silicon skin.

I ran across this today and it's cheap enough to give it a blind try:

For only $2.51 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Windshield Mount with Adjustable Arm for iPhone 3G/3GS | Bracket / Stand for iPhone & Blackberry

The site also sells some of the least expensive USB cables (including micro-B cables) I've ever come across. I think I'll put in an order and fab something up for the car and maybe the desk too.

 

[kcmookie]

To be clear, the iPhone has a completely different carging port, it is not a micro USB(for those who are looking for a cradle/dock for your desk).

 

[cmags]

I'm very aware of this but it's a good point to note. I realized that there wasn't going to be much in the way of inexpensive well-fitting charging docks/cradles until manufacturers like Seidio realize that this is going to be a popular phone. So I'm going to have to fab one up myself and I think the iPhone holder may be a good base to start with. Maybe if I pick up a cheap black hard case for the LG I can combine the two and make a charging cradle too. I'm less worried about a charging dock in the house than in the car.

Actually I also just found that LG has a sync dock for the Optimus One (can't find where to buy it anywhere), which is only a half millimeter off in size from the Optimus S in the tall direction, but the curvature in profile may be a little different (tough to tell in PhoneArena's Size It app).

LG SDT-140 Mobile phone

 

[cmags]

Also from that site I posted last night, there's a desk stand that might fit the Optimus as well - it grips the phone at the corners and comes with multiple rubber pads for various phones.

For only $8.00 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Desktop Stand for iPhone 3G/3GS & 4, Blackberry 8900, 9000 & 9500 | Bracket / Stand for iPhone & Blackberry

 

[devilspy]

Just got this phone yesterday have yet to root etc.

I have a Palm Treo 800wx cradle, the chargers and cables all work with the Optimus, so thankfully don't have to go out buying car chargers and such.
It seems the cradle is pretty generic with interchangeable pieces. It almost fits the Optimus S, would need to shave sides with sandpaper to get it to fit. The palm is slightly less wide on he back where it sits. . Took some pictures, even took the cradle apart a bit.

The cradle was bought from some ebay seller who had multiple of these models have to check who i bought it from.

I want one exactly like this for Optimus because it is super convenient to just swap batteries on the go without having to worry to charge, and just let both charge fully overnight. Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a good after market battery, hopefully with higher mah capacity? I don't trust ebay batteries from china as the last one i bought for my 800wx messed the phone up.

Pictures attached.

 

[shortyjacobs]

Here's mine:

Made it out of cardboard before bed when I realized my shiny new phone needed a stand to work as a clock.

With the wife's phone in it:

It's actually solid as a rock! Sure ain't pretty though.

 

[heberman]

Cool. I guess you could spray paint it.

 

[cmags]

Hah, nice. I've actually got a similar one made from my old business cards (got 500 of the things, gotta use 'em for something) holding my blackberry. Works pretty well, but not beefy enough for the Optimus (which should be here on Monday <g>).

 

[kalex]

Here's mine:

Made it out of cardboard before bed when I realized my shiny new phone needed a stand to work as a clock.

Nice setup. Which app are u using to get it working as a clock?


Alex

 

[shortyjacobs]

Its the "clock" app installed by default on ThundeROM...really nice actually.....dunno if it's the same as the one in the stock rom

Sent from my LS670

Edit: duh, that's my wife's phone in the pic, and it's running the same clock app, and it's running the Stock ROM, so the stock ROM must have the same clock app.

 

[kalex]

I have ThunderROM but never tried the app

Just tried it. Cool

 

[brockers]

So far the LG SDT-140 Mobile phone cradle looks like the closest to what I am wanting. Anyone on Android Central actually have access to people in production at LG?

Heck, maybe it is time for some of the manufacturers to standardize on a few dimensions (and port locations) for the Android platform. One of the few remaining draws to the iPhone is how many accessories there are for the device.

Bobby

 

[KSmithInNY]

Here's mine:

Made it out of cardboard before bed when I realized my shiny new phone needed a stand to work as a clock.

With the wife's phone in it:

It's actually solid as a rock! Sure ain't pretty though.

That is awesome! Great job sir!

HERE is a great product that's similar to your cardboard stand. Androidcentral.com has run at least 1 contest giving these away and people seem to really like them. So simple yet so cool.

 

[shortyjacobs]

That is awesome! Great job sir!

HERE is a great product that's similar to your cardboard stand. Androidcentral.com has run at least 1 contest giving these away and people seem to really like them. So simple yet so cool.

Heh, mine is no where near as flashy as that stainless steel one, but it also only took me 5 minutes, a box, and a utility knife to make. I was happy how well it worked. My wife knocked it off the nightstand last night and stepped on it, so now it's not quite as rigid, but it still works.