iBOLT Vehicle Dock for S III

[Sistum Id]

I've been using mine for the last 2 or so weeks with no issues. I did have to buy a USB car charger adapter. I ended up picking one up from Wal-Mart. It was the low profile Kingston for 12 bucks or so.

I have mine mounted on my windshield left of the steering wheel. I can keep both hands on the steering wheel and slightly lift my left hand and touch the phone to navigate if needed.

I really like that it's easy to dock and undock the phone. I can put the phone in, push the clamp down, and put the cable in all with my left hand. My last phone and dock was the T-Mobile Galaxy SII with the official Samsung dock. It was nice but that dock was a pain to undock the phone and it took both hands and some force. And I couldn't even use a case with it.

So I have my wires tucked into the dashboard hidden from sight and plugged into my Sony head set and charges from my cigarette lighter. No audio issues or any malfunctions.

I like it!

 

[duhrman]

You're right, mine was a bad dock. I ordered it online but luckily my local Verizon stocks this and was able to swap me out. I'm very pleased with it because not only is this a great mount, for me it's the only option I've found to get my car's (Saab) AUX port to work with this phone. I guess bad docks are somewhat common. I really hope it's not the type of defect that will crop over time.

Sounds like you guys got bad docks.... I had same issue, replaced, and is now fine. Sounds like the first batch of docks that went out weren't of the best quality.

To my knowledge, dock mode should only launch when the dock is plugged into the phone, not if the 9ft cord is plugged directly into the phone.







Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[rbruceporter]

I went to Verizon and exchanged my dock for a new one, the new one works as advertised. That being said, the fact that a fair number of people have had the same issue says to me that "Quality is NOT Job 1" at iBolt. I think they need to improve their QC process on these as honestly I won't consider buying another product from them just because of the apparent frequency of defects.

Now that I have a working dock, I can say that I really do like it! It does what it advertises very well. I also had the static on mine but determined if I relieved the pressure on the point where the long cord connects to the dock the static and hum both went away.

The only thing I have not yet figured out is where the device audio is going when I am playing music through the AUX jack on my car via the 9 foot cable. If a call comes in, or I get an SMS or other notification, the music pauses, but I don't hear the notification sound or the ring sound. At the time Bluetooth was turned off, I was not using it so I don't know if having a Bluetooth speaker phone or headset connected would have worked but I will try that next.

The dock is physically sturdy, the cord is the perfect length to allow me to route it unobtrusively around my dash. I notice little to no vibration or movement while I am driving and the movement of the dock when I dock and undock the phone is minimal.

I am using Car Home Ultra (Paid Edition) and I love it! Now if they could just overcome the quality issues I would be able to unreservedly recommend the dock.

Cheers,

Robert Porter

 

[SMD]

MikaelPe ...(or anyone else that knows for sure)

1) It appears after reading this whole post that some iBolt docks are good and some came out defective, but you seem to be great at replacing those. I know this is a forum and most people come here with issues, but what percentage would you say have issues?

2) So are their any advantages to one charger over another? Which do you recommend? Looking at the shopandroid.com site, there are so many...some 700mA, some 1A, some 500mA, some dual ports, etc. Which do you recommend? Should I just go for the highest amp one for maximum/fastest charge/power or is there a limit no matter which one I choose? If so, please explain and give your best recommendations.

Thanks!

PS. I've used CarHome Ultra app for years...its awesome! Hopefully one day soon it will have the added "speed alert" feature.

 

[MikaelPe]

Camiller, thanks for your input. I will run this by our engineering department and provide feedback next week.

 

[MikaelPe]

SMD, Thanks for your questions. Here's the answers:

1. So far we've replaced only a handful nationwide with 1.000's sold. Basically we believe that anyone with an issue naturally goes to a forum or searches on Google, thus the multiple notes on this thread. iBOLT actually responds to any requests from end users. We strongly recommend to use the form found on our website, iBolt.co - iBOLT - Contact us This way the request is routed to the right department/person and within a few business days we will respond.

2. Charger: We recommend using any 1 Amp charger from a reputable brand manufacturer. Android Central sells the Samsung OEM at a great price and Verizon offers a VZ branded one that works very well too. Just don't buy a $4.95 eBay / gas station type charger. The critical point is always the voltage output. Good car chargers have a steady net output of at least 4.75 Volt while some "cheaper made" can dip down to below 4 Volt, at which point it would effect the net charging effect on the phone.

I hope the above clarifies this? We are "sticking our neck out" by monitoring and responding to tons of questions every day in many countries so please be patient if a reply takes a day to two sometimes

 

[MikaelPe]

To all Galaxy S III users. iBOLT have now established a cooperation with the developer of the CarHome Ultra application. As already discussed earlier in this thread the CarHome Ultra "in-vehicle" user interface can be the default app instead of Samsung s Voice. The first time the SIII phone is inserted into the IBOLT Dock after the app is install it will ask if this should be new default app. I created a simple JPEG image showing the flow, see attached. Please provide feedback how this works with our Dock's (HTC One X Dock, Incredible 4G LTE Dock (VZ exclusive) and the S III Dock. Thanks!

 

[JD Racer Dad]

Camiller, you have it nailed.
There are at least two "USB Charge Only" Protocols.
deputydog95 had it right to check his device for charging while in use.

There is the iPhone protocol and the non-iPhone protocol from 2007 and 2009.
Both limit the Amps when hooked via USB to your PC to protect your PC not your phone.
The problem shows up with the Car USB Charge Only device.

Most of the charger generics went after the iPhone market and limit the output to non-iPhone devices because of the data pin issue.
If your charger says it's Universal and will work on an iPhone, it's not "Universal".
You can read all the voltage and amp info on the charger box and most wont tell you, it's one or the other.

I have a hand full of both with 1.0 Amp outputs, having an iPod and Android devices.
They will work on one and not the other. The S3 needs 1.0 Amp and so did my old LG Alley. The Alley just wasn't worth putting on my dash as a phone and navigator.

Several dual USB car chargers have the iPhone protocol on one side and non-iPhone on the other. I have used the "GTMax Metalic Silver 2-Port USB Car Charger Adapter" and it charges while in use on the non-iPhone side and discharges while in use and charging on the iPhone side. Both show AC in the S3 battery app.

It's all fun until you find your phone investment heating up on one of the iPhone chargers.

Both iPhone and some non-iPhone sources make a charge only cable to fool the other but why not just get a charger that works. Check the feed back on Amazon and you'll see those that actually checked if theirs worked while charging and in use.

MikaelPe, for your tech guys, while trying to find out why the generics I had did not work for my S3 I found
iPhone doesn't follow the:
September 2007 Open Mobile Terminal Platform,
the 17 February 2009 the GSM Association (GSMA) agreed standard charger for mobile phones,
the 22 April 2009 CTIA endorsed protocol, or
the Universal Charging Solution embraced by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) On 22 October 2009.

MikaelPe, you have a great product, just would not want the charger issue to make it look bad.

This goes back well before the S3. The CrackBerry had issues with iPhone chargers too.
If you want more information I would suggest looking outside the S3 forums or any single devise forum for that matter. USB chargers are not universal, only the ends of the wire connections .

It really gets to the point I was trying to make in post 37. The way the USB charging spec is written a (non-apple) USB charger tells the device (be it phone/tablet/or other) that it is OK to draw more than 0.5A by shorting the data lines together. So if the data lines are shorted the phone knows it can draw up to 1.5A, and if the data lines are not shorted together the phone will only draw 0.5A.

Since in this instance the data lines carry the left and right audio channels I don't think the phone CAN know that it is attached to a dedicated USB charger so the phone's charging circuit won't draw the maximum amount of power it otherwise could.

MikaelPe, you might run this by one of your engineers and confirm this, but I'm pretty sure that this is what is going on.

 

[604xt]

I am currently using the ilbolt using Car Home Ultra, outputting audio through the AUX plug and using a bluetooth headset for phone use. I can use S Voice through the Bluetooth headset pressing the talk button on the headset but when I push the Google Voice icon on the Car Home Ultra screen it will not go through the Bluetooth headset it will go through the phone's microphone. Is there a way to use Google Voice search through a bluetooth headset?

 

[davpel]

I am using an IBolt that I purchased from Verizon with my GS3. The dock is great, it is well-constructed and I have no problems charging or going into dock mode with CarHome Ultra. I am, however, having a pretty big issue with static, humming, etc. Based upon the comments earlier in this thread, I have tried switching USB inputs in my Prius and also trying a whole host of different types/brands of USB charging adapters (I have about 10 different ones lying around). None of these attempts has resulted in better sound quality. I should note that I have a ground loop isolator for the audio jack and the problem remains whether I use the isolator or not.

The audio via bluetooth is, of course, very good. However, I purchased this dock so that I would not have to rely solely upon BT, since it tends to be a bit flaky with pairing and connections.

Any suggestions on what I might try to get rid of the static and hum?

 

[SMD]

"....2. Charger: We recommend using any 1 Amp charger from a reputable brand manufacturer. Android Central sells the Samsung OEM at a great price and Verizon offers a VZ branded one that works very well too. Just don't buy a $4.95 eBay / gas station type charger. The critical point is always the voltage output. Good car chargers have a steady net output of at least 4.75 Volt while some "cheaper made" can dip down to below 4 Volt, at which point it would effect the net charging effect on the phone..."

Interestingly enough, doesn't the Samsung OEM charger offered through the AC store only output 700mA? You recommended it but it doesn't hit your 1 Amp recommendation. Oh well...I went with another one and got the dock today. Very excited to see how it'll work.

 

[camiller]

Thanks JD!

I will reiterate, I don't think it is possible to use the audio out over USB while at the same time
trying to make the phone pull more than 500mA by shorting the USB data pins, best case is the left and right audio get blended, worst case, no sound.

I do seem to remember in some tablet forum that there was an kernel mod that forced the tablet to think it was hooked to a higher power source. I only saw it in reference to that particular tablet though, so that might have only been workable on that hardware.

I don't believe it is possible without kernel hackery otherwise. I look forward to hearing MikaelPe's response from his engineering team.

Camiller, you have it nailed.
There are at least two "USB Charge Only" Protocols.
deputydog95 had it right to check his device for charging while in use.

There is the iPhone protocol and the non-iPhone protocol from 2007 and 2009.
Both limit the Amps when hooked via USB to your PC to protect your PC not your phone.
The problem shows up with the Car USB Charge Only device.

Most of the charger generics went after the iPhone market and limit the output to non-iPhone devices because of the data pin issue.
If your charger says it's Universal and will work on an iPhone, it's not "Universal".
You can read all the voltage and amp info on the charger box and most wont tell you, it's one or the other.

I have a hand full of both with 1.0 Amp outputs, having an iPod and Android devices.
They will work on one and not the other. The S3 needs 1.0 Amp and so did my old LG Alley. The Alley just wasn't worth putting on my dash as a phone and navigator.

Several dual USB car chargers have the iPhone protocol on one side and non-iPhone on the other. I have used the "GTMax Metalic Silver 2-Port USB Car Charger Adapter" and it charges while in use on the non-iPhone side and discharges while in use and charging on the iPhone side. Both show AC in the S3 battery app.

It's all fun until you find your phone investment heating up on one of the iPhone chargers.

Both iPhone and some non-iPhone sources make a charge only cable to fool the other but why not just get a charger that works. Check the feed back on Amazon and you'll see those that actually checked if theirs worked while charging and in use.

MikaelPe, for your tech guys, while trying to find out why the generics I had did not work for my S3 I found
iPhone doesn't follow the:
September 2007 Open Mobile Terminal Platform,
the 17 February 2009 the GSM Association (GSMA) agreed standard charger for mobile phones,
the 22 April 2009 CTIA endorsed protocol, or
the Universal Charging Solution embraced by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) On 22 October 2009.

MikaelPe, you have a great product, just would not want the charger issue to make it look bad.

This goes back well before the S3. The CrackBerry had issues with iPhone chargers too.
If you want more information I would suggest looking outside the S3 forums or any single devise forum for that matter. USB chargers are not universal, only the ends of the wire connections .

 

[Neotravy]

I returned my initial dock and my new one works great. I am concerned (altho probably unreasonably so) that the dock stays on even when the car is off. If I don't take the power out of the cig lighter, is that a big drain over the course of a night? Does anyone else just leave it plugged in all of the time?

 

[hakoreh]

I have a question.

I am strongly considering buying the dock. I currently have Bluetooth in my car which I use for handsfree calls, I don't have bluetooth audio capability. I sometimes use the AUX cable to connect the phone while I stream music, etc. When I get a call, it automatically switches to bluetooth. I'm assuming it would work the same with this dock?

Side question - if I were to get a bluetooth device that plugs into the AUX cable and therefore giving me bluetooth audio, I would lose handsfree because my device can only connect to one bluetooth source at a time right?

 

[Prozak]

I have a question.

I am strongly considering buying the dock. I currently have Bluetooth in my car which I use for handsfree calls, I don't have bluetooth audio capability. I sometimes use the AUX cable to connect the phone while I stream music, etc. When I get a call, it automatically switches to bluetooth. I'm assuming it would work the same with this dock?

Side question - if I were to get a bluetooth device that plugs into the AUX cable and therefore giving me bluetooth audio, I would lose handsfree because my device can only connect to one bluetooth source at a time right?

Audio connects and plays through the usb cable, you wouldn't need to plug the audio out cable into your phone, just into the car. Bluetooth should play to your speakers, no issues.

If you get a bluetooth dongle, i don't know if it could switch back and forth

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[ansextra]

I returned my initial dock and my new one works great. I am concerned (altho probably unreasonably so) that the dock stays on even when the car is off. If I don't take the power out of the cig lighter, is that a big drain over the course of a night? Does anyone else just leave it plugged in all of the time?

The power adapter I have for the car has a light on it when it's being powered. When I turn off the engine the light goes out. I would assume that would be the same for you?

 

[camiller]

The power adapter I have for the car has a light on it when it's being powered. When I turn off the engine the light goes out. I would assume that would be the same for you?

On many cars, the power port (formerly "cigarette lighter") was not dependent on the key being in the run position. Perhaps on very new cars that is the case, but I'm sure there are many many cars on the road today that the power port has power all the time. I know the '99 Taurus I just traded in was that way. I'll have to check my current car at lunch.

 

[hakoreh]

the two ends of the cable was is aux and the other usb. does that mean it charges slowly because its usb and not a powered supply?

 

[Neotravy]

On many cars, the power port (formerly "cigarette lighter") was not dependent on the key being in the run position. Perhaps on very new cars that is the case, but I'm sure there are many many cars on the road today that the power port has power all the time. I know the '99 Taurus I just traded in was that way. I'll have to check my current car at lunch.

Mine is a 2008 Cobalt and it stays powered on even with the keys out of ignition.

It seems ok so far. but I was worried I'd mess up my car battery when I leave it on all night.

I know most of you are thinking "well then unplug it" but it was when I was doing that that I eventually had issues with static and mono audio so I don't want to touch it. :-\

 

[camiller]

Mine is a 2008 Cobalt and it stays powered on even with the keys out of ignition.

It seems ok so far. but I was worried I'd mess up my car battery when I leave it on all night.

I know most of you are thinking "well then unplug it" but it was when I was doing that that I eventually had issues with static and mono audio so I don't want to touch it. :-\

My concern is different. On an older (1996 maybe) mini-van without in-car entertainment I had put in a aftermarket DVD system with two screens for the kids to watch on the 12hour drive to grandpa's house. Worked fine until the first stop then after I started the van again the system was dead. I never leave anything plugged into the power port while starting the car for fear of a power surge frying something. The current family van has the factory installed DVD so I don't worry about it so much.

As far as leaving it plugged in, I doubt the dock draws more power than the few mA it takes to illuminate the LED. I did once drain a car battery by leaving one of those electric coolers plugged in overnight. But those peltier devices draw a fair amount of power.