Motorola Lapdock for AT&T Atrix 4G: $60

[seanoj]

AT&T Motorola 11.6" Lapdock for AT&T Motorola ATRIX 4G w/ 1GB RAM | eBay

I have not read through all the posts for compatability with the photon, but i figured for $60 it makes a nice charging dock...

 

[srkelley]

We appear to be watching the same link! I'm just waiting for payday.

XDA Thread on how to get full functionality:

Photon working with LapDock! - xda-developers

There's two methods.

1. You can open up the back of the lapdock and adjust the connector so that you can actually connect it.

2. Build/Buy and extension for the HDMI and power cords.



I was going through craigslist at first but I saw it cheaper there. The Lapdock was one of the last things that pushed me over for the Photon. That and the call quality and business marketing. I figured why market to businesses if you can't back it up? It connects to Exchange better than most other Android phones that I've seen (or maybe I'm just imagining that) and the full encryption is cool too. If someone figures out how to get this running on T-Mobile I'll be happy.

 

[BergerKing]

Thanks for the link, I'm looking at getting one of them to work with in my truck.

 

[BergerKing]

We appear to be watching the same link! I'm just waiting for payday.

XDA Thread on how to get full functionality:

Photon working with LapDock! - xda-developers

There's two methods.

1. You can open up the back of the lapdock and adjust the connector so that you can actually connect it.

2. Build/Buy and extension for the HDMI and power cords.



I was going through craigslist at first but I saw it cheaper there. The Lapdock was one of the last things that pushed me over for the Photon. That and the call quality and business marketing. I figured why market to businesses if you can't back it up? It connects to Exchange better than most other Android phones that I've seen (or maybe I'm just imagining that) and the full encryption is cool too. If someone figures out how to get this running on T-Mobile I'll be happy.

Correction, since it want s to be cranky. You won't get full functionality if you could, you'd be stuck on Edge.



You're not gonna get a Photon on T-Mobile, it has the wrong radios. MoPho is CDMA, T-MO is GSM.

 

[SERO wireless]

You can get an Atrix (AT&T's version of the Photon), buy a code from the gsmhosting forums, jailbreak your Atrix and make it work on T-MO. You'll only get EDGE speeds though (175-300Kbps). See the gory details here.

 

[ccrooks]

i can't look at the link on the xda website right now (blocked at work)... but does the photon actually plug into and sit in the back of the lapdock like the atrix after the plug mod?

 

[dorelse]

i can't look at the link on the xda website right now (blocked at work)... but does the photon actually plug into and sit in the back of the lapdock like the atrix after the plug mod?

Sort of. It sits like the Atrix, (screen forward), but the phone hangs off partially to the right of the phone tray.

Just imagine facing the Photon towards you, ports down, and you'll see that they line up with the Photon hanging off towards the center of the lapdock.

Its perfectly snug that way and isn't going to fall off.

 

[srkelley]

Correction, since it want s to be cranky. You won't get full functionality if you could, you'd be stuck on Edge.



You're not gonna get a Photon on T-Mobile, it has the wrong radios. MoPho is CDMA, T-MO is GSM.

I'm disappointed now. I kept looking for people that were able to get the phone to switch to US carrier frequencies but no one had succeeded. It's a real shame too, I love this phone. Seems almost too good to have this specific iteration only on Sprint.

 

[seanoj]

I got mine a couple days ago. The connector hack took me 2 minutes. I got lazy and did not want to go to the garage for my real tools (xacto knife) so I roughed up the holes using the same screwdriver I used to remove the top plate on the dock. Does not look beautiful, but works.

Have not played around with the thing much so far, but it seems like a pretty easy way to surf and handle email while on the road. It is light and thin and shoud stow in a breifcase or luggage without trouble. I like the idea that it can serve as a recharge for the phone.

-Sean

 

[srkelley]

I feel tortured now. I'm at work, my gr at home just signed for my package. I know that the lapdock is here and I'm too giddy. I want my fake laptop now!

On a more serious note, all I have to do is unscrew a couple of screws, reverse/turn/move the connectors and screw them back to have an instant netbook without water? Webtop is limited but it's going to make life a lot easier for me. That is if I don't screw up what looks to be the simplest mod since activating Windows 7 Pro Upgrade without actually upgrading.

 

[seanoj]

The hack is really easy. srkelley, did you get it working?

 

[kentrubin]

I took advantage of the $50 blowout sale on the Atrix Lapdock. Thing is, I have a Droid 4 and I knew it wasn't compatible. I read other blogs that said the conversion process is easy.
Sure enough, it is.
When I got the lapdock, I noticed that the HDMI and Micro USB connectors were upside down. They were in the right position, just upside down. I removed two small screws that were hidden behind a round patch, lifted up the dock rest, removed two other small screws that held the two connectors in place. Because the plastic is molded to the upside-down version, I used a small dremel to route out the holes so they looked square. I then flipped the two connectors right side up, put back the spacer between the two and put the bracing bracket back on with the two screws. I then screwed the rest back in position and put the two sticky circles back in place to hide the screws.

Total time: 10 minutes.

The lapdock works great. You can choose from different modes and works the same as if it were a Lapdock 100. It's really nice.

If anyone else has done this can you answer this question...On every demo I've seen of this, there is an 'Entertainment Center' icon. I don't see it on this lapdock. I think it's because this is a Droid 4 rather than the Atrix. If it is, is there a way around this?

Also, are there any firmware upgrades for the lapdock? Or is this a function of the phone itself?

I look forward to reading all the other posts in this forum. Thanks in advance!

 

[KSmithInNY]

I took advantage of the $50 blowout sale on the Atrix Lapdock. Thing is, I have a Droid 4 and I knew it wasn't compatible. I read other blogs that said the conversion process is easy.
Sure enough, it is.
When I got the lapdock, I noticed that the HDMI and Micro USB connectors were upside down. They were in the right position, just upside down. I removed two small screws that were hidden behind a round patch, lifted up the dock rest, removed two other small screws that held the two connectors in place. Because the plastic is molded to the upside-down version, I used a small dremel to route out the holes so they looked square. I then flipped the two connectors right side up, put back the spacer between the two and put the bracing bracket back on with the two screws. I then screwed the rest back in position and put the two sticky circles back in place to hide the screws.

Total time: 10 minutes.

The lapdock works great. You can choose from different modes and works the same as if it were a Lapdock 100. It's really nice.

If anyone else has done this can you answer this question...On every demo I've seen of this, there is an 'Entertainment Center' icon. I don't see it on this lapdock. I think it's because this is a Droid 4 rather than the Atrix. If it is, is there a way around this?

Also, are there any firmware upgrades for the lapdock? Or is this a function of the phone itself?

I look forward to reading all the other posts in this forum. Thanks in advance!

This answers both of your questions :

The lapdock contains no software. Its a battery, screen, and keyboard all in a nice package. The software is on the phone (/osh) so any updates will come in the form of updates to your phone. That means if the ATRIX has an app that you don't, its specific to that device.

Cheers and congrats on the new toy.

 

[srkelley]

The hack is really easy. srkelley, did you get it working?

Sorry about the late reply, I lost this forum. I've apparently been going to two different Android forums thinking that they were the same one. They look different but I surf without an address bar while I use Opera. I found this forum and the other via search but only saved one to my speed dial.



You're right, it was very easy. I never watched a video of this or read the tutorials completely. I was sold on how simple it was when I read the initial forum post of the person that discovered this. Me and my fiance did it together. She has a much lighter touch than me. She also used a regular knife to file away at the plastic in a way that I would have messed up.

I love this lapdock. I loves it a lot. I was originally content with my Photon but now i have to root it and flash Imperium Initiative and either webtop+/ubuntop since I want to do more than the lapdock will allow. Still, it's great for charging my phone at work all day. It lets me web surf, edit documents easily, and manage files on my phone and flash drives. Heck, it was a surprise that the cameras still work while plugged into the lapdock. The front facing camera is of course useless, but the back side is great. It's in a decent enough position.

I don't like that the touchpad becomes unresponsive after a few minutes. Then again, I just hate touch pads period and just use a usb mouse. I also figured out why we got these so cheap. Not only were these lapdocks scooped up in a fire sale but they're taken from another country. The manual is in a language that I can't identify yet. I might post pictures of it tomorrow.

I can completely understand what Motorola is planning in their next lapdock update. If webtop really is ICS at a higher resolution with a few usb drivers and other things, then that means that the experience should equal or better than Android x86 on a Netbook. I'll switch back to stock if they do that. It'd be great to use Deuter IDE without it just being a blown up cell phone app. I could switch to something designed for larger interfaces and still have fun.

 

[cena2mojo]

So I picked up a Lapdock after doing research on the compatibility with a photon. For 60 bucks? if doesn't work flip it whatever. Saw the versions with exposed wires (wouldn't do that...but...) got 2 expensive adapter wires online (not a great idea either) then walked through the opening of the back process, and flipped the pins to match up with the photon, then the plastic cap can easily have the holes adjusted to fit with a little needle file, screw it back down and reassemble and it's a perfect fit to drop the phone in) now I just wish I could get the (@) key to work btw these are British models being shipped, what the hell. I dig it now, any key repair posts would be helpful