Samsung Desk Home and Car Home

[werds]

Well after a whole bunch of looking around and reading posts on this forum and several others I decided to purchase the Samsung Desktop dock and the Vehicle mount because of how much everyone raved about them and after playing with some phone covers I realized I was going to let my SGS2 run naked.

I currently installed the Desk Home app and I saw it insta launches and all that good stuff but it doesn't appear to be customizable at all... is there a better alternative out there that insta-launches when it recognizes it is in the Samsung desk cradle? Also will using this dock setup as my bedside clock damage or burn the screen? I see that it dims all other background stuff after a set amount of time but I am struggling to locate any settings menu that might give more. Also I find it annoying that I cannot change the icons it provides(web, alarm, music, gallery) The app looks wonderful but if I was able to customize at least those icons I think it might be perfect. Anyone care to share their experiences or if they have found an app to use in it's place that auto launches?

Next I also purchased the Vehicle mount and after brief reading I noticed the card dock home app is pretty bleh.... so after some searching on these forums and google I noticed a few apps were thrown out. I also ran across these two and am wonder if anyone has experience using them and is there better in your opinion?

• Google Car Home https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.carhome&feature=related_apps
• Custom Car Home https://market.android.com/details?id=com.bigfwoosh.customcarhome&feature=search_result
• Car Dashboard https://market.android.com/details?...EsIm5ldC5tYW5kYXJpYS5jYXJkYXNoYm9hcmRmcmVlIl0.

At the moment I am leaning towards Car Dashboard but I am open to suggestions! (Cross posted to androidforums as well to hit critical mass)

Thanks

 

[anon(522161)]

A side question: how do you like your Samsung Desktop dock? I got one a couple of days ago and I'm undecided. I like it in general but find it too wobbly. That alone makes me wanna send it back and get something else instead.

 

[werds]

A side question: how do you like your Samsung Desktop dock? I got one a couple of days ago and I'm undecided. I like it in general but find it too wobbly. That alone makes me wanna send it back and get something else instead.

I am liking it more than expected, but that may be because I am laying it down horizontally and using it as a bedside clock replacement. I didn't use it in vertical orientation longer then 30 seconds after it was plugged in so can't speak to whether it is wobbily or not. For the way I am using the dock it works well, Although if I was going to actually use it on a desk or near my computer I may have opted for a 3rd party model instead.

 

[Mr.Gadget]

I've got the card dock as well and really like it. Thanks for posting the alternative car dock apps! I hadn't even considered there are alternatives! I chose the third one, the, "car dashboard" because it shows speed, temp and all that on the main screen.

 

[werds]

I've got the card dock as well and really like it. Thanks for posting the alternative car dock apps! I hadn't even considered there are alternatives! I chose the third one, the, "car dashboard" because it shows speed, temp and all that on the main screen.

Glad it was helpful, after messing around with the car dock some I ended up choosing none of the 3 and went with Car Dock Home V3 . It's not as pretty as the other ones but fits what I need better. Turns the app automatically, turns wifi off, turns on bluetooth, and attempts to turn on gps(fails at it since it only opens the settings menu and I still have to confirm it but Ima try Tasker to fix that issue).

The main reason I chose that one for now is that I can customize all the icons AND it allows widgets on the home screens for the App. so I was able to put my choice of widgets or apps/shortcuts on the screens.

Still looking to see if better or if there is a better Desk dock app to use for alarm clock replacement.

 

[werds]

Glad it was helpful, after messing around with the car dock some I ended up choosing none of the 3 and went with Car Dock Home V3 . It's not as pretty as the other ones but fits what I need better. Turns the app automatically, turns wifi off, turns on bluetooth, and attempts to turn on gps(fails at it since it only opens the settings menu and I still have to confirm it but Ima try Tasker to fix that issue).

The main reason I chose that one for now is that I can customize all the icons AND it allows widgets on the home screens for the App. so I was able to put my choice of widgets or apps/shortcuts on the screens.

Still looking to see if better or if there is a better Desk dock app to use for alarm clock replacement.

After reading the Googles I realize why the GPS turning off and on did not work automatically. Apparently this was something introduced in 2.3 and the only way to get apps to do it is to have the .apk installed in the /system folder! Luckily for me Titanium Backup has this option in it (I am assuming the paid version as I never used the free one). So Tasker was completely unnecessary, just need root!

 

[SoreAintya]

I was using Vlingo for the car dock, worked pretty good for the basic needs I was looking for (voice control nav, calls & texts). The one thing I don't like is lack of customized apps, gonna give these apps a look now and see if they're a better fit.
Thanks for posting, really could've used this a week ago.