YES!! There is a car dock with built in charging!

[kckadow]

OK, I'm resurrecting this thread as I have finally set up my solution for car mounting.

To recap, I had a Droid RAZR with the Motorola dock that used the same 17mm ball that almost everything else uses. Griffin decided 14.7mm was the way to go. So, after a lot of searching, I found that the RAM Mount ball size A is the closest ball to what I need. It is 14.22mm (.56"), which is slightly smaller than needed. Also, I could not find this on an AMPs plate. As you can see from the first picture I have two AMPs mounts in my car. The top shows the hole pattern, and the bottom has a 17mm ball mounted to it. I temporarily used the adhesive disk on the top mount while I waited on the ball.


View attachment 81274

Here is a close up of the diamond mount on the AMPs mount. Two of the holes lined up. So, I'm happy.

View attachment 81275

Here is the Griffin mount installed on the ball. As a temporary solution, I put some plastic from a store bag in the cup on the mount to fill in the space created by the smaller ball. I read on the site I bought the ball from that someone used liquid plastic to make the ball larger. If the temporary solution doesn't hold, I'll do the same. I usually use my phone vertically as shown here. As you can see, I've chosen indrive as my car dock app. It is the default and it launches as soon as I put the phone in the dock. The home button solution in posts above did not work. Home still take me back to the launcher. So, I've gotten used to hitting back instead of home.


View attachment 81280

Here it is horizontally, allowing access to the bottom mount.

View attachment 81281

And here is the full solution with the GPS mounted as well.

View attachment 81282

This solution does not interfere with the passenger much even though it looks like it does. I haven't done any cable management yet either. It also gives the passenger access to control my devices while I drive, which is nice on long trips when I want them to check something for me. The smaller ball is not as tight as the original, but it holds the dock securely enough. After going through this, I'll NEVER get another dock that does not use a 17mm ball.

Here is the link to the ball. RAM Mount Diamond Plate with A-Ball RAM-A-238U

I held off on ordering it for a while longer than planned because I really wanted a better solution, and I could not get a response form GPS City when I tried to ask questions. I got tired and ordered it anyway. I could not find anything else that was close enough to work.

In case you are wondering the mounts are Panavise vehicle specific mounts. Just Google "Panavise vehicle specific mount *Your car model here*" and you'll likely find it. It is designed to be used as a single mount. It uses the screws that hold your radio to secure it. I bought two and shifted one up and one down. So, they are less secure than intended, but considering this is the third cell phone I've mounted, It isn't a problem. The bottom one is a bit off because it was where my other two cells were mounted, and has had the most use. I decided to try out mounting this one on top to see if I like it better. I might move it down later. One last thing, if you want to do this, get METAL balls. I originally bought plastic balls, and the stems on both broke. I replaced them with metal, and have had no issues since.

Hey Chiplg, I've been waiting to hear your solution. I appreciate the info, but unable to see your attachments. I get a "if you used a valid link, please contact the administrator" error when trying to view. Not sure if it is something on my end. Maybe someone else can chime in on whether they can see your pics. Thanks for the info!

 

[Chiplg]

OK, I uploaded them again and added the pic of plastic from a shopping bag shoved into the ball socket.

I can see them now. So, I am assuming others can too.

 

[kckadow]

Yep. Can see them now... thanks!

It looks good... like the double-mount.

How's the mount position in terms of eye or head turn to view? With it being on the pass side of the console is it a long way to move the eyes?

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[Chiplg]

Yep. Can see them now... thanks!

It looks good... like the double-mount.

How's the mount position in terms of eye or head turn to view? With it being on the pass side of the console is it a long way to move the eyes?

Posted via Android Central App

I don't think about it much. It is just slightly further than the radio. So, it is not much different than looking at the radio or AC controls. The screen is easier to read in the sunlight than my Droid RAZR was, and it is a bigger screen. I had a hard time reading song title/artist on Pandora. It is much easier now. It would be better if it was closer, but it's not a big deal. I always though Pandora should have an option for a car mode with bigger buttons and text.

As far as reaching it, it is actually A LOT easier than if it was on the windshield. It is just an arms length away. On the windshield, I had to lean forward to reach it before I got the mounts for my Droid X.

 

[zorz]

Can you confirm compatibility of Droid MAXX (not RAZR) and Owlpad All, please? If so, is the camera and all three side buttons not blocked? Thank you.

 

[zorz]

They have a carpad called all. It supposedly takes care of the HTC Droid DNA as well as the MAXX I am waiting for my MAXX to be sure. I ordered through Wirefly. The all does the Samsung with back, Galaxy Nexus 4 HTC and more so I see no reason why it will not do the MAXX.

Can you confirm compatibility of Droid MAXX (not RAZR) and Owlpad All, please? If so, is the camera and all three side buttons not blocked? Thank you.

 

[Targetyou]

I'm curious as to what charging method you are using for the dock. I too was using the Motorola USB/Audio cable to charge my Razr Maxx HD with it's dock, but my new Maxx won't charge with that cable at all.

 

[Chiplg]

I'm curious as to what charging method you are using for the dock. I too was using the Motorola USB/Audio cable to charge my Razr Maxx HD with it's dock, but my new Maxx won't charge with that cable at all.

I'm still using that cable with my Maxx and the Griffin dock, and it does charge the phone. The audio doesn't work though. I do seem to remember it being a tight fit pushing it in.

 

[LocationDudeNYC]

Can you confirm compatibility of Droid MAXX (not RAZR) and Owlpad All, please? If so, is the camera and all three side buttons not blocked? Thank you.

I can confirm the Owlpad does not work with the MAXX. The car charger will work but the way it holds the phone it pushes the volume rocker all the way to mute. I received a refund.

 

[Einsteindks]

Huge huge fan of Car Home Ultra for a Droid RAZR docked in the car. And it has a successful work around to the home key problem, which is a fallacy of the stock droid software.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Chiplg]

Huge huge fan of Car Home Ultra for a Droid RAZR docked in the car. And it has a successful work around to the home key problem, which is a fallacy of the stock droid software.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk 2

I can confirm that the workaround does bring the phone back to the Car Home Ultra app for the Droid Maxx. I never had a home key issue on the Droid RAZR. It also looks better than the last time I tried the app. Still not as clean looking to me as the Droid RAZR app, but it'll do.

Thanks, that was the final piece in getting the phone to mount and work like my Droid RAZR did. It's a real shame it took so long and so much effort over something so simple that worked out of the box with the RAZR and the Motorola dock.

I really don't understand the lack of quality in the physical dock design, or the use of a non common ball size. It's nice that I paid $29.99 with my discount, but I'd have been quite happy to pay $60 or more for a dock that had the same standard of workmanship as the Motorola docks did. I'm actually surprised that phone mounting isn't a standard feature in current car models. It wouldn't be hard to make a space for a phone/GPS solution with a 17mm ball on the dash ready to go and in a convenient location with power and audio if BT wasn't available on the equipped stereo.

I also don't understand the decision to abandon the car home app and simply put up a screen saying just talk to your phone like a person. Sorry, my car is apparently too loud to do that easily. I have to yell OK Google Now to get it to respond. Besides, I listen to music in my car. That adds to the noise level.

Then the home button doesn't go back to the car home app without a workaround, and the first workaround didn't even work as the required function has been removed. From other forums, it seems I'm not the only one to be angry over these issues.

Seriously, I can't stress the need for focus groups or public trials enough. Decisions made by people in a conference room don't always translate well in the real world. I'm in healthcare IT, and we involve clinical staff in every project we do. I sometimes think they just throw stuff out there to see what sticks.

 

[capitalist pig]

This car dock sucks and I don't recommend you buy it.

First, the connection is fragile and actually broke in the Verizon store while it was being tested/demo'd. This was done by the store Manager as the Verizon Tech was showing him what a piece of junk this dock really is. Secondly, you can't use the Dock with any meaningful case even though Griffin says, you can. Lastly and most obsurdidly, there's no hole for the camera so any use of a dash cam app is impossible unless you're good with a dremel tool and want to buy a new product that works poorly and then modify it...

In short, this is probably the single biggest piece of junk I've consumer tested in my life but yes, it does have built in charging...

 

[Chiplg]

In short, this is probably the single biggest piece of junk I've consumer tested in my life but yes, it does have built in charging...

HAHAHAHAHA!!! Yes, it was a major disappointment, and a great lesson on buying a product before actually getting to see it. It provides the functions I need, but is nothing like the docks Motorola used to make. My hope is that I'll be buying a new car when I buy a new phone. I also hope that the integration has reached a level where the only thing I need the phone for is to provide a link to the internet for the built in features of the car. I guess we'll see in a couple of years.

 

[jfriend33]

I always liked using a bluetooth headset and also connect to car stereo, and mount the phone. That way any incoming audio is from the headset, eliminates yelling.

Sent from my XT1080m using AC Forums mobile app.

 

[viper8315]

I just wanted to check in briefly on the Griffen car dock. I too also think it's pretty crappy, definitely not as nice as the moto ones as stated earlier. Oh well, something is better than nothing I guess. I might try calling them and complaining for the hell of it.

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[c-more]

Yet another rant against the Griffin line. We loved our Droid X's with the easy drop in home and car docks. We just got 2 Maxx's and Griffin home docks. I immediately returned the home docks due to the fragile support legs, no side support for the phone, difficult to insert phone, top-heavy portrait-only position. So, I got 2 of the car docks to use for both home and car. HA !! The Droid X car dock can sit neat and stable on a table with its double articulated arms...the Griffin dock can only be suction mounted. I could rob the arms from my $75 Droid X dock - IF THE BALLS WERE THE SAME SIZE. My re-engineered solution . . . I put glass "bases" on the nightstands for the suction cups. Then I had to heat gun the dock and spread it enough to get the Maxx to fit with just the minimal "bumper" rim protector on the phone. Looks like I've also got to cut some rubber around the USB connector so it will insert far enough to charge, and add some silicone RTV at the back so it will line up without fiddling around. The glass better be CLEAN and wet or it won't stick (4.2 versus 5.9 square inches of suction cup for the Droid X's). I loved my Droid 1 and Droid X and especially the well designed Moto accessories. We love our Maxx phones, but Motorola has thrown us to the aftermarket wolves for Dollar General quality accessories. They outsourced overseas. There's no translation for "focus group" in UK or China. The junior engineer that came up with a design with only 8 parts won the competition and got a bonus. The root cause was probably a poor market study - that customers aren't willing to pay the higher prices for the good stuff. So farm it out and blame Griffin if its bad (its in the fine print on the box). For what good it will do I plan on providing this feedback to Griffin and Motorola. I've been a nuclear power engineer for over 30 years - aren't you glad we had higher standards

 

[jfriend33]

C-more do post some pics if you can!

Sent from my XT1080m using AC Forums mobile app.

 

[jfriend33]

Ooooo yeah!

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[rlmesq]

My re-engineered solution . . . I put glass "bases" on the nightstands for the suction cups. Then I had to heat gun the dock and spread it enough to get the Maxx to fit with just the minimal "bumper" rim protector on the phone. Looks like I've also got to cut some rubber around the USB connector so it will insert far enough to charge, and add some silicone RTV at the back so it will line up without fiddling around. The glass better be CLEAN and wet or it won't stick (4.2 versus 5.9 square inches of suction cup for the Droid X's).

Sounds like a lot of work... I just bought a TYLT VU inductive charger. It's sort of an easel with Qi charging built in, so you just plop the phone on the stand and it starts changing. Since it will work with any Qi-enabled phone, it works on my girlfriend's Mini as well as my Maxx.

 

[The Dalek]

I have an extra Griffin car dock, still sealed in the box. Would any one like to make a trade for a QI charger? The wife bought it and she did not realize that I have one already.[]