Car Dock Recommendation for the S4

[leever6000]

Hi all,

I just upgraded from the Bionic, and I first have to say, I love this phone!

The 1 thing I miss is my car dock, that was made for my Motorola Bionic!

I am looking to see what the best car dock is for this device.

Thanks

 

[davidsnoodles]

I totally know what you mean. I had a S3 and used the Infuse 4G dock for it and it worked flawlessly. I purchased a cable similar to what the dock did (it has a micro USB connection on one end and it splits to USB and 3.5mm connector for audio), however it doesn't work with the S4. Something about the architecture of the USB port on the S4 is different, blah blah blah. Anyways, it's not as near good looking as the Infuse dock I used or even the Moto docks, but the iBolt xPro Active does the same functions. If you don't need the Aux capability, they also have one that just charges it. Doesn't "dock" the way the Moto ones do, but it provides essentially the same functionality.

 

[techgeek32#WN]

I totally know what you mean. I had a S3 and used the Infuse 4G dock for it and it worked flawlessly. I purchased a cable similar to what the dock did (it has a micro USB connection on one end and it splits to USB and 3.5mm connector for audio), however it doesn't work with the S4. Something about the architecture of the USB port on the S4 is different, blah blah blah. Anyways, it's not as near good looking as the Infuse dock I used or even the Moto docks, but the iBolt xPro Active does the same functions. If you don't need the Aux capability, they also have one that just charges it. Doesn't "dock" the way the Moto ones do, but it provides essentially the same functionality.

ProClipUSA!

 

[loonie01]

The iBolt xPro or the Samsung OEM car dock.

 

[jtdunc]

How about an X-Grip by RAM Mounts? Places the phone anywhere you'd like with in inches from your steering wheel so you can easily access with your hands on the steering wheel. But you'll have to run a USB to microUSB cable on your own.

Love mine:

Yes, not my Galaxy S4 but I also have a company-provided iPhone 4S.

 

[spotnjack]

The iBolt xPro or the Samsung OEM car dock.

My wife and I are going on a road trip next week. I just ordered the iBolt xPro. After reading about it, it seems to be just what I'm looking for,

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I recently ordered the iBolt xPro, so here's my mini review...

PROS:
- Pretty easy setup. The suction cup holder is very sturdy and easy to mount, and they also provide a "platform" you can stick on your dash if you prefer to not mount to the windshield. The 9' cable was long enough that I was able to run over my air vents and through my glove box so I didn't have wires exposed everywhere, which is definitely a plus for me! I may go back and try a more "professional" cable install later, but I'm happy with the way it is right now. The cables are long enough you should be able to put the mount where ever you desire.
- As mentioned, cable provides dual support for both power over USB and AUX audio out.
- This will work with pretty ANY case you use with S4. The grips are easy to adjust, and have plenty of room for even the bulkiest of cases.
- The camera is left uncovered, so if you needed to, you can even take pics and/or video while mounted
- Allows you setup auto-launching of any "car home" app you choose to use...or not.
- power and volume buttons are easily accessible

CONS:
- I bit harder to mount/unmount than I would like. The spring loaded top arm that holds the phone in place is kind of stiff in my opinion. Granted, you want to your phone to stay mounted, so I'll definitely live with this over a setup that's too loose, but you will probably need to use 2 hands to get your phone in and out of it. On top of that, the mounted end of the cable is very stiff as well, which makes it more awkward to attach the phone than I'd like to be. Neither of these deal-breaker for me, just stuff I noticed.
- The entire mount itself is a kind of a beast in terms of size. Obviously, not much that can be done here, the S4 is a large phone (and I believe the same mount works for the Note 2 as well), and given the fact that it's made to support any case configuration means it has to be sturdy enough to support what it was made to do.
- You need to provide your own USB power source. I'm pretty sure this is listed in the product description, but figured I'd add it as a heads up. Cigarette lighter adapters are pretty cheap nowadays, and most people have then already, but just know that this doesn't come with a cigarette lighter plug.

Bottom line? I'm very satisfied with it. Performs as advertised.

 

[Psyc]

ibolt pro best car dock i ever owned

 

[spotnjack]

I recently ordered the iBolt xPro, so here's my mini review...

PROS:
- Pretty easy setup. The suction cup holder is very sturdy and easy to mount, and they also provide a "platform" you can stick on your dash if you prefer to not mount to the windshield. The 9' cable was long enough that I was able to run over my air vents and through my glove box so I didn't have wires exposed everywhere, which is definitely a plus for me! I may go back and try a more "professional" cable install later, but I'm happy with the way it is right now. The cables are long enough you should be able to put the mount where ever you desire.
- As mentioned, cable provides dual support for both power over USB and AUX audio out.
- This will work with pretty ANY case you use with S4. The grips are easy to adjust, and have plenty of room for even the bulkiest of cases.
- The camera is left uncovered, so if you needed to, you can even take pics and/or video while mounted
- Allows you setup auto-launching of any "car home" app you choose to use...or not.
- power and volume buttons are easily accessible

CONS:
- I bit harder to mount/unmount than I would like. The spring loaded top arm that holds the phone in place is kind of stiff in my opinion. Granted, you want to your phone to stay mounted, so I'll definitely live with this over a setup that's too loose, but you will probably need to use 2 hands to get your phone in and out of it. On top of that, the mounted end of the cable is very stiff as well, which makes it more awkward to attach the phone than I'd like to be. Neither of these deal-breaker for me, just stuff I noticed.
- The entire mount itself is a kind of a beast in terms of size. Obviously, not much that can be done here, the S4 is a large phone (and I believe the same mount works for the Note 2 as well), and given the fact that it's made to support any case configuration means it has to be sturdy enough to support what it was made to do.
- You need to provide your own USB power source. I'm pretty sure this is listed in the product description, but figured I'd add it as a heads up. Cigarette lighter adapters are pretty cheap nowadays, and most people have then already, but just know that this doesn't come with a cigarette lighter plug.

Bottom line? I'm very satisfied with it. Performs as advertised.

After a four day road trip, I would tend to agree with pretty much everything here. We used my wife's S3 for the first part of the trip and it worked flawlessly. My S4 was the phone we used for the second half of the trip; it also worked very well. I only have one gripe: As long as the screen on the S4 was active during navigation, the phone was actually discharging.I ended up exiting the navigation mode so my phone would not die. I suppose I could have just put the screen to sleep, but I knew where I was going and the experiment was over at that point. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied.

 

[Cigar-Junkie]

I was wanting to use a "tile" to automatically place the phone in dock mode. Is there a place to attach a tile to the ibolt?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

After a four day road trip, I would tend to agree with pretty much everything here. We used my wife's S3 for the first part of the trip and it worked flawlessly. My S4 was the phone we used for the second half of the trip; it also worked very well. I only have one gripe: As long as the screen on the S4 was active during navigation, the phone was actually discharging.I ended up exiting the navigation mode so my phone would not die. I suppose I could have just put the screen to sleep, but I knew where I was going and the experiment was over at that point. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied.

Your car charger needs to output *at least* 1A to prevent discharging during navigation (preferably 2A). Many older and/or generic car chargers output only 500mA (.5A), which can provide enough juice to charge a phone in standby mode, simply isn't enough to provide a positive charging rate when navigation is being used.

Example: Amazon.com: PowerGen 2.4Amps / 12W Dual USB Car charger Designed for Apple and Android Devices - Black: MP3 Players & Accessories

 

[trucky]

I was wanting to use a "tile" to automatically place the phone in dock mode. Is there a place to attach a tile to the ibolt?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

If you're talking about a NFC tag then you wouldn't want it actually on the dock. You want it someplace where you can touch it and move away, not stay in constant contact.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I was wanting to use a "tile" to automatically place the phone in dock mode. Is there a place to attach a tile to the ibolt?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

If you're talking about a NFC tag then you wouldn't want it actually on the dock. You want it someplace where you can touch it and move away, not stay in constant contact.

That, and with the iBolt you can set it up automatically go into Car Mode when you plug in the USB cable...no need for NFC.

 

[albertdc]

How do you make it automatically go into car mode? Is that then unique to plugging it in to that mount, or will it then go into car mode anytime you plug in a USB charger?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[spotnjack]

Your car charger needs to output *at least* 1A to prevent discharging during navigation (preferably 2A). Many older and/or generic car chargers output only 500mA (.5A), which can provide enough juice to charge a phone in standby mode, simply isn't enough to provide a positive charging rate when navigation is being used.

Example: Amazon.com: PowerGen 2.4Amps / 12W Dual USB Car charger Designed for Apple and Android Devices - Black: MP3 Players & Accessories

Agreed. I was still using an older car charger. I need to get a new one before I do this again. All in all, I am satisfied with this dock.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

How do you make it automatically go into car mode? Is that then unique to plugging it in to that mount, or will it then go into car mode anytime you plug in a USB charger?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

To answer your question, no it does not go into car mode every time I plug into a standard charger...it seems to "know" that it is a car dock when I plug it in. The first time I used mine, it just came up the the "Choose default action", where you can pick it have it open an app (Navigation, car home, etc) or do nothing.

 

[Cigar-Junkie]

To answer your question, no it does not go into car mode every time I plug into a standard charger...it seems to "know" that it is a car dock when I plug it in. The first time I used mine, it just came up the the "Choose default action", where you can pick it have it open an app (Navigation, car home, etc) or do nothing.

Is this auto go into car mode a function of the ibolt cord connector or is it detecting a data connection? My truck has cigarette lighter charger but no USB data port.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[iBoltSupport]

Yes the dock does have a spot for a tile. However, the cable that comes with the dock automatically launches smartdock mode so the tile is not necessary.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Is this auto go into car mode a function of the ibolt cord connector or is it detecting a data connection? My truck has cigarette lighter charger but no USB data port.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

It seems to be a function of the iBolt cord connector. I only have mine plugged into a charger.

 

[MikaelPe]

Hi there... I noticed your review above of the iBOLT and it's very fair! I just wanted to make sure you noticed our new video showing how to remove one of the two springs in the latch, see xProDock latch - 50% less force demo video - YouTube Obviously removing 1 of 2 springs will lessen the spring force in the latch by 50% so it sounds like this would be something to consider for you? Let me know if this works for you... Thanks. MP iBOLT