Official SGS II Navigation Vehicle Mount

[ranphi]

So I found my car dock waiting for me in my mailbox when I got home from work this evening. Haven't set it up yet but here are a few pix of what all comes in the box.

You can see the 3.5 mm audio-out port and mini-USB "charger port" (as Samsung calls it) on the back of the dock in the above pic.

 

[ranphi]

So I setup my car dock last night and have a few initial thoughts about it:

1) The overall construction and feel of the dock is good. The materials generally feel solid and likely to be quite resistant to breaking. The one exception might be the bottom piece of the dock where the mini-USB plug is located. That piece of the dock is actually movable and you have to slide it down before placing your phone in dock, then after the phone is snapped into the dock you slide the bottom of the dock back into place so that the mini-USB plug goes into the USB port on the bottom of your phone. The plastic used to build this particular piece of the dock does not feel as sturdy as the rest of the dock and the sliding action of it also seems a *little* flimsy but not terrible. Aside from that the dock overall seems very sturdy.

2) I find it VERY difficult to get the dock to release the phone. The phone really snaps into the dock and once it's in there it does not want to easily come back out. This is actually very unsettling for me because I feel like I'm really having to pry the phone out of the dock and am worried about getting scuff marks/scratches on the phone during the process! I definitely wish they'd made it easier to remove the phone.

3) The dock (and the SGS2 phone) are both big and finding a good spot to place the dock on my windshield, via the suction cup mount, takes some doing.

4) The clamp on the suction cup mount of the dock takes a lot of pressure to snap into place. It doesn't ease down into the locked position as you're applying pressure to it, it just "fights" you until you finally exert enough pressure on it that it gives in and it suddenly snaps down into place. Again, kind of like removing the phone from the dock, this process takes more effort than I wish it did.

We'll see how I feel after I use the dock over more time but I'm feeling kind of 50/50 about it at this point, mostly due to how difficult I find it to get the phone out of the dock.

 

[stalked_r/t]

The Samsung Dock will not allow a case I assume. So useage of it requires the removal of the case if you have one. that kind of sucks.

 

[ozone777]

The Samsung Dock will not allow a case I assume. So useage of it requires the removal of the case if you have one. that kind of sucks.

I did my time with that scenario when I used the Samsung dock with my Captivate.
I would actually remove my case eveytime I got in my car, which was a pain in the butt, plus my case eventually got stretched out from the repeated removals.

That's why I opted for the off brand car mount I talked about in my previous post.
It CAN be used with the case on.

---------- Post added at 01:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:18 PM ----------

3) The dock (and the SGS2 phone) are both big and finding a good spot to place the dock on my windshield, via the suction cup mount, takes some doing.

You may want to try something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/TomTom-GPS-Dashboard-Mount-Navigators/dp/B001ET5O70/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1318969279&sr=8-11

The smooth surface in the center will accept a suction mount plus you can place it pretty much anywhere on your dash. There is also a hook that can be used with it to keep if from sliding accross your dash when you hit a turn at 80 mph.

 

[Sam1geois]

So I setup my car dock last night and have a few initial thoughts about it:

1) The overall construction and feel of the dock is good. The materials generally feel solid and likely to be quite resistant to breaking. The one exception might be the bottom piece of the dock where the mini-USB plug is located. That piece of the dock is actually movable and you have to slide it down before placing your phone in dock, then after the phone is snapped into the dock you slide the bottom of the dock back into place so that the mini-USB plug goes into the USB port on the bottom of your phone. The plastic used to build this particular piece of the dock does not feel as sturdy as the rest of the dock and the sliding action of it also seems a *little* flimsy but not terrible. Aside from that the dock overall seems very sturdy.

2) I find it VERY difficult to get the dock to release the phone. The phone really snaps into the dock and once it's in there it does not want to easily come back out. This is actually very unsettling for me because I feel like I'm really having to pry the phone out of the dock and am worried about getting scuff marks/scratches on the phone during the process! I definitely wish they'd made it easier to remove the phone.

3) The dock (and the SGS2 phone) are both big and finding a good spot to place the dock on my windshield, via the suction cup mount, takes some doing.

4) The clamp on the suction cup mount of the dock takes a lot of pressure to snap into place. It doesn't ease down into the locked position as you're applying pressure to it, it just "fights" you until you finally exert enough pressure on it that it gives in and it suddenly snaps down into place. Again, kind of like removing the phone from the dock, this process takes more effort than I wish it did.

We'll see how I feel after I use the dock over more time but I'm feeling kind of 50/50 about it at this point, mostly due to how difficult I find it to get the phone out of the dock.

I agree the phone is a little difficult to get out of the dock with just one hand. I have had some success though, and i believe it will get easier with time. I have mine mounted in landscape view with the bottom of the phone to the right. I slide the usb connection back and then, with my right hand, place my thumb on the bendable bracket at the top of the phone and my index finger behind the top right corner of the phone. I push with the thumb and pull with the index finger. That is enough to get the phone loose, and then i can pull it out easily.
My only problem is that i don't think the audio out is working with CM7. I tried with the car dock app that comes with CM7 with no good results. The audio plays through the phone's speaker instead of the audio out line from the dock. When going to the dock settings, the options are greyed out. I didn't try another car dock app, but i would assume i would have the same results. Has anyone had any success with this dock and CM7?
My solution was to flash back to stock. The samsung voice app isn't nearly as cool as the default cm7 app, so i am currently doing a trial of Car Home Ultra. It's pretty sweet so far, but i'll update after i try it a little longer.
I'm looking forward to switching back to CM7. Any experiencing the same thing?

 

[ack154]

I can't exactly tell from the pics... but can someone tell me if this will be OK with a screen protector? That is, how far do the little arms go around the front of the phone? I have InvisibleShield on mine and if I went this route, I wouldn't want the arms pushing into the screen protector and pushing it up.

 

[ranphi]

You may want to try something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/TomTom-GPS-Dashboard-Mount-Navigators/dp/B001ET5O70/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1318969279&sr=8-11

The smooth surface in the center will accept a suction mount plus you can place it pretty much anywhere on your dash. There is also a hook that can be used with it to keep if from sliding accross your dash when you hit a turn at 80 mph.

Thanks, ozone777. I've seen that type of mount before and I love the idea of them but unfortunately in this particular situation I don't think it would work because the arm of the SGS2 dock is too long and heavy to work well with it. I think it'd be pretty prone to tipping over.

 

[HTC Chris]

I bought this off of amazon http://www.amazon.com/Arkon-SM410-U...OOZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319243127&sr=8-1 and it is pretty sturdy. It even has an adjustable holster, so it can fit any case(I'm using a Casemate Pop). I'm currently using the vent mounts on them, and there are no issues with it sliding around, just make sure to use the bottom placeholder of that mount. If you have issues with it sliding, it is suggested in the reviews, you can add a piece of tubing to make the clips more secure on the vents. This set includes, a suction cup mount(pretty strong), vent mount, and 3M adhesive disk mount. Pretty good deal for only $16.28.

 

[slowpc]

Just traded my atrix for a sgs2 ... and now have reorder my docks...

 

[mipakr]

I can't exactly tell from the pics... but can someone tell me if this will be OK with a screen protector? That is, how far do the little arms go around the front of the phone? I have InvisibleShield on mine and if I went this route, I wouldn't want the arms pushing into the screen protector and pushing it up.

The mount does not touch the screen what so ever. It only clips on the bezel.

 

[mipakr]

Not weird. People prefer to have the charger cable coming out of the bottom of the phone when in portrait use (usually, the phone is above or at equal level to the charger).

However, they prefer the headphone jack to be at the top, so they don't have to flip the device over when pulling it out of their pocket.

the samsung mount uses the usb port for both charging and audio out.

 

[ozone777]

Thanks, ozone777. I've seen that type of mount before and I love the idea of them but unfortunately in this particular situation I don't think it would work because the arm of the SGS2 dock is too long and heavy to work well with it. I think it'd be pretty prone to tipping over.

You couldn't be more wrong on this.

I have this very mount and was using it with the Samsung car dock for the Captivate. The size/weight of both docks is essentially identical. So if it worked fine for the Captivate dock, it should work just as well for the SGS2 dock.

This mount is very heavy and WILL NOT TIP...even when you take a tight turn in your car. At most it will slide unless you secure it with the included hook to keep it in place...then it's not going anywhere.

Trust me on this. I drive a Saleen S281, and am prone to driving a little crazy at times, and if this mount won't tip in my car, chances are it won't tip in yours either.

 

[ranphi]

You couldn't be more wrong on this.

I have this very mount and was using it with the Samsung car dock for the Captivate. The size/weight of both docks is essentially identical. So if it worked fine for the Captivate dock, it should work just as well for the SGS2 dock.

This mount is very heavy and WILL NOT TIP...even when you take a tight turn in your car. At most it will slide unless you secure it with the included hook to keep it in place...then it's not going anywhere.

Trust me on this. I drive a Saleen S281, and am prone to driving a little crazy at times, and if this mount won't tip in my car, chances are it won't tip in yours either.

haha Well, that's mighty impressive, then. Thanks, ozone. I think I've managed to find a spot on my windshield that works for my SGS2 car dock but if this new spot also ends up being insufficient, I'll try one of these dash-based docks you're recommending.

Thanks for the help and the info!

 

[Dranakin]

I'm considering this, but does the vehicle mount broadcast over a FM signal? That's what I have my iPhone now, as I don't have an audio-in port on my car radio.

 

[ranphi]

I'm considering this, but does the vehicle mount broadcast over a FM signal? That's what I have my iPhone now, as I don't have an audio-in port on my car radio.

No, it broadcasts via a 3.5mm output jack that's located on the back of the dock or you can connect the phone via Bluetooth as well.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium

 

[Dranakin]

No, it broadcasts via a 3.5mm output jack that's located on the back of the dock or you can connect the phone via Bluetooth as well.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium

Dang, I don't have either of those. Guess I need to upgrade my car to match my phone

 

[SPIDERTECH]

Dang, I don't have either of those. Guess I need to upgrade my car to match my phone

Or you could just get a fm transmitter from walmart. I'm not sure of the brand, but I have a USB FM transmitter that can be used in either a laptop (for power over USB) or in the car with a USB cigarette lighter adapter. I also have a charger for my work cell phone sold by verizon that has a micro usb cable AND a USB port built into the charger itself.

Plug the micro usb into the dock, the fm transmitter into the usb port on the charger, and then the audio cable from the dock into the transmitter.

You may be able to use the Griffin iTrip Universal fm transmitter for this method.
http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-7265-TRIPUNB-Universal-Player-Stereo/dp/B0017HEZDI

 

[pdubcramp]

Has anyone tried using any other apps in place of the Vlingo default one? Are there better options out there?

 

[cajuncartfan]

Is there any possibility that someone could post some pics of how the device holder connects to the mounting arm? I drive a full size GMC pickup and I am trying to get an idea on how I can alternatively mount this on a proclip with some modifications.

 

[ranphi]

Has anyone tried using any other apps in place of the Vlingo default one? Are there better options out there?

I didn't like the default Samsung/Vlingo car dock app, so I flashed the default Google/Android one to my phone and it works great. (I didn't care for the Vlingo one because it doesn't allow for custom shortcuts within the app. Really stupid of you to do that, Samsung)!