Want a dock and still use your protective case?

[droid-john]

Hello all. Just joined the site. I was referred here from another site where I have been discussing my A855 stand. The A855 stand allows you to use a protective case and place your phone into multimedia mode automatically. The stand works great on your night stand or desk.

If you are interested and want more information please check out my web site:

https://sites.google.com/site/a855stand/

Here is an image of the stand:

Any feedback is welcome also, thanks

 

[taz55]

Nice I like,

 

[djaffinito]

sweet very nice looking.

 

[gwlaw99]

Very nice, but still a bit expensive.

 

[Howie]

while it looks decent and is nice to be able to keep the case on, I wouldn't pay the same price as the official dock costs. If it were 15 I'd consider it...

 

[BucYouUp68]

Looks Great, keep us posted when you have them in stock.

 

[esmith818]

while it looks decent and is nice to be able to keep the case on, I wouldn't pay the same price as the official dock costs. If it were 15 I'd consider it...

I don't have an issue paying the same price for a better concept, however it appears you still have to manually plug in the unit by feeding your default charging cable through the stand. I was under the impression that the Moto dock had the charger built-in? All the same, I like your ingenuity and predict you'll make some profit on this design.

 

[Howie]

... it appears you still have to manually plug in the unit by feeding your default charging cable through the stand. I was under the impression that the Moto dock had the charger built-in?...

No the official home dock is the same way. It comes with the USB cable and wall adapter for you to connect the dock to. I use my old BlackBerry Tour wall charger on the home dock so I don't have to worry about the USB disconnecting from the wall adapter... so that should work with this dock as well.

 

[Redflea]

No the official home dock is the same way. It comes with the USB cable and wall adapter for you to connect the dock to. I use my old BlackBerry Tour wall charger on the home dock so I don't have to worry about the USB disconnecting from the wall adapter... so that should work with this dock as well.

The official home dock (aka Multimedia Dock) has a male USB port built-in that the Droid drops down onto when you put it in the dock...there is a plug on the back of the dock where the power cord from the wall charger plugs in (or a usb cable if you're connecting the dock to your computer).

So you just "drop" the phone into the dock and it's connected/charging...there is no separate action to plug in a cable each time you use the dock...just wanted to clear that up.

Your dock looks very nice, but it seems like it may be a bit too high (like an SUV? - high center of gravity)...concerns me a little that there might be stability issues when waking up in the AM and reaching over to turn off an alarm, or if it was bumped into...looks like it might fall forward, with the screen ending up face-down.

 

[droid-john]

Sorry about any confusion. The stand is made of a heavy gauge steel with a powder coat finish. It is solid and does not slide when pressing the screen to turn off alarm or check notifications.

Concerning cost. These are made in fairly small lots, so I don't get an advantage of volume. If I had $5-$6k I could tool it in plastic and sell them for $3. It would slide around because it would be so light and I would lose a bunch of money.

I did look into including the charger and cable. I came up with a couple issues. First is the liability associated with including the cable. All I need is someones Droid to catch on fire and have them come after me for providing the cable. Second, I thought about the cost associated with providing the cable and charger with every stand, but some people want different versions, length etc. I also have tons of iPhone/iPod cables laying around the house. Since the Droid uses the standard micro USB people will start to accumulate them, then they will want the stand without cables since they have so many.

In the end I decided to go with the least common denominator, just the stand. As users have mentioned on my thread on another forum anyone can order these cables online for very low cost, then they get exactly what they want. Check out monoprice.com

I hope this helps answer some questions/concerns. I just made a few of these for my household and thought I would offer them up for sale for anyone else that refuses to live without a case, but still wants the convenience of the dock.

 

[Manzano]

Nice dock.

Dont let people knock you for the price. If they dont want it, dont buy it.
If you want to keep your little phone purse when charging, this Dock will do it!
Nice Work!

 

[droid_genesis]

Do you think you can make a car dock version? I would definitely be a buyer in that case.

 

[Mipmap]

I think its a nice product and I actually do like that it sits higher like that so long as it is sturdy. It is a good consideration for people who use phone covers and wanted to use a phone dock without having to remove their cover.

Also I'd second what Genesis said. On launch day I bought a hard protective cover and car mount without thinking that the cover might prevent the car dock from fitting. However I imagine that might be tricky because different cases will have differing levels of hardness and shape.

 

[UncleMike]

It's a nice looking stand. It appears that the charging cable must be fed through the stand and then plugged into the phone before setting the phone on the stand.

One suggestion I would make is to have the opening for the cable connect to the other opening on the back support so that you can plug in the phone and set it on the stand without having to feed the charging cable through the hole first.

A second suggestion would be to provide a right-angle micro USB adapter with the stand, which would allow for a lower overall height without the liability issues of providing a charger.

Sad to say though that I won't be a customer, since my affinity for the OEM car and home docks convinced me not to buy a protective case when I got my Droid, and so far I'm happy with that decision.

Being first to market with a home dock that allows for a protective case, I think you'll do well.

 

[kramerica]

Well done Droid John. Love the idea and the concept especially considering the fact that a naked Droid is just no good, so I'm definately in favor of your product.

I appreciate you explaining your reasons for cost.

I'm guessing the dock is so tall to serve the purpose of an alarm clock? Seems a little high, but that is just one man's opinion for thought. Or is it designed that way because of the cable?

I would also LOVE to see your thoughts and design for a car dock.

 

[shadowdude777]

It is an excellent dock, but I'm also wondering why you made it so high. It almost seems like an LCD monitor's stand, in that it looks like the height can be adjusted, and maybe like it can even swivel! If it can't, maybe you want to consider somehow implementing this via a joint/hinge somewhere? That'd make me want one that much more!

 

[blackcobra95]

If you ever consider making a car mount I will most definitely by one

 

[droid-john]

Thanks for all the feedback. The reason it is so high is so the micro USB cable can be plugged in and bend around without interference and put a strain on the phone.

I'm looking into a car dock version. I'll keep you posted.

 

[kramerica]

Thanks for all the feedback. The reason it is so high is so the micro USB cable can be plugged in and bend around without interference and put a strain on the phone.

Makes sense.

 

[droid-john]

Great news. The parts have been delivered to me. I will be building them up tonight and shipping them out tomorrow. Thank you to all of you that have placed orders. I hope you like the stand as much as we do.

 

[droid_genesis]

Great news. The parts have been delivered to me. I will be building them up tonight and shipping them out tomorrow. Thank you to all of you that have placed orders. I hope you like the stand as much as we do.

Any ETA on the car dock? I think I only have a few days left to return mine to the Verizon store.

 

[MSU]

I like the look of this. I have not bought a dock of any sorts yet simply do to I would have to take off my case.

 

[DoctorWho]

Just sent you an email John.

 

[gcroberson]

Stand looks nice but if I was going to spend 35 dollars, I would just get the one from Verizon. I am not trying to bash you. The stand looks great!

 

[ronnieramone]

Great idea! I do agree that the hole for the cable should be a slot that continues to the edge so you don't have to feed the cable through a hole every night. That would be especially difficult to do after a night of drinking...

Also, the price point is a bit high for me without including a USB cable. Still, it's very tempting and I'm definitely going to consider it after the holidays are through and I have some money again.

For now, I'll just keep clipping my Body Gloved Droid to my upside-down wire mesh business card holder. My make-shift solution is not as elegant or sturdy as yours, obviously, but it accomplishes roughly the same thing. I suppose if I glued some weights to the bottom of it, I could make it more stable...