Accessories Droid X Car Mount rant

[Amaroth]

Anyone get the car mount? I have to say, compared to the original Droid car mount, It SUCKS. They made it so that the whole part that the DX stays in removable. It doesn't snap in at all and just slides onto some plastic blocky things. It makes the whole top piece wobbly since it is not sturdy or snapped into place. Also I don't like how the phone just sits in the cradle. Like I could learn to like it if the cradle thing was more STURDY, but it isnt. I would rather have it snap in like the original Droid car mount did. And another thing: what is the point of having that car charge port on it??? It makes the charging port even farther away from the phone, making me have to have my car charger cable reaching across the front of my car stereo. It also did NOT come with the car charger, but rather an AXILLARY CABLE. I am kind of dumbfounded why they did this. It made me have to spend EXTRA money just to buy a separate car charger. And I already have like 10 aux cords.

I dunno..It just makes me miss the Droid car mount. I hope seidio or something else will make other car mounts. It could have just been my mount that I bought too (the wobbly part)

 

[dlbrando]

The, mount worked fine for me. And that was in the jeep, bouncing around on some washboard dirt roads. With the effort it takes to get it back out of the cradle, I am not too worried about it popping out, it will take the suction mount off first.

I use the car charge port with the usb cable to hook directly to my stereo, which I have told that the droid x is removable media. So that works fine, charges while supplying tunes. However, an Aux input is much more common on OEM radios nowadays; so they made that the easy way, and gave you a cord for it.

As far as having the charging cord stretch across the dash, tough luck. You can't win them all, and it happens to work just fine on mine. However, if it had not worked out I would have just routed a power wire up through the defrost vents in the dash. I may still do that once I figure out where I want it to stay, looks cleaner.

Walmart sells a DC jack that accepts a USB plug for a couple bucks, it will work out just like the AC jack that came with the phone. I really like that setup, it also means that a hub will allow you to charge a few phones at a time, provided that they are USB type plugs.

 

[LessFilling]

I sure hope that thing is stable cuz I was gonna try it out on my bike. lol

 

[Amaroth]

My biggest problem with it is that its Wobbly. It feels cheap. I used to have the Droid car mount and the thing wouldn't BUDGE when I used the phone. With the Droid X mount, the whole top half of the mount tilts left and right. I'm sure I can probably jam something up in those holes in the back and make it sturdy, I just haven't tried doing it yet. I wish so badly that it would snap on instead of just sit there.

The original droid mount came with a car charger. They should have done the same thing for the Droid X.

 

[AJ_EVO]

My biggest problem with it is that its Wobbly. It feels cheap. I used to have the Droid car mount and the thing wouldn't BUDGE when I used the phone. With the Droid X mount, the whole top half of the mount tilts left and right. I'm sure I can probably jam something up in those holes in the back and make it sturdy, I just haven't tried doing it yet. I wish so badly that it would snap on instead of just sit there.

The original droid mount came with a car charger. They should have done the same thing for the Droid X.

How does it wobble? Have you twisted the plastic "wing nut" to tighten it up?

 

[dlbrando]

How does it wobble? Have you twisted the plastic "wing nut" to tighten it up?

That was going to be my suggestion, I gut mine just where I wanted it and torqued the wingnuts down nice and tight.

 

[Low023]

The one thing I like about the mount better than the original Droid's is the fact you don't have to Dremel out the camera hole. lol

 

[Amaroth]

There are only 2 things to turn on it. One makes it go up and down, one is just behind where you would attach the piece that holds the phone onto. It allows you to turn it clockwise or counterclockwise. The part that the phone sits in is a big plastic holder thing and it has 2 holes on the back you can slide onto the 2 blocks that stick out of the adjustable part. It just slides down and sits there. It doesn't snap into place, so the whole phone wobbles when you touch the screen to use it. It isn't solid or sturdy.
bah I guess it's hard to explain, but if anybody has used the Droid mount, and are now using the Droid X mount you would know what I mean

 

[importtooner]

There are only 2 things to turn on it. One makes it go up and down, one is just behind where you would attach the piece that holds the phone onto. It allows you to turn it clockwise or counterclockwise. The part that the phone sits in is a big plastic holder thing and it has 2 holes on the back you can slide onto the 2 blocks that stick out of the adjustable part. It just slides down and sits there. It doesn't snap into place, so the whole phone wobbles when you touch the screen to use it. It isn't solid or sturdy.
bah I guess it's hard to explain, but if anybody has used the Droid mount, and are now using the Droid X mount you would know what I mean

Are you not lowering the clamp down over top of the phone? My guess would be no.

 

[Stealthman]

I love this car mount, it's one of the best things about this phone. Mine feels solid.

 

[JubbaTheHutt]

I have yet to actually try it out on my vehicle, but I'm worried that it's suction cup won't stay attached to my dashboard for lone (I hate mounting devices on my windows). Unfortunately the base/arm of the mount feels cheap and lightweight, but I absolutely love the actual cradle part.

One minor gripe is that I wish they would have positioned the charging port on the other side of the cradle, as most power sources are located closer to the passenger side.

 

[pirahna]

The original droid mount came with a car charger. They should have done the same thing for the Droid X.

I bought 4 original droid car docks, none of them came with a charger.

 

[halo0]

Are you not lowering the clamp down over top of the phone? My guess would be no.

He's right, I examined the mount extensively at the store. No matter how hard you tighten all the clamps it can still move because the arm and the mount itself (the part the phone sits in) are attached by a couple of little slots and it does not positively click in place. I believe it could be improved 90% if you were to stick a couple of pieces of electrical tape on the back to make it tighter and add friction. Really bad design though.

 

[JubbaTheHutt]

He's right, I examined the mount extensively at the store. No matter how hard you tighten all the clamps it can still move because the arm and the mount itself (the part the phone sits in) are attached by a couple of little slots and it does not positively click in place. I believe it could be improved 90% if you were to stick a couple of pieces of electrical tape on the back to make it tighter and add friction. Really bad design though.

How "extensively" did you actually preview the mount? I'm not sure if the one you reviewed had been manhandled, but after I made sure the slots were properly seated, I attempted to remove the cradle from the arm and had one hell of a time because of its secure fit.

Like I said, I think it's a great accessory, I just wish the arm was a bit more heavy. Though someone suggested in another thread that you can attach the cradle to a Garmin or similar "ball-joint" mounted bracket.

 

[halo0]

They had it mounted to the counter top at the vzw store and I was there a few hours after opening, so it didn't have much time to become "manhandled". Like I said, I tightened all of the joints, and the head would still be wobbly after using the phone a bit, because of the slot mechanism. I might still buy it as I am pretty sure I can modify it to not wobble.

I just wish google maps had a "follow me" feature and speed display. Then I could get rid of my Nuvi.

 

[JubbaTheHutt]

After you made your original post, I started looking over the bracket a bit more carefully. I didn't notice the little "turn knob" that tightens the top of the arm to the cradle, but after I started turning it clockwise, it tightened the arm almost completely flushed against the cradle. This of course, gave it less give than there was before.

I think I might just opt for a Garmin dashboard mount and just use the cradle.

 

[dlbrando]

I just wish google maps had a "follow me" feature and speed display. Then I could get rid of my Nuvi.

If you do not have it giving you turn by turn, "my location" displays the map, you, your speed, and direction. Going into google maps does the same thing.

 

[Araxen]

Love my Car Dock!

 

[halo0]

If you do not have it giving you turn by turn, "my location" displays the map, you, your speed, and direction. Going into google maps does the same thing.

I tried this out today. In google maps it has the little blue arrow showing you your position, but no speed is displayed. It's just the map view though, not the aerial view like when you are navigating. Am I missing something?

 

[myearhertz]

Has anyone try running Maps Navigation while the DroidX is docked in the car mount and connected to car charger?

Apparently, my phone stops charging once its in navigation mode. Then when I get to my destination, it starts charging again. I drove 2 hours today, and found my phone at 50% battery when I arrived. What's the point of plugging it in if it doesn't charge while the phone is running Maps?

 

[halo0]

Uh oh, that doesn't sound good.

Does it automatically go into car mode when you put it in the dock?

 

[mikeyfl]

The, mount worked fine for me. And that was in the jeep, bouncing around on some washboard dirt roads.

what kind of jeep?

 

[dlbrando]

It was in my Comanche project truck. As far as charging while navigating, mine seems to do fine. Next time i go somewhere more than 15 minutes away i guess i will have to double check

 

[Amaroth]

I have yet to actually try it out on my vehicle, but I'm worried that it's suction cup won't stay attached to my dashboard for lone (I hate mounting devices on my windows). Unfortunately the base/arm of the mount feels cheap and lightweight, but I absolutely love the actual cradle part.

There is a flat sticky circle you stick to your dash that has a clean surface for the suction cup to stay on.

One minor gripe is that I wish they would have positioned the charging port on the other side of the cradle, as most power sources are located closer to the passenger side.

My thoughts exactly. However I would be okay with it if the frickin thing wouldnt wobble. Any bumps I go over it just makes it wobble like crazy.

 

[Growler48]

My dock is also wobbly. I was going to just glue it in place, but since I take it with me when I travel, I need to be able to take the dock off and put the pieces in my backpack, so I just folded some paper and placed it in between the two blocks and put it back in place. It doesn't move now, but I am a bit disappointed that it wasn't built any better. There aren't any other choices out there, though, that I'm aware of.