• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Anyone seen a car dock?

Got my infuse car mount from AT&T after about 45 minutes worth of phone calls... They don't like PO BOXes on their website. Anyway it fits fine, and this morning I didn't get the audio out, but after re-reading this thread, I enabled the setting, and downloaded car home ultra. We'll see how it works now, thanks for the top on the killer dock for such a low price.
 
Upvote 0
Just got the Infuse dock in the mail. The S3 fits without a case, but what's the point? Who is going to remove their case every time the get in the car? Stupid manufacturers need to build car mounts to fit phones in a case.

Don't blame all manufacturers. This one is on Samsung.

Both Motorola and HTC made their docks to be able to use a case with the dock (regular sized, not the heavy duty Otterbox cases).
 
Upvote 0
Went by an AT&T store today, and they had a universal mount that was decent. No charging ability, but it held the S3 with my Speck case.

FYI.

The whole convenience of having a dock vs. a universal mount is so that you won't have to plug the charger into the device whenever you mount the phone.

If someone isn't going to use a dock and decides on a universal, there are plenty of universal mounts that can be purchased for inexpensive amounts and work just fine without needing to buy from a cell provider.
 
Upvote 0
I personally purchased a universal mount on Amazon from exomount...

http://www.amazon.com/MSW-Exogear-Exomount-Universal-Mount/dp/B004Z8ZLOS

I bought this when I had my 4S with a Mophie Juicepack on it. Essentially a giant super-clip with rubber grips to prevent scratches. I've stuck the thing on all sorts of surfaces and knock on wood its never fallen off.
 
Upvote 0
The price has skyrocketed everywhere except for this site, so I went ahead and ordered it. It's almost double on Amazon.

Yes, I ended up getting one from AT&T also. Free overnite shipping! I ordered it 5am on the 10th and was at my doorstep by 3pm on the 11th. I don't use Nav that much but I had to last night. I love my 4.8" Nav screen!
 
Upvote 0
The S3 fits snug and easy to put in and out. the problem I have is it does not charge. I'm using the Motorola OEM charger from my Droid and it charges the S3 fine outside of the dock. Plugging it in the back of the dock does not charge the S3 :( any ideas?

Maybe it does not like Motorola :D I have a Droid Charge car charger plugged into the back of the infuse dock and it works fine.
 
Upvote 0
The S3 fits snug and easy to put in and out. the problem I have is it does not charge. I'm using the Motorola OEM charger from my Droid and it charges the S3 fine outside of the dock. Plugging it in the back of the dock does not charge the S3 :( any ideas?

I'm also using my motorola charger but it works for me.

Does your PC or mac see your phone if you plug it into using the dock inbetween? i.e. take your dock inside and with the phone fully mounted in it, plug a usb cable into the dock connector.
 
Upvote 0
for those with the Infuse 4G car dock...

im slightly worried that with our phones being plastic that the constant clicking in and out of the dock might add some wear and tear on the corners of the phone and i don't use a case...is this a legit concern?...

i used my DX CONSTANTLY in a car dock while playing pandora and what not in my car and the stock Moto dock was incredible..the phone just sat in the cradle, and was held in place by a "latch" that had foam on it to hold it in place
 
Upvote 0
for those with the Infuse 4G car dock...

im slightly worried that with our phones being plastic that the constant clicking in and out of the dock might add some wear and tear on the corners of the phone and i don't use a case...is this a legit concern?...

i used my DX CONSTANTLY in a car dock while playing pandora and what not in my car and the stock Moto dock was incredible..the phone just sat in the cradle, and was held in place by a "latch" that had foam on it to hold it in place

Yes, the stock DX dock is amazing and I'm really going to miss it. 2 years straight of putting the phone in and out multiple times each day adds up to thousands of times for the DX yet it never developed wear spots.

Yes, your concern is legit. There's no way that the dock isn't going to destroy the finish on the corners over time and as a result, I've been hesitant to use it as much. On short trips I'm not bothering...not like with the DX where it didn't matter if I docked it 20+ times a day on lots of little short trips. I'm contemplating modifying the dock to fit it with a slim case.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Devz
Upvote 0
Yes, the stock DX dock is amazing and I'm really going to miss it. 2 years straight of putting the phone in and out multiple times each day adds up to thousands of times for the DX yet it never developed wear spots.

Yes, your concern is legit. There's no way that the dock isn't going to destroy the finish on the corners over time and as a result, I've been hesitant to use it as much. On short trips I'm not bothering...not like with the DX where it didn't matter if I docked it 20+ times a day on lots of little short trips. I'm contemplating modifying the dock to fit it with a slim case.

thats all i needed to hear...as tempting as this dock is i think ill pass to see if a better alternative is found...
 
Upvote 0
I made a vid of the Arkon sticky mount on the dash with 2 holders, the Mobile Grip and the Slim Grip. I'm a big fan of the Mobile Grip.


I really like how those both go on and off and I've never been able to stick anything on the dash because it's curved and not smooth, so maybe this solves that problem; but two things:

I checked Amazon reviews, and seeing a lot of people saying how it performs great the first month but then gets loose and just hangs.

It moves around easily (I like that), but you never pushed on the screen while it was in position. Does it stay steady in the dock while swiping the screen?

How long have you had it?
 
Upvote 0
About sagging with the Mobile Grip, apparently, it can happen if it's really hot. I live in Los Angeles and I've never had that problem.

The Mobile Grip stays steady; it takes some force to move it. The Slim grip has a ring on the back that you can tighten so that it wont move at all if you wanted it that way.
 
Upvote 0
mobile-grip-flexible-car-mount.html
I have the Arkon one with the flexible tube. So far it's annoying because I end up moving the position of the mount every time I take the phone out. I can see how that ball joint will loosen up after a short time. It also shakes on slight bumps compared to my specific HTC Incredible mount, and I thought that was shaky. Might have to try one of the other ones without the tube and one with the slim or mega grip.
 
Upvote 0
yorklab said:
I really like how those both go on and off and I've never been able to stick anything on the dash because it's curved and not smooth, so maybe this solves that problem; but two things:

I checked Amazon reviews, and seeing a lot of people saying how it performs great the first month but then gets loose and just hangs.

It moves around easily (I like that), but you never pushed on the screen while it was in position. Does it stay steady in the dock while swiping the screen?

How long have you had it?

I didn't watch the video do this may be what you're talking about, but have you tried a friction mount?
 
Upvote 0
Yeah, I hate it when you had a system that worked flawlessly then have to find new solutions. Why can't they just make things newer and faster without changing anything else?! :)

honestly, the Motorola car dock made for the DX (or Shadow lol, if you look closely it has the old code name Shadow printed on the parts) was simply the best car dock out there..

1. the phone just sat in the cradle and was held in such a way that could never damage the finish
2. it was a powered dock
3. used the DX's magnets to automatically launch the car mode
4. had the removable insert so you could keep it in a slim case

the first two points are ones that are a requirement for me with the S3...i dont use a case, and i can click a button to launch something if needed...but the dock MUST be powered...and it must not cause additional wear and tear to my phone over time...
 
Upvote 0
I didn't watch the video do this may be what you're talking about, but have you tried a friction mount?

When I said I liked how they went on and off in my previous post I meant the phone, not the mount (I wasn't clear on that...sorry)

I'm not sure what you mean by friction mount. Are you talking about a mount that just sits on top of the Dash?

For the record I'm coming from the Droid X, and as everyone has mentioned, that was a great mount for various reasons. That was a big reason I went with the Droid X in the first place. With Samsung selling so many of these phones it's seems crazy for them NOT to make a mount specifically for the S3; they could sell a ton of them. In fact, there's no reason they couldn't improve on the Motorola mount.
 
Upvote 0
This thread is a great read!

I wonder if we really know that Samsung isn't planning on an official S3 car dock. Where can I find the official word on this? I know some of you called Samsung and got the Universal Mount as the answer but I think those reps were just being "drones" - simply telling you what is currently available for the S3. I doubt these reps know what the upcoming accessories are for S3 nor can they look it up. Maybe someday they will get the memo for the new S3 dock.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones