What do you make of the "multimedia station"

[omnibus]

It consists of a weighted dock and a cable with mini and "A" USB ends. Then there's an AC plug with a female USB port.

The manual printed on toilet paper is several languages has a diagram of the dock connecting to an AC outlet and the dock itself. Next to that is a picture of a laptop computer with the legend "after you connect to a computer", below that are 3 inset drawings I can't make sense of.

So I plugged the USB into the dock and A/C power and everything works except the temp readout.

Still confused about if and when I'm supposed to plug into my computer.

 

[reidry]

I have a love/hate relationship with the media dock.

I purchased 2, one is defective putting our Droids into Car mode instead of multimedia mode.

As for the one that does work, I like the idea of using the phone as an alarm clock. I do not like the implementation. When dimmed the 4 touch sensitive buttons are too bright when the room is dark. I like my sleeping area to be very dark.

[Update] As posted below I figured it out. Tapping the power button while in dock and plugged into the wall causes the screen and touch buttons to all go completely dark. Tapping the camera shutter button wakes the screen up. I would have liked a mode where the touch buttons are dark but the screen is subdued. It's good, but not perfect.

Ryan

 

[medicTHREE]

I just lock it when I need it totally dark. i work nights so the light isn't an issue when I sleep during the day.

To plug into your computer, remove ac usb cord from ac plug, plug into computer.

 

[Stigy]

Definitely going to pick it up as they didn't have it in the Verizon store, but I really want it.

I love things that sit in a dock on my desk.

 

[SwordOfWar]

I really like the dock. It makes the phone look really fancy as being an alarm clock with music function, weather, etc...

I also like the GPS car dock.

I also like how they use the magnets to activate the screens. It gives it a more professional feel and makes it easier to use.

Overall I think its a gimmic to get you to buy the extra accessories (since these screens cant be accessed without a special app, or buying the docks). But, I still love the docks anyway. I just think they should allow you to access those same screens without downloading an app, since its built into the phone's software anyway.

 

[djstar2k2]

dock runner is the best saved me 30 but i hate that ur phone is all open like someone can access ur pics at will thats not cool but the app is cool when i wanna show off

 

[SwordOfWar]

dock runner is the best saved me 30 but i hate that ur phone is all open like someone can access ur pics at will thats not cool but the app is cool when i wanna show off

There are apps to lock pictures, video etc on the marketplace. You could also use the built in pattern lock in the security settings to completely lock the whole phone out.

I've head about the dockrunner but I would prefer not to download and run an app for something like that. Its a waste of memory/battery when it could easily be a small option in the phone's settings. Eitherway, thats a useful tip for anyone wanting an alternative.

 

[iunknown]

Does this put the phone in sleep mode? How do I keep from the phone vibrating at night?

 

[slopedome]

Screen goes off on dock station

My screen turns off when I place the Droid on the multimedia station hooked up to USB. I feel like it stayed on at first... and I don't think I changed anything. If I set the screen timeout to 'never', then the phone is likely to drain its battery if the screen button gets pressed in my pocket. Anyone else have an issue like this?

Thanks,

Greg

 

[markis209]

screen goes off while in dock

go to settings/applications/development and check off the box never sleep while charging. screen will stay on while in dock. you can still turn it off with the top button and the alarms will still work

 

[silverx10]

Best $40.00 I've spent on eBay in a while.

Reminds me of that HTC commercial that says something to the effect of, "It's the first thing you see when you wake up, and the last thing you see before you go to bed." 's pretty much how it works now.

New nightly routine consists of dropping the phone (ever so delicately) into the dock, starting up the Jerry Goldsmith channel on Pandora, setting the alarm, and drifting off to sleep.

And being able to configure the side (camera) button to either shut off or snooze the alarm is a neat feature, though I still think you should be able to precisely set a snooze time with maybe a spinner, vice a simple choice of ten or fifteen minutes.

 

[SwordOfWar]

My only complaint so far after a few weeks usage, is how difficult it is to mount the phone while in the dark.

Say I pull the phone off to look at a text message I just received (or after answering a call, etc) and I want to put the phone back in the dock.

It is very difficult to line up the USB port with the connector. I have to be careful not to scratch or damage the port. The dock does not have any "slide in grove" to align the phone as I slip it in, so I have to turn on the light, see where the USB plug is at, and carefully align the phone as I slide it into the USB connector.

Since we rely on the phone's single USB port for charging, connecting to docks and connecting to the computer, it would make the phone nearly useless if it became broken.

Its not a big problem, but I like to share even the smallest issues when I discuss something like this. It is by no means a good enough reason not to buy the dock. Its really neat and I love that the charging cable can convert between a PC(USBharge or transfer files) and Wall charger.

I basically have 2 charging cords and each one can be used via wall or the computer now.

Oddly enough, I keep both cords by my bed because if I'm in a mood where I don't want to ock it, or if I want to charge it while I play with the phone, I'll use the standard cord. When I decide to go to sleep I'll put in the dock to make it easy to use, set/kill alarms etc.

I totally think its worth it. Get it now so you get the full 2 years use out of it before you move on to the next koolest phone =] Don't wait a year, decide to buy it, then next year get a new phone. I like to get the most for my money, so getting it now will allow me to get the most use-time out of it. I might stay with the droid if nothingb etter comes out in 2 years, but in the past this has never happened. There is also a better phone usually between 1-2 years thats a good bit better.

 

[rogo43]

I ordered it mine but it wont be here till january as its back ordered EVERYWHERE!!! :-( I cant wait thought

 

[ronjr123]

Some of you are describing setting the camera button up a a snooze button. How?

 

[shamus]

Alarm clock>Settings>Side Button Behavior