I'm in love with my bionic, maybe because I've had a BB Tour for the past nearly 3 years. But I like this dock, turns your phone into a gps basically... if you can't figure out how to use it, simply hit the voice recognition button (make sure its set to google voice search and not that verizon piece of crap voice search) and say "Navigate to New York, NY" and if you speak relatively clearly it will pop up a confirmation box, making sure thats what you want to do... Hit "go" and it will go into navigate mode, where it will act like a GPS... but its better because you can access street view (press the green area at the top where tthe directions are and click the little yellow guy that appears on the bottom right) and live traffic info. You can choose alternate routes and set preferences to avoid tolls / highways.
When I get in my car I tell my car where to take me and pop on pandora. I have it hooked up to my car stereo through an auxilary connection. When GPS instructions need to be given, it pauses pandora. Also, it acts as a speakerphone, which I love. Again, pauses your music with an incoming call. ROutes the callers voice into your speakers and still allows you to use the phones mic to speak. Everybody says they can hear me well! Maybe this doesnt amaze you, but my BB tour used to disable my mic when i hooked up any kind of 3.5mm audio to it, so I was super stoked when this phone worked the way I hoped! Although if you have Bluetooth in your car already, none of this matters.... lol
I had the original "OG" Droid by Motorola, and got very used to having the car dock up by the rear view mirror. Loved the automatic car-mode feature, which was ground-breaking for its time. There were one or two things that I thought could be better... which brings us to this one.
They fixed them all. This thing is GREAT!!
Pros:
A. Nice deep suction cup with a positive lock that holds *really* well!
B. Post-to-mount is a ball joint with a threaded collar to lock it totally adjustable.
C. Camera is unobstructed!! Create a "Camcorder" shortcut on the second screen and you've got driving videos/photos!
D. The BIONIC fits in this without taking it out of the case! (the standard Moto belt case w/kickstand) But, if you're a no-case/pocket kinda guy/gal there's an adapter included FTW.
Cons:
A. Zip
B. Zilch
C. Nada
Buy it. It's perfect. Everyone complaining about it is really complaining about the phone's dock software. There's not one thing wrong with this device.
Buy Motorola Vehicle Navigation Dock with Rapid Vehicle Charger for DROID BIONIC - Car Kit - Retail Pac Now
This item works as described and the navigation works far better than my Garmin Nuvi! The voice command and bluetooth also work well. The only problem I have had is with the music player for some reason I cannot access my full library from the custom home screen music option although I haven't ruled out user error as of yet. I haven't had a problem with the window mount coming detached and the collar to keep the swivel in place works fine on mine as well. Bionic also fits snug while bionic is in the case. If I find that the music library is just a setting in the phone I will add another star but overall I am happy with it and feel it was worth the forty bucks or so I paid for it. Oh btw it also reads text messages aloud if you receive text while driving or gives you an option to call the sender via voice command so you can keep your eyes on the road. I like to see a generic dock do either of those!.
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This is the version that comes with the charger and the USB cable. That is very important to pay attention to, because there is also a version that is just the dock (the Verizon one). Anyway, that USB cable is the only connection needed to the dock, cleaning up the look. No need to also plug in an audio cable, as the USB cable carries the audio and you plug the audio cable into that. The docking software has a few well-documented quirks (inability to rotate out of landscape view, phones volume control doesn't work through USB, etc.), but this is not pertinent to a review of the dock itself. The dock itself is very sturdy, the phone slips in and out smoothly, it DOES accomodate the extra capacity battery (I have this), and there is a sleeve that you can remove to accomodate a protective case (I don't have this). Very pleased with the dock so far!
Want Motorola Vehicle Navigation Dock with Rapid Vehicle Charger for DROID BIONIC - Car Kit - Retail Pac Discount?
This is an OEM Motorola made for Bionic car mount/cradle . It includes a unique charger set up as well which is not very well described or barely mentioned , ANYWHERE ! So let me start there . The car charger is a dual USB style port which plugs typically into your car's cigarette lighter/12V power outlet just like any other ordinary auto charger . Only this one includes a special cable which is actually 2 cables in 1 ! The 1st is the USB to micro USB used for power / charging of the phone but it actually says to NOT use with other chargers or household outlet style chargers don't ask me why , thats just what it says . It plugs large side into the plug going into your cars power outlet and the other (micro) into the cradle assembly . The 2nd cable is a mini phono style cable which connects to the plug in your cars power outlet and leads out approximatley 12-15 inches and then leads to your vehicles auxillary input jack assuming you have one , if you do great , this is simple neat and easy for you but if you don't , no worries , the cable section is removable and the external phone speaker works fantastically ! Or if your vehicles radio is BT compatible then you could use that method ;) All this bundles up nice and neat with an included velcro wrap up which is a nice lil' bonus too . As for the cradle , it's far nicer than the Motorola cradle for the orignal Droid which i also had and liked , this one will accept the phone out of the box stock or with the extended factory battery or with a variety of silicone sleeve/covers and even the extended battery with factory VERIZON shell/holster what i currently use and it works with them all securely and firmly and allows for full access to all features of your phone as well as buttons and controls and when docked in this cradle unlocks and opens a new auto/navi feature i've never seen or heard of anywhere else and i won't even go into just how awesome and sweet this added perk is . The cradle can be mounted to your windshield via the included suction cup mount which is what i use and prefer or inverted with the included plate which can be adhered anywhere in your vehicle . There are a variety of booklets , instructions and pamphlets also included with this kit one of which was a 15% off on your next VZW in store purchase which worked out nicely for me since i wanted that extended battery and of course an apprpriate cover/sleeve for said extended battery pack equipped phone . Bottom line , if your going to use your phone in your vehicle and you have a BIONIC , GET THIS KIT !!! YOU WON'T BE SORRY !
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Floor mats fit reaonably well. I would like to see a little more flexibility. They are very rigid, almost a hard plastic. They are very deep, and I am sure they will hold a lot of water. I'm a little concerned about emptying them once they collect some snow. I'd like a bit of absorbent carpet or a little flexability to allow them to be removed and dumped. As it is, it will require a shop vac or a rag to do the ol' squeeze and dump.
