Cheap easy way to car dock your Droiid

[Fraxinus]

Couple observations from my DIY docking experiences with the Droid that I hope will help some folks:

1. Magnet size appears to matter. I bought two sets of pretty strong button magnets at Michaels. One set was small, perhaps 1/4" in diameter, the other set larger, 1/2" in diameter. The smaller size is super flaky for activating dock mode. I'm thinking too small an area of the magnetic sensor is covered to respond reliably.
2. The "CarHome" app has one limitation. When you use the app and not an actual magnet to trigger this mode your phone will not auto-rotate certain features (esp. the homescreens and contacts app). This can be pretty frustrating when trying to use an application that's sideways on your phone. I think with the keyboard deployed you'd be all set, but with the phone closed you really need a magnet to get the right behavior.

p.s. Cyberdroiid, I love your avatar :wink:

 

[BigE"s DROID]

Hrm...This thread has inspired me to scour ebay for some super strong magnets. My goal is to hide the magnet on the backside of the dash so you cannot see it, it will look like it just sticks to the dash.

I went to lowes and bought some strong madnets and it messed with the phone. didnt no wether to go to dock or car mode.....

Doh...do you happen to kno the size and grade of the magnet you tried?

The size was 1/2 x1x4 do not no grade sorry

 

[Gillyanne]

Couple observations from my DIY docking experiences with the Droid that I hope will help some folks:

1. Magnet size appears to matter. I bought two sets of pretty strong button magnets at Michaels. One set was small, perhaps 1/4" in diameter, the other set larger, 1/2" in diameter. The smaller size is super flaky for activating dock mode. I'm thinking too small an area of the magnetic sensor is covered to respond reliably.

In your DIY, were the 1/4" magnets strong enough to hold everything in place, just not putting it into car dock mode? I was looking at this magnet option just as a way to keep the phone up in eyesight (going into hot season, I don't want to use my no slid thing on my dash; it would also be cheaper to get magnets for each car v. mounts for them all) but I have no desire for it to go into car dock mode. I figured I could just place the magnet on the back of the droid further down the phone as well...

 

[Pagaldesi4life]

so i finally ordered the piece from ebay the other week and got it over the weekend. i finally looked at my dashboard to see where i could mount the magnet....and it turns out there is not a single flat surface on my dashboard that would hold the mount! i have an 01 sequoia and pretty much the dashboard has curves here and there, and i want to mount it on the upper right area of the steering section so the phone is in clear view and easily accessible, but not a single flat area. i guess i'll have to figure out a way to make this work because i really like this idea as it is simple, clean, and doesnt look bulky at all!

 

[RandyL712]

i guess i'll have to figure out a way to make this work because i really like this idea as it is simple, clean, and doesnt look bulky at all!

Get a ProClip mount, they make them for every car.

 

[OpalCat]

Get a ProClip mount, they make them for every car.

Do you know if this works with a Seidio case?

 

[machineheadg2r]

I went to lowes and bought some strong madnets and it messed with the phone. didnt no wether to go to dock or car mode.....

Doh...do you happen to kno the size and grade of the magnet you tried?

The size was 1/2 x1x4 do not no grade sorry

I think the magnet you bought was magnetized through lenghth, not thickness. What this means is the droid was exposed to both poles of the magnet, thus it had no idea whether to be in car or dock mode.

 

[machineheadg2r]

I think I'm gonna mount my droid where my stock clock is, since i never set it and don't need 3 clocks in my car (Droid, HU, StockClock)

 

[DroidCoug]

FYI they do have a 3 pack if you are planning to get multiple magnet docks... makes it a lil cheaper
Amazon.com: Cellet Brand Retail Packaged Universal Cell Phone / GPS Magnetic Holder - Black [3 PACK]: Clothing

 

[DroidCoug]

ordered the 3 pack of magnets and seidio innocase for total of $36.53(shipped). Can't wait to try it out!

 

[crf69]

got a single one coming from ebay for 3 bucks!!

 

[njddave]

edit: Follow-up. I pulled apart the magnet from its casing. Depending on which side of the magnet I place against the phone, it will either go into NAV or multimedia mode. Apparently the phone IS sensitive to the polarity of the magnet. I reversed the magnet in the casing, and now the phone goes into nav mode when the magnet is applied.

Thank You!! :icon_ banana:

I was scratching my head over this too!

 

[knglou]

thanks for posting this i have been looking for a solution that didn't involve removing my case
and this looks like it is it. ordered

 

[forsaken]

After going to a extended battery and a case, i was ready to toss my motorola car dock. I bought on of these and modified the dock since i couldnt see sticking anything to the dash of my new Charger.
I removed the phone mount area from the arm by just pressing up on it and it pops of the 2 slides.I dremeled them off and gorilla glued the magnet part to it. now i have a functioning dock. it even puts it in car mode through the extended battery!

 

[machineheadg2r]

I just got a super strong magnet from ebay. 1"x1"x.5" rated to hold 53 pounds. Now i just need a small metal plate to slide under my case...