NightAngel79
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Source: HTC Rezound Multimedia Dock Review (my article)
Today we are taking a look at the HTC Desktop Docking Station for the HTC Rezound. I have been using this HTC Rezound dock for the past two weeks and would like to share some of its strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to check out the hands-on article we posted for package contents and other details.
The main thing we need to cover here is the "Dock Mode" on the HTC Rezound. At first glance it is visually pleasing: it has HTC's mini clock/weather widget, a music player widget, a default rotating wallpaper, three program shortcuts, and a button to dim the screen. The two widgets are non-customizable and cannot be moved around on the screen.
If you hit the "Menu" button you are presented with three options: Wallpaper, Shortcuts, and Settings. You have all the same options in the Wallpaper section as you would when not in a dock mode. You have live wallpapers, slide shows taken from any of your photo albums, and any of the static wallpapers to choose from.
The "shortcuts" option is pretty straight forward as well. It brings up the three default program shortcuts. If you want to change one of the shortcuts all you have to do is select the one you want to change and you are presented with your main list of apps. This is practically the only way to quickly access any of your apps while in dock mode, so choose carefully.
The "settings" menu only offers a few things which you can change. It is here that you can turn "auto-launch" mode on or off when docking HTC Rezound. You can also choose how long before your screen dims itself, and whether or not to automatically connect to a paired Bluetooth device or a known Wi-Fi access point.
Click the "music widget" to open the music player app and access all of your saved music. Once you have picked a playlist or a specific album to play just hit the home button to return to the dock mode screen. The music widget has four buttons underneath the album: a previous and next track button, a pause/play button, and a volume button that opens your media volume control.
The "clock/weather widget" works much the same as the stock one that is included with the HTC Rezound. If you click the time it brings up the "Clock" app which has tabs for Desk Clock, Timer, Stopwatch, World Clock, and Alarms. If you click the weather section it brings up the weather app where you can see the current weather, the hourly outlook, or the 4-day forecast. In the top right-hand corner there is a "full screen" button which will show you an animated look of the weather with the usual weather statistics: actual temp, realfeel temp, humidity, winds, etc.
The Bad: With the option of only having 3 apps shortcuts on the home screen you are somewhat limited in what you can do in the "Dock Mode." I did also notice a little lag when switching shortcuts. When you pull the notification screen down or long press the home button you still have access to the last 8 recently used apps, BUT if there is something you wish to do and it isn't on the recently accessed list it can be a pain to get to it quickly. You can long press the search button to pull up the "Voice Search" app to make a call, send a text, search for an app or anything else Android lets you use voice commands for.
The Media Dock also charges the phone slower than if it was plugged directly into the wall, it took my phone just over 3 hours to charge from 25% to 95%. Also unless the phone is off while it is in the dock it is hard for the phone to charge to 100%, it seems every time I check it is sitting at 99%. I will also experience a quick drain to 90-95% battery. And while the dock does have some integration with HTC Sync I haven't tested this out due to the fact that it doesn't actually charge while plugged into a computer. If I was doing anything on the phone other than just letting it sit on the home screen the battery would continue to slowly die. While using the HTC Rezound Docking Station I definitely advise plugging directly into an outlet.
Overall, I love having my own little personal desk clock with quick access to the time and current weather. With the added option of using it as a desk calendar, desktop music player, digital photo frame, the list of what you can use it for goes on and on. While it is cumbersome to access some of your phone's features while docked, that didn't take away any of my enjoyment at using this accessory. The HTC Desktop Docking Station for the HTC Rezound adds functionality to an already awesome phone. I now have a full HD photo frame to view family pictures while working at my computer, a desk clock that gives me weather info, and an internet web surfing video player that I no longer need to hold awkwardly in my hand. What will you use it for?
Today we are taking a look at the HTC Desktop Docking Station for the HTC Rezound. I have been using this HTC Rezound dock for the past two weeks and would like to share some of its strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to check out the hands-on article we posted for package contents and other details.
The main thing we need to cover here is the "Dock Mode" on the HTC Rezound. At first glance it is visually pleasing: it has HTC's mini clock/weather widget, a music player widget, a default rotating wallpaper, three program shortcuts, and a button to dim the screen. The two widgets are non-customizable and cannot be moved around on the screen.
If you hit the "Menu" button you are presented with three options: Wallpaper, Shortcuts, and Settings. You have all the same options in the Wallpaper section as you would when not in a dock mode. You have live wallpapers, slide shows taken from any of your photo albums, and any of the static wallpapers to choose from.
The "shortcuts" option is pretty straight forward as well. It brings up the three default program shortcuts. If you want to change one of the shortcuts all you have to do is select the one you want to change and you are presented with your main list of apps. This is practically the only way to quickly access any of your apps while in dock mode, so choose carefully.
The "settings" menu only offers a few things which you can change. It is here that you can turn "auto-launch" mode on or off when docking HTC Rezound. You can also choose how long before your screen dims itself, and whether or not to automatically connect to a paired Bluetooth device or a known Wi-Fi access point.
Click the "music widget" to open the music player app and access all of your saved music. Once you have picked a playlist or a specific album to play just hit the home button to return to the dock mode screen. The music widget has four buttons underneath the album: a previous and next track button, a pause/play button, and a volume button that opens your media volume control.
The "clock/weather widget" works much the same as the stock one that is included with the HTC Rezound. If you click the time it brings up the "Clock" app which has tabs for Desk Clock, Timer, Stopwatch, World Clock, and Alarms. If you click the weather section it brings up the weather app where you can see the current weather, the hourly outlook, or the 4-day forecast. In the top right-hand corner there is a "full screen" button which will show you an animated look of the weather with the usual weather statistics: actual temp, realfeel temp, humidity, winds, etc.
The Bad: With the option of only having 3 apps shortcuts on the home screen you are somewhat limited in what you can do in the "Dock Mode." I did also notice a little lag when switching shortcuts. When you pull the notification screen down or long press the home button you still have access to the last 8 recently used apps, BUT if there is something you wish to do and it isn't on the recently accessed list it can be a pain to get to it quickly. You can long press the search button to pull up the "Voice Search" app to make a call, send a text, search for an app or anything else Android lets you use voice commands for.
The Media Dock also charges the phone slower than if it was plugged directly into the wall, it took my phone just over 3 hours to charge from 25% to 95%. Also unless the phone is off while it is in the dock it is hard for the phone to charge to 100%, it seems every time I check it is sitting at 99%. I will also experience a quick drain to 90-95% battery. And while the dock does have some integration with HTC Sync I haven't tested this out due to the fact that it doesn't actually charge while plugged into a computer. If I was doing anything on the phone other than just letting it sit on the home screen the battery would continue to slowly die. While using the HTC Rezound Docking Station I definitely advise plugging directly into an outlet.
Overall, I love having my own little personal desk clock with quick access to the time and current weather. With the added option of using it as a desk calendar, desktop music player, digital photo frame, the list of what you can use it for goes on and on. While it is cumbersome to access some of your phone's features while docked, that didn't take away any of my enjoyment at using this accessory. The HTC Desktop Docking Station for the HTC Rezound adds functionality to an already awesome phone. I now have a full HD photo frame to view family pictures while working at my computer, a desk clock that gives me weather info, and an internet web surfing video player that I no longer need to hold awkwardly in my hand. What will you use it for?
