TechImpact / it happens there first

The Nexus One Dock arrived via my friendly Fed Ex delivery person a short while ago, and after playing with device for an hour or so my initial impressions are positive. Included in the now familiar white "Nexus One Style" box were the dock, a 3.5mm-to-RCA cable, and the power cable. Installation was non-existent: plug the power cable into the dock and set the Nexus One in the cradle. The phone automatically pairs with the Bluetooth receiver when placed in the dock and prompts you as to if you wish to use the dock for audio playback. Your selection can be modified from the 'Dock' option under 'Settings' if you change your mind later. Even if you have Bluetooth disabled, playback through the dock's audio output will still function while the phone is in the cradle. The dock also functions as a Bluetooth audio device when the phone is removed from the cradle (when Bluetooth is enabled obviously). When set into the cradle, the phone automatically launches the 'Clock' application, with accompanying screen saver and simplified menu options along the bottom of the screen. Charge times with the dock appear as fast if not faster than when using the wall charger.

A few notes about the cradle: The fit is very tight and there isn't much room for positioning the charging contact points along the bottom, so the dock will probably not be usable with any form of case and will most definitely not work with any extended battery that adds bulk to the phone such as the Innocell 2800mAh Extended Life Battery. Even slightly leaning the phone forward while in the cradle was enough to break contact with the dock.

The power connector in the back of the device appears to be a standard micro USB port, but the instructions clearly state that the device can not be plugged into a PC and isn't intended for data transfer. I wasn't about to risk burning out the USB port on any of my devices to test if the device can be powered from a PC USB port. I bought the dock to use on my night stand in the bed room away from any PC, which seems more like the intended purpose.

Was it worth the $45.00 USD + shipping and taxes? The dock functions as advertised, but the inability to use any kind of case or extended battery is something of a concern. Those looking for a desktop dock to be used near your computer will want to look elsewhere as well for a dock that also offers data transfer.

by Jerry Gamble

I've had the unique privilege of buying 4 blue tooth headsets in the last year. Not because I wanted to experience the gamut of what the market offers, but because my wife has lost, broken or outright mangled every headset I have given her. We started out a few years back, with a cheap 20-40 dollar Motorola that came with the purchase of every phone. The phone worked great, and the headset was worth what we paid. What it did do extremely well though, was to open my wife's imagination to the potential of hands free talking to people. After a week of not having to burn the side of her face off from exposure to an over worked cell phone battery, we were ready to push the limits of bluetooth.

by Chris Gamble

here I am, in the magical world of Disney after a 3 hour flight with my 2 year old daughter. I was initially going to blog about the less than warm welcome, capturing images of cast members who obviously hate their job. Then I recalled that iPhone safari lacks an upload control. Not devastating, but in this age it's a terribly annoying non feature

by Chris Gamble