Mind you, this isn't the first time we've gotten a glimpse at Google's first-party car dock for the
Nexus One; it got
teased briefly back in February in the course of the phone's video docu-mercial series, yet we're well into the Spring months here and you
still won't find any mounted on windshields. We're honestly not so sure how it can take four solid months for two corporate heavyweights -- Google and HTC, with a combined market cap of around $200 billion -- to put something like this together, but considering how prominently free Google Maps Navigation plays into Android's strategy these days, we'd argue there should be some serious pressure behind the scenes to get this thing launched. There's no launch date just yet, but the pretty picture comes courtesy of some new official documentation on the dock in Google's Nexus One website, touting its built-in speakers and charging capability -- so we're figuring (or at least hoping) that publishing this stuff is one of the last steps before these guys start taking orders. The dude who dredged up the help page says that he briefly saw the dock listed on Google's Nexus One order page for $55, $10 more than you'll pay for the
desktop dock; that sounds about in line with what we'd expect, and it's still a hell of a value considering the additional street cred it affords your '77 Gremlin.
Update: And wouldn't you know, the dock just
went on sale for $55. Enjoy!
posted April 6th 2010 7:33PM
I purchased mine!
@El Daddy
He is right just bought one too.
@El Daddy All fanboyness aside, is there anything you don't like about it? Will you fill it and it become sluggish? Any negatives? (via @spectoral - twitter) :-) Hope you enjoy it!
@El Daddy Yes and I bought 100
@El Daddy This sucks because I just bought a deck that supports bluetooth audio streaming and I wouldn't be able to use it with the dock. Pain in the ass.
@El Daddy - Sooooldie Locks!
It's now available to order from google.
@humanerror
booyah!!!
@humanerror
I would say "it's about time!", but I've only had my nexus one for a week and I'm in need of this thing like it's been months that I've been waiting. I say this because, the nexus goes through the battery like crazy while navigating....30% in the time it takes to drive 22 miles. So I'm ordering this first thing.
@humanerror well I just ordered mine - $84.65 to get it to me in the UK and google nav still won't work out of the car dock app (needs the hacked version launching). Come on google release nav outside the US already.
About damn time. This should of been released when the phone was launched.
@blindguymcsqueezy
Thats direct sunlight. I don't think you're going to face it towards the outside of your windshield. You can barely see anything on any kind of screen in direct sunlight, but with AMOLED it just goes from barely visible to almost not at all.
@blindguymcsqueezy I don't believe its even ready for release. You cant use BT headsets with it. Sure, speaker phone is their retort for that, but the speaker phone on my N1 is awful.
Also, it doesnt appear to accommodate a nexus that is in a case of any kind. What is it with them and thinking i'm not going to use a case. Its 2010, all smart phones go in cases. Especially $600 smartphones.
@blindguymcsqueezy It not working in the sunlight is an awful lie started by bloggers and commenters. In general they were just digging for things to complain about to offset their jealousy (aka iphone douches).
For the price, it should be blow a ProClip out of the water. It does not.
@TheGM
Crank the brightness up and you can see it pretty well in direct sunlight. Not the best but still good enough for most.
I remember when direct sunlight was the only way I could play my GBA.
@VanillaSperm
Here in Erie Pennsylvania we have some of the fewest sunny days every year (second least sunny days in the US next to Seattle) .... so direct sunlight is the least of my worries for a phone lol.
More on topic though, 55 seems a little steep. its just a charger (20) with a plastic holder for the phone and 2 magnets in it that put your phone into navigation mode. Any other dock like this is 30-40.
@VanillaSperm Not my iPod Touch or previous 3G. I definitely wouldn't describe the as clearly visible in "direct sunlight." Direct sunlight is not ideal for LCD or AMOLED but with full brightness on the Nexus One, both are visible.
@schultz
The dock actually transfers audio via bluetooth, just like the desktop dock. This means that its got some more complex bits inside than just that.
I still wish it were cheaper though. I already shelled out $40 for the desktop dock, and now they charge even more for this? That's a lot of cash!
-Taylor
@ppmcdoodles I would assume you would take your case off while in the car. What's the big deal?
@ppmcdoodles What are you talking about? The Nexus One is horrible in direct sunlight. It's even hard to see with an overcast. And I am not an iPhone fan boy. I use to have an iPhone and have had a Nexus One since about when it came out. It's horrible in sunlight but in a car no one should have a problem, even with non-tinted windows.
@Brian This phone seriously needs some Pixel Qi lovin' =(
ummm you canz orderz yer dockz?:)
@Alexpeegs What?
@Chris Ziegler sorry you can blame my terrible english lol
next step... release Google Navigation outside US
@commenter7 dude i love your avatar
@commenter7 I can tell you that the beta is available in the UK. Update was on market yesterday/day before.
I'd like to see a dock that had an FM transmitter as well as that charger in it so that I could play my music off of the phone over the radio and for calls and what not. I doubt the speakers in the dock are good enough for music to fill the car
@sta489 I know, that's very strange.
If not an FM Transmitter, then just a 3.5mm jack to hook to your aux jack like on the desk dock.
This thing doesn't even have an external speaker jack. Very strange design move, no reason to even use it for music, it will just sound awful.
So many bezels, i dunno where to begin
@doutorpiranha I know the car dock has wayyy to much bezel SARCASM FTW
bought one
Now if we could just buy a Nexus One (Verizon or Sprint) we'd be all set.
HEY VERIZON AND SPRINT,
WHERE'S YOUR PHONE
@Johnny Rockets
Cough *Motorola Droid* cough cough *HTC EVO 4G*
I know this is off subject but can anyone tell me how to change my Avatar pic? I've been trying forever.
@(Unverified) Click your default avatar at the top of the page to the right of the search bar and once it takes you to your profile page click the "Edit Picture" link.
@adamorjames
There isn't an "edit photo link". It's almost a mystery how to change the Avatar on Engadget.com.
@adamorjames Thanx for reply. When I edit the pic is says it'll "Load in 5 minutes."- Never Does..
@Ardroid don't try changing it in chrome. Try IE or firefox. Thats the only way I got my avatar to change.
@TheGr8t1 HEY!!! MANY THANX!!! I've been trying 4Ever! On Chrome, didn't wrk on IE, but I got on Firefox! Thanx!!
@Hiprocksoul It works on Firefox, all most instantly! try It out.
Hmm a few missed opportunities here... 1) Can't pair with a bluetooth headset while it is docked (says so in the pdf manual). 2) No audio output from dock. 3) No bluetooth stereo transmission from the dock (well you can transmit from the phone to the dock, but who wants to listen to music via the dock speaker when they have a car stereo?).
I'd skip this. Much happier with my ProClip holder that keeps the phone charged, and my bluetooth receiver in my car that pairs with my Nexus and plays music and GPS instructions through my car speakers seamlessly.
@mapin
I Believe there doesnt need to be an audio out on the dock because the audio out on the actual phone is still open to use. no?
@adibphoto Thanx for reply. When I edit the pic is says it'll "Load in 5 minutes."- Never Does..
@adibphoto Good point. It'll just look aesthetically awful (IMHO) having two cables: a 3.5 mm audio cable coming out one end of the phone, and a USB charging cable coming out the dock. Would rather they have come up with a wireless solution (maybe FM transmitter from the dock for those who don't have a bluetooth receiver connected to their car stereo).
Would they have such a dock like that for a Droid?
@Lucas I'm pretty sure HTC isn't making a dock for the Droid.
@dingus Crap, worded it wrong... I meant would anyone make something like that N1 dock for a Droid?
@Lucas
Doesn't verizonwireless.com have a dock like that for the droid? I mean its made by a different company so it might be different, and it might not have the charging, I'm not sure, but I know there is a dock for the droid as well and it does go automatically in the car mode when you put your phone in it.