c500 Cradle

[Guest bocsta]

Have been looking at the MoDaCo cradle http://www.smesolutions.co.uk/modaco/c500_dock.htm

and the Expansys cradle http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=121384

The Modaco one looks like the mount can pivot (position screen for best viewing angle) and you could use the keys while it's on the cradle.

The Expansys one looks like the phone is fixed once it's in there and the bottom row of keys look unusable while it's in the cradle

Has anyone got comments on the Modaco one as it is more expensive but if it pivots, the extra would be worth it in my opinion ?

[Guest RazorD]

Have been looking at the MoDaCo cradle http://www.smesolutions.co.uk/modaco/c500_dock.htm

and the Expansys cradle  http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=121384

The Modaco one looks like the mount can pivot (position screen for best viewing angle) and you could use the keys while it's on the cradle.

The Expansys one looks like the phone is fixed once it's in there and the bottom row of keys look unusable while it's in the cradle

Has anyone got comments on the Modaco one as it is more expensive but if it pivots, the extra would be worth it in my  opinion ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Heya!

I ordered mine the day it was released, i'm not sure i understand completely what you mean by does it pivot, but its just a solid lump of some form of plastic with a mini usb cable going through the middle of it :)

Also, i'm sure it was just a one off for mine, but mine broke a few weeks ago... i kept getting "A USB device attached to this computer malfunctioned", i think it was all of the (rather hard) pulls in and out of the cradle, any other mini usb cable worked.

I got a M500 though, in the end... So i didnt bother returning it ;)

[Guest bocsta]

Which one did you get ?

The modaco one looks as though it is a two piece construction. The bit the phone sits in looks as though it sits in another piece of plastic (the main body)

[Guest 40th Floor]

I ordered the SP3 from exspansys usa last week. I checked the order Monday and it was changed to SP3i. I called wondering what was up. The phone jockey said it was because there is no SP3 cradle, to which I replied, yes there is, here's the web link. A few seconds later, he said, "they must have fixed it". Hm. Uh-huh. I presumed he meant the link/web info. The SP3i and SP3 have different part numbers. I figured they were the same deal, so didn't press it, since it hadn't even shipped yet.

Got it today. It was around $18, and I thought at the time it was a decent price. Now I know why. It's a piece of plastic, 4 screws, a USB cable, and a whole lotta mess inside. Oh, and a blue LED. Problem was, it didn't work.

When I plugged it in, it said it couldn't find a driver. That's nonsense, of course, but I tried another machine, with another OS. Same deal. I've seen this sort of thing before when I've missed a pin on the external USB headers, but this was the mobo USB connection, and it works fine with a plain mini-USB cable. So, the cradle was mis-wired. I can't imagine that the SP3i, or SP3 for that matter, uses a non-standard wire hookup. (I've an SMT5600, by the way.)

So, I could call or email them to set up a return. It'd probably be on my dime to return it, and spending eight bucks to return an $18 hunk of plastic, not to mention the travel time, was not my idea of a good time. What to do then, but to operate.

As you can see from the attached pic, it's no wonder this has QC problems. I pulled the guts out, put in a regular mini-USB, and plugged it in. All works fine now. But still, don't plan on using the bottom row keys; you can't reach them unless you have Howard Hughes-like fingernails. It's okay to sync, providing the cradle you get, should you get this one, works. I thought about putting a headphone plug in, since I have one to spare, but since the bottom row keys aren't easily accessible, I'll use this only as a sync dock. I've another, self-built cradle I use that has easy access to all keys, and the connections on the bottom.

Even if it worked out of the box -- which had a flap torn, so may have been a return! -- this is not quality stuff. Not recommended.

The center picture is after the cable was replaced. The third picture just shows it in the cradle, after the cable was replaced.

Edited August 13, 2005 by 40th Floor