****The Official Samsung Galaxy S II ACCESSORIES Thread***

kona786 said:
the reason the sgs2 charges slowly is because it draws less current (samsungs doing via software) compared to other phone like the desire. the desire charges as quickly on the 0.7A samsung charger as it does on a nokia 1.2A charger i have thus 0.7A is juicy enough.

xda devs have said they may bypass the amp draw restriction
Click to expand...

Ah that's good news then cheers!

Zap said:
how does the phone know it's in a car dock?
Click to expand...

It has a USB connector which tells the phone to activate Car Mode (or prompt for an app if you have multiple installed)
 
Khaaan! said:
Here you go :)

PIC

It comes in 2 pieces and comes with a 12v car charger as well although the car charger is 5v output it's only 700mA (the same as the Mains AC charger) whereas other handset's chargers deliver 1A of current.

I don't know how useful the 700mA will be especially when using navigation as you'll also likely be using a bluetooth headset too so chances are that the battery "could" be draining faster than what the charger can charge? I don't have a few hours spare to drive around and find out unfortunately. 5v 1A chargers are very cheap, only a few £ on eBay. I bought a Belkin wedge that can fit flush into your lighter socket and you just leave it be.

The build quality is excellent, when attached together and mounted it won't wobble or anything like that, it stays where you put it. The only issue is it's built quite tightly and because of this it's quite a task getting the phone in and out, you can't do it with 1 hand at all and you can't mount it with a case on either.

PIC

When mounted on the windscreen it's perfect and has a decent amount of angling either side so passengers could view the screen easily too if they're using the nav or something.

The power connector is behind the mounting bracket which I like a lot, it means the cable can be routed behind the dash out of the way. There's also a 3.5mm socket for speakers/head(set)phones.

PIC
^ It can't face any lower than that.

When dash mounted (if you have one of those circular discs) then things aren't so good because the arm itself is in a fixed position so cannot be lowered or shortened so it sits quite high and because of the limited vertical movement of the head itself the phone screen is sort of looking upwards, more than I'd have wanted really. To have it facing straight you'd have to mount your disc at an angle facing forwards which isn't always possible (or suitable) on most cars.

Samsung clearly intended this to only be used on the windscreen, which I don't like doing!

Moving on to operation..... When you connect up your phone to the mount Car Mode is activated automatically and the phone launches Voice Talk and here is where some problems will be observed if you're using:

A) A custom launcher (GoLauncher EX, for example).
B) A custom lock screen (WidgetLocker, for example).

The default Car Mode application is Samsung's Vlingo integrated application, it works brilliantly most of the time but it doesn't support landscape orientation so is useless when you're in the car as you're more likely to have it in landscape for nav than you are in portrait orientation.

As for the LockScreen issue, it occasionally launches into Samsung's stock lock screen OVER WidgetLocker and this is quite annoying.

The other problem is when you come to disconnecting the mount or exiting Car Mode because when you do this the phone closes your custom launcher application so you have to press the home button again to re-launch your launcher of choice.

To combat most of these problems you can:

A) Install a custom Car Mode application from the Market such as Car Dashboard and set it as the default app to load when you connect the mount.

By doing the above I found the lockscreen issue resolves itself as well and when you disconnect the dock it returns to your custom Launcher too.

I think I still prefer my own DIY mount though which I've made some slight modifications to and is due another mod:

PIC

I'm driving to Stoke tomorrow so will use the Samsung official mount on the way there and mine on the way back and update on Sunday night on any new findings.
Click to expand...

Khaaan, thanks very much for the review. I like what I see and you confirmed it even further that this will be perfect for me. I don't use any 3rd party lockscreens or launchers, so don't have a problem with that. Also I prefer windscreen suction holders than dash mount ones, so... again... a plus.

The only bit I don't like so far is the price. 40£ it is not what I call cheap, but I intend to keep the phone for quite a long time, so... what the heck...

go go go

off to press the 'buy' :cool:

EDIT: ordered :cool:
 
Last edited:
That's good to know rp2000, hopefully I can grab one on Tuesday when my phone arrives (got to take the kids to the dentist so my wife is waiting in for the delivery).

I have ordered the EXiM SPUC screen protector for a smidgeon over £8 via registered airmail from Hong Kong. They quote 5 to 7 days for delivery, so might have it by the end of the week.
 
got the official case for free from phones4u when i got my galaxy yesterday. Quite nice, can't complain. Not sure if i'll use it much though


anyone got a desktop dock yet? Official sammy ones look quite nice, have seen 2. One has speakers built in, both about 30/40quid
 
krooton said:
I'm willing to wager it will come without any PNY branding, and not perform at Class 10 speeds.

I sent mine back, demanded a replacement, they said they had no stock, but the site continually had stock to sell. Jokers :/
Click to expand...


Mine came as unbranded but performance is good - 13MB/s Writes & 21MB/s Reads
 
Has anyone found a screen protector they would recommend? Never used one before. My main concerns would be whether it is as smooth as the phone surface (for swiping etc) and whether it "dulls" the screen in anyway.

I saw the picture of Khaaan's one further up, but the screen looks duller and a bit more grainy with it on (it could be the photos but they look like they are taken in similar conditions and I am guessing the owner is a bit of a photographer so unlikely to be the camera etc).


rp2000
 
@Khaaan, regarding the official car mount.

Could you tell me roughly how long the charging cable is please? as my cig lighter is behind my handbrake and I'm wondering if I am able to route it behind the dash or not, thanks.
 
rp2000 said:
Has anyone found a screen protector they would recommend? Never used one before. My main concerns would be whether it is as smooth as the phone surface (for swiping etc) and whether it "dulls" the screen in anyway.

I saw the picture of Khaaan's one further up, but the screen looks duller and a bit more grainy with it on (it could be the photos but they look like they are taken in similar conditions and I am guessing the owner is a bit of a photographer so unlikely to be the camera etc).


rp2000
Click to expand...

I bought a £5 from mobilefun. I wouldn't recommend it tbh but it's a stopgap for when the Martin Fields ones are released which many argue are the best manufacturer of screen protectors.
 
so it looks like official samsung case is one of the best available? and a custom car holder is best as it's the only one that'll hold a phone with case on? and a custom desk holder is best for same reason?

i've seen khan's custom car mount but can't it looks like the holder is different and now the tacky sponge that squeezes the phone to hold it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom