I was very interested in the Atrix, mostly for the lapdock, but a number of reasons turned me away from it. The lapdock is now a mere $200 after rebate, so has anyone found a way to get it to do display mirroring, keyboard, and battery charging with any phones other then the Atrix?
I'm sure Motorola designed it to only recognize the Atrix, and non-Atrix phones won't have the software to run the lapdock environment, but honestly, I'd pay $200 for a larger screen, keyboard, and extended battery for business trips. While the ports may not line up, many new smartphones have the USB and HDMI ports necessary for the physical hookup, the only question is if there's a way to get the phone to output to the lapdock's display and receive input from the keyboard.
If no one has tried to look into the problem, we should open a bounty for it. I'd definitely contribute.
Related
Hey XDA. I recently upgraded my phone to a Motorola Photon 4g.
My problem is this:
The phone has a usb input and micro hdmi input.
I bring my phone with me, almost everywhere; however, because I spent a lot of my time at the gym (24 hr fitness), my battery gets low and I cannot keep the phone on long enough (unless airplane mode) without it dying.
My gym has the Nike + Ipod hookups which are mainly dedicated for charging iphones and ipods and also used for video/audio support.
I was wondering, is there an adapter for a male iphone/ipod to hdmi or micro hdmi which I can use to charge my Photon at the gym (even if I cannot get audio/video? I think I have seen some male pin ipod/ipone pin adapters for regular hdmi, and I figured I could then get a regular hdmi to to micro hdmi adapater to see if that would be an adequate work-around?
I'd love to at the "very least" charge my phone at the gym, but my main concern is compatibility issues and/or if the use of multiple adapters may cause voltage or charge/related issues (e.g.: overheating? or future problems down the line?) A while back, I saw a project for a serial to usb DIY project that may work?: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8245
Can anyone offer some advice? Last thing I want to do is brick my phone.
Even a bluetooth or wifi male ipod/iphone pinned adaper to my phone might be cool also? Any advice?
Thank you so much.
Joefarar.
joefarar said:
Hey XDA. I recently upgraded my phone to a Motorola Photon 4g.
My problem is this:
The phone has a usb input and micro hdmi input.
I bring my phone with me, almost everywhere; however, because I spent a lot of my time at the gym (24 hr fitness), my battery gets low and I cannot keep the phone on long enough (unless airplane mode) without it dying.
My gym has the Nike + Ipod hookups which are mainly dedicated for charging iphones and ipods and also used for video/audio support.
I was wondering, is there an adapter for a male iphone/ipod to hdmi or micro hdmi which I can use to charge my Photon at the gym (even if I cannot get audio/video? I think I have seen some male pin ipod/ipone pin adapters for regular hdmi, and I figured I could then get a regular hdmi to to micro hdmi adapater to see if that would be an adequate work-around?
I'd love to at the "very least" charge my phone at the gym, but my main concern is compatibility issues and/or if the use of multiple adapters may cause voltage or charge/related issues (e.g.: overheating? or future problems down the line?) A while back, I saw a project for a serial to usb DIY project that may work?: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8245
Can anyone offer some advice? Last thing I want to do is brick my phone.
Even a bluetooth or wifi male ipod/iphone pinned adaper to my phone might be cool also? Any advice?
Thank you so much.
Joefarar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm....I could be wrong but thought one would need an MHL port to charge via HDMI.
I can't offer you a solution to the ipod adapter issue. However, instead of spending money and time trying to modify something to work, might just get a portable battery charger. I have the Splash Intense one and it charges my phone fairly quickly and can do it about 3 times before it needs recharged. Plus, I can charge 2 devices at once if I want to. The other nice thing about this is it can be used anywhere and I even tether it to my phone and put both in my pocket. This way my phone is always on me and charges at the same time.
If this is something you are interested in: http://www.energizerpowerpacks.com/us/products/xp4001/ or just search Amazon for different units.
Sorry if this info doesn't help you.
Hello,
Just had some questions about the RAZR / RAZR MAXX and the laptop dock.
1. Does VZW require a tethering plan for use with the dock?
2. Just how awful is the webtop experience? Is it at least partially usable when it is using the actual phone interface in full screen / landscape mode?
3. Are there any existing roms that make the webtop more efficient / usable?
4. Do you think there is any chance of ICS redeeming the webtop setup?
5. Finally what is the actual battery life of the MAXX?
Thanks.
SquareBare said:
Hello,
Just had some questions about the RAZR / RAZR MAXX and the laptop dock.
1. Does VZW require a tethering plan for use with the dock?
2. Just how awful is the webtop experience? Is it at least partially usable when it is using the actual phone interface in full screen / landscape mode?
3. Are there any existing roms that make the webtop more efficient / usable?
4. Do you think there is any chance of ICS redeeming the webtop setup?
5. Finally what is the actual battery life of the MAXX?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can only answer to the battery life which is outstanding. I am a light to moderate user depending on the day. I am at 21 hrs and still have 60% battery left. I have used it lightly since it has been off the charger and through the night. I have almost 2 hrs of screen on time, some email and texts, about 30 mins of phone time and very light gaming. I would easily get 20-24 hrs with heavier use.
Have had my Maxx for three days now. Battery is simply amazing. Far better than my iPhone 4s. Also better than my EVO with extended battery.
According to the Rep at the store, you do not need a tethering plan with the dock. The dock and the phone function as one device. Not two separate internet connected devices.
XGear said:
According to the Rep at the store, you do not need a tethering plan with the dock. The dock and the phone function as one device. Not two separate internet connected devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is good to know. At&t wanted us to have to pay for tethering on the ATRIX when it and the lapdock first came out.
My solution to all of this was going to be the Asus Padphone but it seems somewhat lackluster.
I think the best way to have this done is to implement a generic laptop / tablet dock that works for all phones, has a storage compartment and a few flexible ribbon cables that use MHL / HDMI and transfer input back via bluetooth. It really isn't that far fetched now, ICS does most of that work already.
SquareBare said:
I think the best way to have this done is to implement a generic laptop / tablet dock that works for all phones, has a storage compartment and a few flexible ribbon cables that use MHL / HDMI and transfer input back via bluetooth. It really isn't that far fetched now, ICS does most of that work already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That pretty much sounds like the current dock for motorola phones including the Razr except that it uses the microUSB for input or you can use the bluetooth that is already part of the phone for input as well. The current dock uses a generic holder to hold the phone and a flex cable that plugs into the usb and hdmi on the phone. I was even able to succesfully plug it into my old Droid X however triggering the hdmi out on that did not "wake" the lapdock up. Probably something that's triggered through recognizing a supported phone.
I have a regular razr and the lapdock. It all works as one device, you get your signal and data through your phone. I am enjoying the lapdock. Works well and is super convenient when playing on your device for long periods of time. The much bigger screen and keyboard ( and a wireless mouse) make it so much enjoyable and easier to play/mod/etc. etc. with. The best part was the great deal I got on it.
Wasn't impressed with the Lapdock
I got a Lapdock 500 Pro as a great deal and tried it out, but I wasn't impressed. It's great for watching videos from your phone, ok for surfing online, and if you have to access a Citrix server, but not much else. Texting from it is buggy, and mostly you just access the phone's screen that's mirrored on the lapdock screen. I'm selling mine.
It does run off your phone's data connection, so whatever your phone is using is fine. It has a built-in battery that recharges the phone, which is convenient.
Outside of the lapdock, I use my Razr Maxx moderately for texting and occasionally playing games or checking email. If I unplug it by 8am, it usually still has at least 60% battery by 5pm. I keep it on wifi and use the Smart Actions to turn off background sync while the screen is off and it's sitting on the desk.
jcreemer said:
and mostly you just access the phone's screen that's mirrored on the lapdock screen. I'm selling mine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what I think they should have done from the beginning. Just simply mirrored the Phone's screen instead of trying to create an OS that the phone cannot run properly. Now with ICS, Onlive / Onlive Desktop, Splashtop and other software there is no longer a need to have a "desktop OS" on your phone because Android is pretty much there already.
I was hoping that Moto would just abandon webtop and simply make the phone mirror itself to the lapdock with ICS. That's what the Padphone does. But unfortunately the padphone has pretty weak specs on the actual phone.
http://www.asus.com/Mobile/PadFone/#specifications
The main problem I am seeing is the 1520 mAh battery. That pretty much ensures that you are going to have to either drag a charger or the paddock around all day. Or cut out part of the dock to squeeze an enormous extended battery into.
The best solution would be for a third party manufacturer to create a tablet dock using a combination of MHL, HDMI and Bluetooth as to be universally adaptable among all ICS phones, not just moto ones.
Anyone tried to fit the Amaze 4G on a lapdock? Can't find any posts via search
Those Lapdocks (eg Atrix Lapdock) go on sale for ~$50, basically a display, keyboard, battery and trackpad.
Below is someone's hack for raspberry pi on the lapdock.... since amaze 4G has HDMI out, only thing to do is to see if we can get the cables to fit properly, and the USB functionality(keyboard+trackpad) to work, and the software
http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/21/3105822/motorola-lapdock-hacked-raspberry-pi-rikomagic
So I did a bit of digging...
The Amaze uses a MHL connector (see wiki) which allows for access to HDMI and USB over one connector. The lapdocks seem to have two connectors to plug into the Motorola phones. It doesn't seem like a big issue to replace the cable from the lapdock with a MHL one that you could probably buy off ebay.
Double check which pin corresponds to which wires on the MHL and also on the USB and HDMI cable from the lapdock, cut the wires, re solder, heat shrink, close the lapdock back up....profit???
That's as far as I can tell regarding connecting the hardware the phone. I'm willing to bet that the HDMI will output directly to the screen fine without any software adjustment. But I'm unsure about the keyboard and trackpad.
Thoughts?
I'd be willing to give this a try if there's interest.
derpTastic said:
So I did a bit of digging...
The Amaze uses a MHL connector (see wiki) which allows for access to HDMI and USB over one connector. The lapdocks seem to have two connectors to plug into the Motorola phones. It doesn't seem like a big issue to replace the cable from the lapdock with a MHL one that you could probably buy off ebay.
Double check which pin corresponds to which wires on the MHL and also on the USB and HDMI cable from the lapdock, cut the wires, re solder, heat shrink, close the lapdock back up....profit???
That's as far as I can tell regarding connecting the hardware the phone. I'm willing to bet that the HDMI will output directly to the screen fine without any software adjustment. But I'm unsure about the keyboard and trackpad.
Thoughts?
I'd be willing to give this a try if there's interest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from looking at the raspberry pi and other stuff(laptop/wii connected to the hdmi port), you'll get a "mirrored" display... the keyboard/trackpad depends on the usb connection/driver/OTG Kernel, dunno about that
Youll need
Lapdock: $20-$60 (i'd suggest getting the atrix/bionic versions, not the motorola 500 one)
http://www.all4cellular.com/product/motorola-atrix-4g-laptop-dock-hdmi-upgrade-kit.html
http://slickdeals.net/f/5035746-Lapdock-ATRIX-4G-60-and-Droid-Bionic-90
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=29994146&postcount=16
MHL connector for HDMI: $10-$35
Official http://www.amazon.com/HTC-Adaptor-Jetstream-Tablets-Package/dp/B005LSOPN4
Unofficial, may need USB cable for power http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10833&cs_id=1083314&p_id=8675&seq=1&format=2
->I can't get any clear indication that the USB data from phone passes through to the USB connector on the MHL adapter
maybe some HDMI cables/connector (HDMI male from MHL connector to miniHDMI female on the lapdock)
I have a tablet and a netbook too, so don't think I'll be attempting this for now
the 35Whr battery(from googling), people say it can charge your phone a couple of times over(your phone's battery is 4Volts*2AmpHr = 8Whr)
I'll see if I can find a cheap one here in Canada.
It's a rather interesting concept.
It kinda reminds me of this.http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android
Definitely interested in this, would be cool to have this setup.
Live and Die on this day....
went to a radioshack nearby, they didn't have it..
bascially, i would only get one if its around $20 (since you can charge phone with it, $20 for a large battery is worth it, though not for the laptop form factor)
The only docks I can get my hands on are $50+ from ebay. This idea is such a niche product...I'm trying to think of a time where this could be useful.
derpTastic said:
The only docks I can get my hands on are $50+ from ebay. This idea is such a niche product...I'm trying to think of a time where this could be useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
commute on a train/bus, could watch video on a larger screen while charging your battery
if we had the software to support it as well (like the ubuntu-phone posted earlier or webtop options), could compose email or edit code on the go...
Isn't that why we have laptops?
derpTastic said:
Isn't that why we have laptops?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you want to spend more than $200, a laptop
if you want just one device that has everything loaded, and customizable(via the lapdock), maybe a netbook or this lapdock
i guess that's why the Atrix Lapdocks are selling at a discount... the manufacturers couldn't find a good way to advertise this expensive device (MSRP is $300 or so)
it's available for $40 on bensoutlet
http://slickdeals.net/f/5501414-AT-T-Motorola-11-6-Lapdock-40-FS
http://bensoutlet.com/products/lapdock-atrix
1% in stock left...
I got one, will play with it
We don't have hdmi
I took the dock section apart n tried to plug in my amaze to the built in hdmi but no go with netflix. I'll try something else and report back.
Living life in reverse....
chozyn said:
I took the dock section apart n tried to plug in my amaze to the built in hdmi but no go with netflix. I'll try something else and report back.
Living life in reverse....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
amandez said:
We don't have hdmi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes we do, via the ExtMicro / MHL port
http://androidforums.com/htc-amaze-4g/500285-clearing-air-mhl-hdmi-adapters-amaze.html
I heard that the Amaze 4G is picky about which MHL cable it accepts, and the kernel/android build on it must support HDMI out
PHP:
Allllllright, so:
I (unfortunately) just ended up with a Droid Ultra;
after my Droid Bionic just pooped out on me, my insurance replaced it with the Droid Ultra since they don't manufacture the Bionic anymore.
I so-easily used to connect my Bionic to my T.V. with a nice, cheap little $10 mini-HDMI to HDMI cable.
But now, Motorola decided to stop including mini-HDMI ports on their phones, including the Droid Ultra, and now make you buy a pricey adapter to wirelessly display your phone on the T.V.
Not wanting to get suckered in so easily, i went to target to see if by some miracle-of-a-how they had a mini USB -to- HDMI cable:
and they did!
It's called the XC-M High Definition TV Link for $30, and it even has a micro USB adapter.
Perfect, no $80 wireless adapter for me!.. or so I thought;
I connected the Droid Ultra right into the T.V. and nothing happened. (with my Bionic, it would just pop up instantly on the T.V.)
So I went into the settings to find the mirror display option (or whatever that's called) to turn it on, only to find a single "wireless display" option, and none for a wired connection..
It seems that: Motorola blocked the native capability to make a wired connection with a T.V.
in order to force everyone that wants to display their phone on their T.V. into buying an $80 wireless adapter.
Is this true?!?
The Droid Bionic was ready to go with built-in mini HDMI, but still allowed to use a wireless display adapter (i think)
Now they're "upgrading" their phones to:
no longer be able to make a wired connection to the T.V...?
not to mention, no SD card slot / support (why on EARTH would they do this??)
So my ultimate question is:
Is there any way to make this cable be able to display my phone on the T.V. without having to buy a wireless display adapter?
Like maybe rooting my phone; If I root my Droid Ultra, would I then be able to go in and unblock whatever's telling it to not register that cable?
or does it even work like that? LOL
Also, (bonus question): Am I really seeing Motorola removing features from their phones in a greedy plot to force their consumers to have to buy expensive accessories to allow them to do what their older phones natively allowed them to do?
Or is there some other reason for this nonsense?
Because to me, it seems like just that: greedy nonsense.
The Ubuntu Touch OS is a pretty big topic as of late, and I'm really hyped to see it come along... but I have to say, I'm shocked by the lack of docks for a lot of devices lately.
Why do I say this? Well, I suppose it's less relevant to UbTouch, but it's pretty important and worth mentioning. More and more, these modern devices are coming out, offering crazy specs like Quad-HD displays and quad-core processors, but it's given a hardcore hardware limitation, usually defined by the USB port with the MHL/OTG nature. I don't know enough docks where a phone does it, but I know Samsung has that on lock. You look at their products, their USB port is designed well, able to plug into a dock that has an HDMI port, a micro-USB cable for syncing/charging/powering the dock, and a USB host port, for keyboards, mice, etc.
Samsung's devices, from a functional standpoint, seem perfect for UbTouch's offering of the convergence with the desktop functionality, but their specs don't fit it. The specs are catered to a simpler crowd, as Samsung's done for a while. The company's that DO offer the specs for it have skimped on things, or at least, they've not bothered to mention that they can do simultaneous display output with USB host functionality, because we haven't seen docks that have such things.
A few years ago, backing to the HTC Evo 3D and 4G LTE, that device offered a dock, or KiDiGi at least, with an HDMI output and a microUSB for powering the dock and charging. Custom ROMs make it possible to use USB host, amazingly, but I need to wonder where we are that we aren't seeing docks more.
I believe I can guess the answer: Miracast. That's right. The screen casting feature. They don't look to HDMI and docks with it because of the fact that, with a small plug-and-forget dongle or the like, you can just wirelessly cast your screen. You don't need a keyboard and mouse, no bluetooth and junk. You sync it, you send it, you use it, and that's that.
Because of this, and the fact that only Canonical, and the companies behind them, believe in this convergence right now, I can't say it's a surprise that no one's trying to bring on this expanded environment through their phones, with a dock that, having it set up, allows that convergence.
Maybe I'm missing something. Who's got a device and dock, and who's experimented with Ubuntu Touch, assuming it was ever part of the choice for your device? And is it a Samsung?
I've been using Ubuntu on my Nexus 4 since February. While you are right that there currently aren't too many devices which have pins for a dock, it would not bring any benefits to the Ubuntu Touch experience if there were, as Ubuntu hasn't reached convergence yet. Moreover, the work on Unity 8 for the desktop hasn't even started yet (besides their initial creation of a version of Ubuntu which runs Unity 8 and Mir but looks like the phone/tablet version). The work to create a desktop UI for Unity 8 will start after the release of 14.10. Let's see when we will get full convergence.
(What is, however, already converged are apps. You can already install the Ubuntu core apps on your Ubuntu desktop.)
Sent from my awesome Ubuntu Touch device using the Forum Browser app
I have no dock, but I still use an S3 i9300, will be upgrading to an Xperia Z3 sometime this year, but I don't' think the Sony dock is anymore than a charging stand, which seems to be an utter waste to me.
Docks are mostly useless for current phones. With Ubuntu we hope to change that.
Sent from my awesome Ubuntu Touch device using the Forum Browser app
A 'dock' is as simple as a usb cable while charging or even a link though bluetooth/wifi.
Personally I am looking forward to linux based ability on a phone.