[litso (OP)]

So I've been wanting the landscape Desktop Dock with Pogo Pin for my Verizon Galaxy Nexus for quite some time. When they went up on the Play store for $54 I decided to take the plunge. Everywhere I read that the phone would not fit in the dock, it would slowly rise up out of the dock and lose connection with the Pogo Pins. Well, I figured it should be a pretty simple job to modify the dock so that my Verizon phone would fit in it. I wasn't wrong. I am using this with the VZW 2100mah extended battery.

The project isn't 100% finished, but its fully functional. All I need to do now is make it look prettier.

Basically all I did was take some 220 grit sandpaper to it, then followed up with some 400 grit to smooth it out. The process took me quite a while because every time I would finish it with the 400 grit the phone would once again start sliding up and lose connection with the pins. I found that you will either need to remove quite a lot of material, or leave the surface relatively rough so that it grips the phone and holds it in place.

I left the phone all night in the dock and it did not lose connection. I have had it in the dock all morning, with some light use, and the connection hasn't been lost. I am running AOKP B37 and the phone immediately launches the clock app and begins charging when I place it in the dock. Also, the phone charges at AC rate when the dock is connected to a wall outlet. I haven't tested when connected to my PC via USB. Data transfer doesn't work over the Pogo Pins anyway so there isn't really any point to connect it to your PC. AUDIO OUT VIA A PAIR OF CHEAP PC SPEAKERS WORKS FLAWLESSLY, IT IS NOT USING BLUETOOTH.





I initially tried sanding down only the side to the left of the pogo pins, where the bottom of the phone rests. Unfortunately this did not work, I had to remove some material down the entire length of the dock. I also found it very important to sand down the inside edges of the front ridge running along the bottom and sides. Its relatively easy to remove a decent amount of material from these sides, and will help the phone rest on the pogo pins. I also remove a good amount of material from the 'groove' where the top and bottom of the phone slide in.





Its not the prettiest thing right now, but it is functional and I think with a little more sanding and the proper paint I'll be able make it look almost like new.

If you're like me and love having a dock on your desk, don't be afraid to try this out! Its very easy and as long as you don't mind the dock looking a little scuffed.

Edited by litso, 05 June 2012 - 11:34 AM.

[jeremycase00]

Very cool, I think I know what to tell my wife to get me for fathers day. As far as a paint you could go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get some Plasti-Dip. It sorta has that soft touch feel

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki

[litso (OP)]

Yea I was thinking about that. I think I will just keep sanding at it and see what it looks like after I get up to like 2000 grit.

[jpin321]

I'm guessing if it's that tight there is no way it's working with a case on a phone.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[litso (OP)]

No I don't think it would be possible to remove enough material to accommodate even the thinnest case.

[Detonation]

I'm tempted to just buy one of these and make the same mod. Was really hoping the LTE version would become more readily available and drop in price, but it's looking like that's never going to happen. It's disappointing enough it took Google 6 months to release these.

I assume you're using the standard battery? Any chance you think this might work with the vzw extended battery?

Edited by Detonation, 05 June 2012 - 09:41 AM.

[jeremycase00]

litso, on 05 June 2012 - 09:01 AM, said:

Yea I was thinking about that. I think I will just keep sanding at it and see what it looks like after I get up to like 2000 grit.

Yeah if you went up to a 2000 grit it would probably look fine.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki

[binglejellsx2]

Thank you! I was thinking of doing the same thing. Glad to see that the fit of the device is the only difference in the docks. The $30+ difference isn't worth it for the VZW version.

Edit: Does the phone stay unlocked the whole time it's in the dock? Is there a timeout re-lock? Or can the phone be pushed down since power is on the bottom?

Edited by binglejellsx2, 05 June 2012 - 10:44 AM.

[blaineevans]

litso, on 05 June 2012 - 09:01 AM, said:

Yea I was thinking about that. I think I will just keep sanding at it and see what it looks like after I get up to like 2000 grit.

Let us know how it turns out fully sanded!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[litso (OP)]

Detonation, on 05 June 2012 - 09:38 AM, said:

I'm tempted to just buy one of these and make the same mod. Was really hoping the LTE version would become more readily available and drop in price, but it's looking like that's never going to happen. It's disappointing enough it took Google 6 months to release these.

I assume you're using the standard battery? Any chance you think this might work with the vzw extended battery?

Forgot to put that in there, I'm using the VZW extended battery. I'll edit my original post. Haven't tried with any other batteries.

binglejellsx2, on 05 June 2012 - 10:39 AM, said:

Thank you! I was thinking of doing the same thing. Glad to see that the fit of the device is the only difference in the docks. The $30+ difference isn't worth it for the VZW version.

Edit: Does the phone stay unlocked the whole time it's in the dock? Is there a timeout re-lock? Or can the phone be pushed down since power is on the bottom?

I have my phone set to launch the stock clock app. This app has a 'screen saver' with the clock bouncing around on a black background. As far as i can tell this will stay up as long as you let it. If you didn't have it launch the clock app, and had it set to keep the screen on while charging, I assume it would stay on and unlocked for as long as you wanted it.

blaineevans, on 05 June 2012 - 10:41 AM, said:

Let us know how it turns out fully sanded!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Will do, hopefully I'll have some more time tonight to play with it.