Docking??

[thedarksavant]

Anyone else notice that the bottom of the 770 looks like it would fit nicely into some kind of dock? Any info or rumors about one in the works?

[thoughtfix]

I can easily see a kind of slide-in dock that provides power, USB, and headphone redirection. If they sold the slide covers after-market I'd make my own. The only thing that needs to be remembered is that you can only slide it in screen-out.

[epulk]

I can easily see a kind of slide-in dock that provides power, USB, and headphone redirection.
How to make a microphone hole rediction?

If they sold the slide covers after-market I'd make my own.
I would also like to buy one extra cover to cut a piece away next to arrow keys.
The dock (and slide cover) frontal sides could be more open because metal side rails already serve as a firm holder.

[dandrewk]

According to the manual, it is not recommended to keep the 770 on AC once the battery is charged. It decreases battery life. So I wonder if a cradle is in the near future.

[aflegg]

A dock also could serve as a special usb hub for using devices in host mode.

Indeed. Would be very handy; perhaps two versions: a desktop one & a portable one.


It wouldn't even have to be ugly :)

Griffin MockUp (http://wo-san.blogspot.com/2006/02/now.html)

*Very* nice - I especially like the home screen running Mac OS X widgets :-)

[Element]

Well, I can not do Photoshop, but I tried to use Kydex to make holder
for my car :)
This is my prototype picture:
http://static.flickr.com/1/127187666_c6acda339e_m.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/1/127187667_2d8b5c0e93_m.jpg

[cAPSLOCK]

Right after the 770 came out I envisioned a case-cover sort of thing that could hold a tiny hard drive, and maybe other USB attached options... standard flash card slot? camera? whatever...

If there are enough 770s in the market to justify it I am sure someone will make one. I imagine the thing already pretty much exists for the PSP.

[Element]

Just made my own holder for Nokia 770 for car:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47028916@N00/archives/date-posted/2006/04/

[fpp]

The pix are a bit dark - what did you make it with exactly ?...

[Element]

I did additional holster (black) and now don't need to attach anything to the original(silver).
And now, if I use phone clip it works like stand.

[dskeeles]

Agreed that a docking station is a great idea. Have you seen those Philips digital photo frames? Why pay £120 for a dumb photo slideshow, when my 770 has the perfect screen and form factor to do exactly that?

Heck - market it as a combined photo frame and Web browser, and watch it fly off the shelves! Maybe nokia should try taking some tips from Apple.

d

[konfoo]

The problem with doing a dock is not so much as coming up with it, as it is with coming up with the cash to do a minimum production run of say 1,000 units. The best solution would be a straight-through replicator for the audio, power and usb so that these cables can be connected to the rear of the dock, which would save on production costs. Heck, if I was certain there was a market for at least 2 runs I would do this myself.

[dskeeles]

Anyone know how many units Nokia have sold? Perhaps you could make a prototype and take deposits for a run on ebay to gauge interest.

[ewtesterman]

Would $100 - 150 us be acceptable? My homebrew docking solution has the following:

6 usb ports
1 ide connection
wireless keyboard & mouse
vga out
eithernet
battery and 110 power
it could be expanded quite abit, the best part is that it does not slow down the nokia. Once I get it put in some kind of box I will post some pics right now its all velcrowed and glued together. Pretty ugly. Somebody that really knows what there doing could expand on this a lot.

[fpp]

How is the VGA-out done? Are IDE and Ethernet USB conversions ? And I thought mice didn't work in maemo ?...

[aflegg]

My own liking for a docking station (which should ideally be portable enough to use on trains etc) would be:


a few USB ports (2-4 would be sufficient)
built-in USB ethernet (and possibly serial)
power connector which charges the docking station's batteries as well as the 770's
pass-through for headphones
VGA out would be fantastic if possible (are there USB -> VGA interfaces?)
Built-in stand for propping the whole thing up
Slotted in 770 with some kind of restraint to keep it in once docked.


A larger unit which allowed the inclusion of a 2.5" laptop HD connected over USB could also be very interesting.

[dskeeles]

I think there's requirements for two different markets here:

- Some require a cradle just for charging, that allows the 770 to be dropped in, rather than plugged in
- Some require a cradle that give additional functionality, to open up all the 770's capabilities (USB hub, ethernet, etc).

I'm personally quite happy with a simple cradle frame, with pass-through for power, headphone, and USB. I mostly use my 770 for wireless web browsing (the only wire I might have in it while in use is a pair of headphones), rather than as a mini-desktop; it's definitely a stylish device, but yet you still have to leave it lying on a surface with cables trailing from it....


Damian

[ewtesterman]

I got it all by using an sbc or single board computer then remote desktop. I thought it would be easier to use the strenghts of linux like its networking. There are some really good and cheap sbc's and with their ability to use I/O modules there is nothing you cannot do with remote dektop or through a web interface. I just wish the 770 could use Ajax apps.

I wish I would have found this one (http://www.bwi.com/prod/5422/) first.

[ewtesterman]

My own liking for a docking station (which should ideally be portable enough to use on trains etc) would be:


a few USB ports (2-4 would be sufficient)
built-in USB ethernet (and possibly serial)
power connector which charges the docking station's batteries as well as the 770's
pass-through for headphones
VGA out would be fantastic if possible (are there USB -> VGA interfaces?)
Built-in stand for propping the whole thing up
Slotted in 770 with some kind of restraint to keep it in once docked.


A larger unit which allowed the inclusion of a 2.5" laptop HD connected over USB could also be very interesting.

Instead of the traditional stand I am thinking of using about 2 ft of 1/2 in flexible gas pipe attached to my base. This will allow for a close to the face viewing position hands free.

[fpp]

oh, you mean you actually use an entire PC as a peripheral to the 770? that's not quite my idea of a docking station :-)

[dskeeles]

Instead of the traditional stand I am thinking of using about 2 ft of 1/2 in flexible gas pipe attached to my base. This will allow for a close to the face viewing position hands free.

Before you do that, have a look at some flexible lamp stands. I was in Ikea the other week, and wondering about the work involved in removing the lamp head, and fixing the 770 in it's place. Then you'd have a fixing (eg. clamp), movable arm, and hopefully the looks to match!

I think what would really help would be if Nokia sold the cases as inexpensive accessories; then we could have a go at buying a few and welding/supergluing them to mountings.


Damian