review Cover-Mate Desktop Cradle

[+Nexus18 MVC]

Once again, thanks to Mobile-Fun for providing me with the Cover-Mate desktop cradle for the HTC One S to review.

 

They have a huge range of desktop cradles for a whole lot of mobiles, so be sure to have a look to see if there is a nice cradle/desk stand for your mobile

Their customer service is top quality, especially delivery times, dispatched yesterday around 16:00 via Royal Mail First Class and received this morning around 10:30, every other etailer using the same shipping method always takes at least 2 days to get here.

 

Packaging:

 

The dock arrived in a standard see through rectangular plastic box. Be very careful when opening the package and removing the card board box containing the cradle though, as I managed to cut my finger on the relatively sharp corners of the plastic box

 

Within the box, we are supplied with the following:

 

• User Manual
• Cradle
• USB Cable

 

 

A Look at the Cover-Mate Desktop Cradle:

 

Lets take a look at the features of this cradle first:

 

• Syncs and charges your device at the same time
• Allows horizontal viewing media
• Stylish black finish
• Net Weight: 90g
• Dimension: 140 x 50 x 30 mm
• Input: DC 5V 500mA
• Output: DC 5V 500mA
• Removable Insert to allow mobiles with a case attached to be docked as well

 

One of the features stated on Mobile-Fun's product description page is the following:

 

• LED light indicator

 

However, there is no LED light indicator on the cradle. Not that it is needed for the One S as it already has a notification LED, which is orange when charging.

 

The dock is very well built, it feels solid and not cheaply made/put together unlike a lot of other cradles. It has a glossy finish on the front, where as on the back it is just your standard/plain plastic with no glossy finish, I personally would have preferred it to be the exact same on the front as well, however, all in all it looks nice anyway, just a bit more on the "cheap" side, in terms of looks for the front. All the edges are nicely rounded and smooth to touch.

One particular feature of this cradle is to support mobiles even with a case attached, in order to do this you have to remove the "removable insert" which increases the size of the docking area (will look at this later on to see how handy this is ;), if you aren't using a case and keep your mobile "naked" then simply "plug" the "removable insert" back in.

 

 

The cradle has a nice weight to it, it isn't too heavy and not too light (90g), it is a decent size as well (140 x 50 x 30 mm), obviously it is wider than most cradles as the One S micrco USB port is on the side as opposed to the more common place, the bottom of the mobile.

 

The USB cable that is supplied with the cradle is long enough for average sized desks, would have liked it to have been a bit longer. A bit of force is required in order to remove the Micro USB from the cradle.

On the bottom of the cradle you have four rubber mounts, this is to provide some grip when sat on the desk and to stop the cradle from scratching your desk. They feel like they are strongly glued on and won't come off with ease any time soon.

 

 

Cradle In Action:

 

Plugging the mobile in and removing it is easy enough, a bit of force is required to remove the One S, so you will need to hold the dock down whilst removing the device.

The mobile sits at a slight angle, there is no way to adjust the angle yourself.

 

With the "removable insert" removed, the One S with the Case-Mate Tough attached, fitted perfectly well :o, as well as the TPU gel case. I imagine that this will work with the majority of cases, maybe a few exceptions i.e. some of the Otterbox cases. I honestly was not expecting the One S to fit with the Tough case attached.

 

Case Mate Tough attached to the S and placed in the Cradle:

 

 

TPU Gel Case attached to the S and placed in the cradle:

 

 

The One S "naked" and placed in the Cradle:

 

 

I know for some other cradles, cases attached are a big problem, some only work with the thin hard plastic cases attached.

 

I was a bit disappointed in some ways when I found out that the One S micro USB port was on the side as I really wanted a cradle that would keep the device vertical whilst charging at the same time (you can get cradles like this for the S etc. however, it isn't as convenient as simply just plug in and remove, you have to place the device in the cradle and then plug in a USB cable thus a bit more hassle is involved then). However, in some ways it is actually better that the USB port is on the side regarding cradles as it now means that you can watch TV via TV catchup app, watch a film/TV episode or play a N64 game using a PS3/X360 controller WHILST charging at the same time and in landscape mode, so I have no complaints about the USB port on the side

 

 

Conclusion:

 

I am very impressed with this desktop cradle overall, I knew that I would like it before I even got it today going by the pics etc. however, having used it now, I am even more impressed.

 

The only thing, which I would have liked is for there to be no gloss finish at all as generally glossy plastic is rather cheap looking IMO and the cradle most certainly does not feel cheaply made.

 

It does exactly what is required but goes one step further in regards to the "removable insert", which allows me to use the cradle even when I have the Case Mate Tough attached to the S.

 

It is maybe a bit on the expensive side (£17.95), however, looking at what else there is on Mobile Fun and other sites, there doesn't appear to be anything that competes with this cradle when it comes to the looks/build and most importantly allowing mobiles with cases attached to be docked, whilst being able to charge at the same time.

 

The only "real" con of the entire "package" was the packaging itself Just need to be a little bit more careful.

 

Pros:

 

• Stylish Look
• Perfect fit even with a thick case attached to the S
• Good Build Quality

 

Cons:

 

• Packaging has sharp corners/edges
• Glossy Finish on the front

 

Thanks for reading and I hope this review has been helpful and as always any questions, ask away

[Steven P. Administrators]

Thanks, posted on Main: https://www.neowin.net/news/member-reviews-cover-mate-desktop-cradle (Y)

[+Nexus18 MVC]

Thanks very much! :)