Database Users

Atrix Plus Laptop Companion Dock = Charged for something you aren't using TETHERING

Question:
Why would you charge for tethering with the atrix laptop companion dock when what you are doing technically isn't tethering? Forcing users to have a tethering plan with the atrix laptop dock would be akin to forcing someone who used a bluetooth keyboard with their smartphone.
Or for how is the way the dock is implemented different than sending video out to tv. Some smartphones have this capability and allow you to play media from phone to tv, look at pictures, or even view apps or your browser on a large LCD screen which is no different than how the dock companion is implemented.
So i reiterate why should pay a tethering plan to use the dock when you aren't tethering?
PS
For those who aren't aware of what the laptop companion dock is....its simply a screen and keyboard/mouse and thus allows viewing of your phone on a bigger screen with full keyboard. The dock does not have its own processor, memory, or OS. You are using the phone as the brain. This isn't using the data connection of your phone as a modem for a full fledged laptop that has its own cpu, memory, and OS.

I think the reasoning is that you are actually using something else and getting the content from the phone.
When you send stuff over a.cable yo the tv, or whatever you're doing,.you have to interact with the phone all of the time.
With the laptop dock, you are primarily using something that is being powered by the phone; an active experience rather than a passive one, if you will.
Captivate 2.2.1 Paragon

The tethering plan also gave you 2GB more than basic one. So you will get 4GB in total. And for the laptop dock, you will get two USB ports to manage files from USB drive or USB harddisk, usb mouse..etc. I don't think the TVout cable has this kind of function.
And when you want to type a long document in the trip or in a rush, I don't think Phone+bluetooth keyboard+LCD screen will be convenient than laptop dock.

His point is that tethering, by definition, is not really required for the dock as it's still the phone that's being used, even if attached to make it into a "laptop".
AT&T likes money... that's basically the only reason I can find. It does provide a way for reducing the price on the laptop dock, though it ends up being more expensive through the plan. The dock can still be purchased without the tethering plan.

I'd say their reason for the the tethering plan is more for the added 2gb of data.
They are marketing this product as a way to ditch your laptop/desktop. That being the case I think even a moderate user might come close to the 2gb cap if they use it as their primary device.
This is similar to when they started making it mandatory for smart phones to require a certain amount of data. It's easier and more cost effective to require people to use a data plan that will fit most users than having disgruntled customers complaining about overages. I'd say if there's one thing that wireless carriers have learned over the years it's that people don't like being surprised on their bill.
I'm not saying I like this approach but I understand why they do it.

Trying to add an external hard drive to webtop

I have Rooted this phone and installed the custom Adeo (is that the name of the ROM or the hacker?) ROM. I also did the webtop-mod-without-a-dock because I was bored. I have the HD dock and think it would be great if I could have my external Drive show up in the file browser. I could play my music and videos from there. I don't know how hard this would be so I figured I'd ask you guys that have much more Android experience.
**SOLVED** see page 2
Also, I would really like to play music from my phone over USB in the deck in my truck. The deck is made for "ipods" or iPhones and won't see my Atrix as a media device. Is there a mod I could do to the phone to make my deck recognize it and let me play music? Thanks guys
EDIT
USB thumb drives work just fine, why won't it pick up my external hard drive? Does it need to be formatted a certain way?

seh6183 said:
I have Rooted this phone and installed the custom Adeo (is that the name of the ROM or the hacker?) ROM. I also did the webtop-mod-without-a-dock because I was bored. I have the HD dock and think it would be great if I could have my external Drive show up in the file browser. I could play my music and videos from there. I don't know how hard this would be so I figured I'd ask you guys that have much more Android experience.
Also, I would really like to play music from my phone over USB in the deck in my truck. The deck is made for "ipods" or iPhones and won't see my Atrix as a media device. Is there a mod I could do to the phone to make my deck recognize it and let me play music? Thanks guys
EDIT
USB thumb drives work just fine, why won't it pick up my external hard drive? Does it need to be formatted a certain way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your thumb drives are probably FAT32 and your external drive is likely NTFS. The webtop cannot read NTFS drives, they need to be FAT32 or some form of EXT

id hate to format it to find out it doesn't work lol

I use a FAT32 external drive and it works fine.

thank you very much sir

Any advice on how to get my deck to recognize the phone as an MP3 player?

seh6183 said:
Any advice on how to get my deck to recognize the phone as an MP3 player?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you'll be able to. You can try setting the phone as mass storage, but I doubt it will work.

This is 2011, these car audio manufactures need to realize that an ipod is not the only mp3 player on the market.
This sucks.

seh6183 said:
This is 2011, these car audio manufactures need to realize that an ipod is not the only mp3 player on the market.
This sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but unfortunately it IS the mp3 player of the masses... and that's all they care about =\

There HAS to be a hack for this!!!!
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App

IMO this is the worst part about being an Android owner. Most consumer electronics are catered to iProduct.
My solution to the car stereo thing was to buy a deck that uses bluetooth audio.Works great that way.

booty hater said:
IMO this is the worst part about being an Android owner. Most consumer electronics are catered to iProduct.
My solution to the car stereo thing was to buy a deck that uses bluetooth audio.Works great that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is definitely a solution, as is a standard headphone cable for the aux port. Problem is, bluetooth degrades quality and the aux cable doesn't charge. Also I like being able to change songs from the deck.
I think my solution will be to buy an old ass ipod on craigs and run the wire into my glovebox and just leave it in there.
That is of course unless someone figures out how to modify the usb certificate on the atrix to fake an ipod so I can just plug my phone in.
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App

Actually screw that.
I frequently use all my battery throughout a single work day. I need that usb port to charge my damn phone! This needs to be figured out
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App

seh6183 said:
I have Rooted this phone and installed the custom Adeo (is that the name of the ROM or the hacker?) ROM. I also did the webtop-mod-without-a-dock because I was bored. I have the HD dock and think it would be great if I could have my external Drive show up in the file browser. I could play my music and videos from there. I don't know how hard this would be so I figured I'd ask you guys that have much more Android experience.
Also, I would really like to play music from my phone over USB in the deck in my truck. The deck is made for "ipods" or iPhones and won't see my Atrix as a media device. Is there a mod I could do to the phone to make my deck recognize it and let me play music? Thanks guys
EDIT
USB thumb drives work just fine, why won't it pick up my external hard drive? Does it need to be formatted a certain way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know if this has been answered but my WD "Mybook" took over 45mins to get "recognized" the USB thing popped up and it just said prepairing for like 30minutes or more.
Now whenever I plug it in it's basically instant on. I think it indexes it prior to using or something.

booty hater said:
IMO this is the worst part about being an Android owner. Most consumer electronics are catered to iProduct.
My solution to the car stereo thing was to buy a deck that uses bluetooth audio.Works great that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SOLVED
When you plug the phone into the deck, pull down the notification bar and select usb, for the type select "mass storage". Works great.
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App

bringing this back. I finally got around to formatting my external drive to fat32 and every worked perfectly! excpet...
Fat32 has a severe limitation as it will not allow to me transfer any files onto the drive that are over 4gb. well most blu ray rips are at least 7gb. I know I can split the files up and recombine them, but that is extremely time consuming and clunky!
I then read that formatting the drive to an apple standard (hsp+ or something) would allow me to get passed the 4gb cap. while it may have, the webtop wont recognize the drive. so I'm back to square one.
not only that but I can't get the drive formatted back to a windows standard.
All im looking to do is have this drive be recognized by webtop and let me store all my media on it. If I can't get this figured out I'm buying an s2: (

Just an FYI, but the Atrix car dock provides audio out via USB. This means it will charge and play audio without having to do anything other than dock the phone. The included USB cable has a 3.5mm jack and includes the 3.5mm cable. The Car Dock app also provides a quick link to the music player.
The car dock is well worth the 40 bucks.

naplesbill said:
Just an FYI, but the Atrix car dock provides audio out via USB. This means it will charge and play audio without having to do anything other than dock the phone. The included USB cable has a 3.5mm jack and includes the 3.5mm cable. The Car Dock app also provides a quick link to the music player.
The car dock is well worth the 40 bucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was already solved without a car dock earlier
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

seh6183 said:
This was already solved without a car dock earlier
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is why I posted it as an FYI! The OP is not the only one who is reading this thread and it may be a valuable piece of information for anyone looking for a way to charge and play music with their Atrix.

USB mass storage in car

One thing I continue to miss from my blackberry days is my phone being recognized by my car stereo in mass storage mode. It was nice to control the phone music from my stereo. Has there been any hacks to get the Droid X to work like this? Putting it in mass storage mode doesn't seem to work. Im assuming thats because it really doesn't show up as a USB drive unless connected to a PC>

Sadly, not that I've found. I believe the issue is that Motorola forces a disc image containing worthless Windows drivers to mount when connected via USB. It mounts first (regarless of which USB setting or debugging mode is selected), which causes my stereo, and many others, to not recognize a USB source for music. This sadly came about with the update to Froyo last year. Motorola doesn't seem interested in unbreaking it

openbox9 said:
Sadly, not that I've found. I believe the issue is that Motorola forces a disc image containing worthless Windows drivers to mount when connected via USB. It mounts first (regarless of which USB setting or debugging mode is selected), which causes my stereo, and many others, to not recognize a USB source for music. This sadly came about with the update to Froyo last year. Motorola doesn't seem interested in unbreaking it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I figured it had something to do with that. Sucks though I hope there is a hack at some point for this.

One thing that you can do is use blue tooth. If your auto doesn't have blue tooth you can buy something like a Jabra and go that route. I know it sucks having to spend money for something that should just work. But these do work rather well so at least it is a option.
http://www.jabra.com/Sites/mobile/NA-US/Pages/home.aspx
fasthair

My car has bluetooth, but sadly not for audio. Yes, it sucks since it used to work just fine before last year's Froyo update. I've been forced into using the USB connection for charging only and using a 3.5mm cable for audio, which impacts quality a little bit, looks fugly, but at least it works. I'll dust off my iPod Touch before I buy another piece of gear to [email protected]$% Motorola's screwup.

[info] Just got my TF101! Gonna mount it on my dash.

I got extremely lucky today when I walked into a local CanadaComputers and they happen to have two 32GB TF101 in stock after the rest of their shipment sold out the day before.
I want to build a nice mount and put it somewhere on the dash. Has anyone thought about such a project?
Hiding the cables won't be an issue. I'm going to mount a 300W A/C inverter inside the centre console and cut a piece out the back (facing the back seats) and put a small plastic or metal grate for air flow (the fan exhaust on the inverter unit will face the grate).
Will run two USB cables through the transmission box and through the dash to where the mount will be installed. One for my Captivate and the other for the tablet. The Aux port is also in the centre console for music and video purposes.
To my understanding the tablet requires a 5V/1.2A source to charge with the tablet sleeping. To use the tablet while charging, 15V/2A is required? I'm not 100% sure. There is a 12V DC port in the centre console that is only active while the vehicle is running. The tablet can charge while the vehicle is running and run on battery power (sleeping) while the vehicle is off.
Internet connectivity will be tethered from my Captivate via Mobile AP. It works *decent* but for apps that require a consistent connection often disconnect between coverage sites. I hope LTE fixes this problem.
There are some limitations but I think I work around them. Such as Always On. When I'm running Google Maps on the tablet it will still sleep. I want it on at 100% brightness while the car is on and I want it to sleep while the car is off. Kind of like how Windows 7 has power profiles - one when A/C is connected and one for battery power.
I also want the tablet to automatically connect to the Captivate when in range. Does the tablet search for Wifi connections even while sleeping? By the time I open the car door; I want the weather widget and my Gmail to be updated. I want Maps working with a data connection. Everything automated.
Voice is also a HUGE bonus with this setup. I tested it today - works very, very well. My only quibble is the voice input button on the home screen is so tiny. I need a widget with a nice big voice input button so I don't have to turn my head off the road to look at the screen.
Oh and the reason why I don't want a 3G model of the tablet is because when LTE goes live in Canada it's promising up to 150 Mb/s downlink. I don't want to be limited by the tablet's radio. 802.11n supports ~300 mbit. When I upgrade my Captivate to a new LTE phone (probably around Xmas 2011) I can tether to the tablet with the higher speeds without a hitch! 3G is so 2010.
I'm so hyped this is gonna be AWESOME when it's done.
Give me ideas!

Of course you buy a Garmin GPS that is more accurate, and has weather, traffic, gas prices, car mount, etc and works when there is no Wifi signal for $200.

jerrykur said:
Of course you buy a Garmin GPS that has weather, traffic, gas prices, car mount, etc and works when there is no Wifi signal for $200.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but does it have a 10 inch IPS touch display with a tegra 2 and USB host? + internal storage for movies of course.

jerrykur said:
Of course you buy a Garmin GPS that has weather, traffic, gas prices, car mount, etc and works when there is no Wifi signal for $200.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Small screen, can't watch movies, no browser, no email, no music...

flak4 said:
Small screen, can't watch movies, no browser, no email, no music...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He might as well be saying "why buy a transformer if you can buy a netbook for 200"

This sounds like an awesome project, I'll look forward to seeing your updates. Tasker might be a handy app for this.

seshmaru said:
but does it have a 10 inch IPS touch display with a tegra 2 and USB host? + internal storage for movies of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, they have screens you can actually see in daylight unlike a tablet.
As for the rest, if you was watching movies or using the USB host to run your coffee warmer while driving please stay away from me. Heck, if your talking on your cell phone and driving stay away from me.

flak4 said:
Small screen, can't watch movies, no browser, no email, no music...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Watch movies, browse web, check email, lose control, skid onto on coming traffic, kill yourself and kill others. Superb idea.

gumbi4u said:
Watch movies, browse web, check email, lose control, skid onto on coming traffic, kill yourself and kill others. Superb idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because only the driver could ever want to watch movies or browse the web. Checking your mail in the dunkin donuts parking lot is also ridiculous and dangerous and will kill everyone.

gumbi4u said:
Watch movies, browse web, check email, lose control, skid onto on coming traffic, kill yourself and kill others. Superb idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why are you all crapping on my thread?
I practically live out of my car because of my job. I use to do everything off of my phone and Zune. But the displays are too small. Yes this includes watching movies on my phone while waiting for some tests to complete (which can take hours). I use my phone for GPS and Google Maps (I don't use standalone GPS units). I drive long hours and spend a lot of time away from my home.
My laptop is good but is a hassle to set up. Personally I find navigating a tablet easier than navigating a laptop using the mouse pad. Using a laptop while sitting in the drivers seat is cramped, too. It's so annoying that I usually browse using my phone rather than my laptop.
The tablet can potentially replace the need for a Zune, GPS and laptop (for browsing, email and multimedia purposes) in this scenario and its functionality and performance will only improve over time.
You're telling me this isn't a sweet idea?
I was hoping to get some more thoughtful responses. If anyone has any answers for my initial post - regarding the AC requirements for the tablet - and how I can automate tethering, please share.

flak4 said:
Why are you all crapping on my thread?
I practically live out of my car because of my job. I use to do everything off of my phone and Zune. But the displays are too small. Yes this includes watching movies on my phone while waiting for some tests to complete (which can take hours). I use my phone for GPS and Google Maps (I don't use standalone GPS units). I drive long hours and spend a lot of time away from my home.
My laptop is good but is a hassle to set up. Personally I find navigating a tablet easier than navigating a laptop using the mouse pad. Using a laptop while sitting in the drivers seat is cramped, too. It's so annoying that I usually browse using my phone rather than my laptop.
The tablet can potentially replace the need for a Zune, GPS and laptop (for browsing, email and multimedia purposes) in this scenario and its functionality and performance will only improve over time.
You're telling me this isn't a sweet idea?
I was hoping to get some more thoughtful responses. If anyone has any answers for my initial post - regarding the AC requirements for the tablet - and how I can automate tethering, please share.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have wifi set to on at all times and the network is remembered, it will auto connect when in range. Regarding the power, you'll need 2A 15v to charge it while it's awake. The USB cable supplied however doesn't deliver enough power and can't be used with a car adaptor for USB, you'll need to have a converter to use the wall charger for the tab.
Not sure about the other things though.

Take a look at thsi Youtube video below. The day the Ipad 2 was released, this guy mounted one in the dash of a new F150. Custom fiberglass/bondo work to rebuild the console to allow the docking directly in the dash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jr3_zLHTbY

Tablet mounted into dashboard = sexy

Not legal in some US states, I have no idea about Canada.

flak4 said:
I got extremely lucky today when I walked into a local CanadaComputers and they happen to have two 32GB TF101 in stock after the rest of their shipment sold out the day before.
I want to build a nice mount and put it somewhere on the dash. Has anyone thought about such a project?
Hiding the cables won't be an issue. I'm going to mount a 300W A/C inverter inside the centre console and cut a piece out the back (facing the back seats) and put a small plastic or metal grate for air flow (the fan exhaust on the inverter unit will face the grate).
Will run two USB cables through the transmission box and through the dash to where the mount will be installed. One for my Captivate and the other for the tablet. The Aux port is also in the centre console for music and video purposes.
To my understanding the tablet requires a 5V/1.2A source to charge with the tablet sleeping. To use the tablet while charging, 15V/2A is required? I'm not 100% sure. There is a 12V DC port in the centre console that is only active while the vehicle is running. The tablet can charge while the vehicle is running and run on battery power (sleeping) while the vehicle is off.
Internet connectivity will be tethered from my Captivate via Mobile AP. It works *decent* but for apps that require a consistent connection often disconnect between coverage sites. I hope LTE fixes this problem.
There are some limitations but I think I work around them. Such as Always On. When I'm running Google Maps on the tablet it will still sleep. I want it on at 100% brightness while the car is on and I want it to sleep while the car is off. Kind of like how Windows 7 has power profiles - one when A/C is connected and one for battery power.
I also want the tablet to automatically connect to the Captivate when in range. Does the tablet search for Wifi connections even while sleeping? By the time I open the car door; I want the weather widget and my Gmail to be updated. I want Maps working with a data connection. Everything automated.
Voice is also a HUGE bonus with this setup. I tested it today - works very, very well. My only quibble is the voice input button on the home screen is so tiny. I need a widget with a nice big voice input button so I don't have to turn my head off the road to look at the screen.
Oh and the reason why I don't want a 3G model of the tablet is because when LTE goes live in Canada it's promising up to 150 Mb/s downlink. I don't want to be limited by the tablet's radio. 802.11n supports ~300 mbit. When I upgrade my Captivate to a new LTE phone (probably around Xmas 2011) I can tether to the tablet with the higher speeds without a hitch! 3G is so 2010.
I'm so hyped this is gonna be AWESOME when it's done.
Give me ideas!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you mount it on your dash? Want it flying in your face in an accident? Get a 99 bucks gps.

nxp3 said:
Why would you mount it on your dash? Want it flying in your face in an accident? Get a 99 bucks gps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess some people don't read threads. Idiot.

Some people just have to come and **** on everyone's great ideas and dreams. Personally it sounds to me like this can make your life easier, and more awesome. Post some pics as soon as you have them!

I have the same project in works, I am using a Pro Clip and pad tap to accomblish it in my 2007 bmw 3 series. I have both the parts ordered and in transit, will mount this saturday and share pictures if u are intereted. The tethering would be done with my HTC evo using the sprint 4G network and to avoid the wires mess will be using blackberry bluetooth gateway to connect to car stereo.

Gonnaaa be shiccccckkkk.
You don't need Wi-Fi to get GPS to work like some idiots are saying, only if you rely on Google Maps. Even if you want to use Google Maps, you can tether up the Transformer with your phone.

I mounted the TF to my vents, shot a video few days ago

Best way to repurpose G1

I switched to a Droid X for almost 6 months now, and my G1 just sits on my shelf. What's the best way to repurpose my old G1? I have considered donating it to a good dev so they can make good use of it, but what are other options?

Some of them just use it as the backup phone. Other pass it down to their familiy members (ie: kids, etc...) I got mine from my brother as a pass me down.
Some of the others users here using it to test the new ROM for G1. (bascially becoming the tester for the ROM).

Emulator machine. that's what I use my cliq for the d pad its great for nintendo rpgs
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

And of course a great backup I'd your phone takes a dump
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I use one of mine as a WiFi streaming audio player for the home sound system.
The other is my backup, sitting ready to take over should my Vibrant kick the bucket.
Sent from my G1 using XDA App.

phone backup is out of the question , moving from t-mobile to verizon :/
i have used my g1 for controlling my pc from my bed, which was convenient, but eventually just stopped
thanks for the suggestions, if anyone else got something, i'd be glad to hear it

I use mine as a dedicated handset for voip and to stop the kids stealing my galaxy to play stupid disney puzzles
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

you could donate to someone ... for example me hahah.

I just use mine as an alarm, lol.

you can surf the web via wifi soo uhhh yeah like blacra said stream music or uhhh fill it with apps to play and try... paperwieght..??? lol i could always use a spare G1 for testing lol

Turn it into a car music player. You'd need
-USB host drivers for the G1 (works on Android 2.2)
-mini-USB splitter/headphone adapter (it'd need a USB and headphone jack)
-AUX jack on the car radio
-3.5mm cable (goes from headphone adapter to AUX)
-mini-USB to USB cable
-powered USB hub and car adapter
-portable hard drive
Kind of a lot but you could get one heck of a music collection on a portable hard drive.

Maave said:
Turn it into a car music player. You'd need
-USB host drivers for the G1 (works on Android 2.2)
-mini-USB splitter/headphone adapter (it'd need a USB and headphone jack)
-AUX jack on the car radio
-3.5mm cable (goes from headphone adapter to AUX)
-mini-USB to USB cable
-powered USB hub and car adapter
-portable hard drive
Kind of a lot but you could get one heck of a music collection on a portable hard drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this
Its the best use for this thing if you dont use it, mines has been sitting on the shelf with my other old phones and hasnt been touched in months.

Hm, I not sure if both the audio adapter and the USB host drivers can work at the same time. Lots of people have done HDD mounting but nobody has tried using output at the same time.
Crap, what a time not to have my USB adapter. Maybe I can pick one up at the flea market.
Well if it does work, why stop there? Plug it into a home audio system. Find an app that allows you to control the music on the G1 from your other phone. Tada! Remote controlled 1TB stereo system. If the G1 wasn't such a weak phone you could turn it into an HTPC.

I used one of my old G1 to use as a walkie talkie. I can use the push to talk app to talk to my kids while there home on Wi-Fi.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App