- Cellular companies love selling accessories. The margins are nearly as good as money-laundering with lower chances of jail time. Gearlog cited a raft of Motorola Droid X accessories when the Verizon smartphone shipped in June. If you spend a lot of time in your car, the Motorola branded Droid X car cradle is a must-have accessory. It's $40 list and a better deal as part of a $50 online accessory pack (free overnight shipping) that bundles a car charger ($30 list) and three screen protectors ($10).
The cradle makes sense because the Droid X has both free navigation (Google) and the option of the premium VZ Navigator ($10 a month). Either one, with that huge 4.3-inch Droid X screen (not 4.8 as initially posted), mounted securely to your dash or windshield, work much the same as dedicated portable GPS systems.
When the phone flips horizontally and is locked in the cradle (there's a flip lock on top of the mount), the Droid X presents a big-button interface (photo left) that is an industry-model for ease of access while driving. And with the cradle's rear-mounted power jack pointed straight back, you can mount the base of the cradle flush with the dashboard, obscuring less of the windshield. (Stick a piece of foam rubber in the micro gap between cradle and dash to eliminate any residual vibration.) That's smart design.
The cradle kit also includes a circular disk for near-permanent mounting (of the disk) on the dash; the two-piece cradle then attaches to the disk rather than the windshield. And there's a short line-cord if you want to play phone conversations, navigation instructions, and music through your car audio system.
With a lot of GPS devices, the power jack location makes the inflexibe tip of the power cord point straight down and you have to mount the bottom of the cradle about two inches above the dash so the cord fits.
You're Not Planning to Pay List Price, Are You?
If the Motorola Droid X three-component accesspory kit isn't shown the next time you shop Verizon online (with Verizon's site, it's never clear if the offer is withdrawn or it's just hard to find), try dickering with the dealer. If you're about to spring for a phone and a two-year contract (worth $1,500 to $2,000 in revenue to Verizon), the store manager will often throw in an accessory or two, or give you half off costlier accessories, especially if you're a repeat customer. If the store says, "We sell at list price, sorry," that's when you turn to Amazon, eBay, or any of the dozens of other online sellers. For instance, you'd be hard-pressed to pay more than $5 online for a three-pack of screen protectors.
