The kind folks from Exchange Cellular, INC have send us a charging/syncing cradle for the Nokia N97 (regularly priced at 49.95$US, on sale NOW for 24.95$US). So hurry up and pick one up for yourselves. Matt who has been our point person, had also included a spare battery so we can share with you all that we can in regards to the charging/syncing station.
The first observation is that it is fairly compact, but with one major flaw. The cradle for the Nokia N97, to hold it safely in place while charging and/or syncing is not removable. I tried to disassemble it, but gave up the idea due to excessive force kind of a feeling. I was not about to destroy my review product. This is problematic as I do travel a fair deal and it is of a unfriendly traveler design. Granted I don’t know how many people out there in the world take their whole ‘gadget world’ with them whenever they travel, I happen to be one of them.
The cradle holds one Nokia N97 and one spare battery safely in place. Its got a blue led indicator stating its ON status, and a charging indicator with green/red light interchange depending on the feature being used. In the front of the cradle there is a switch that allows you to chose the mode between syncing and charging. The connecting cable to Nokia N97 that allows sync and charge is actually build into the platform and nicely tucked away when you are not using it. It does require three cables in order to sync Nokia N97 with the computer. One is a power cable, USB cable connecting the cradle to the computer and the sync cable connecting the cradle to the Nokia N97. In this aspect again it is a bit of a cable hungry design and if you want to travel compact there is no way.
What was great about the cradle is that it started charging/syncing my Nokia N97 right AWAY which is not even the case with the OEM included Nokia charger that came with my phone. Till this day the said charger does not charge my phone. Really sad if you consider that both the cradle and an extra charger bought for Blackberry charge my Nokia N97 from the very first attempt. Kudos in this regard to the third party design that actually WORKS !!!! and has enough juice to supply to the Nokia N97.
The cradle is actually a great desk addition. It charges the spare in just about four hours from empty to full. If you are considering a stationary solution, you have to give this product a serious consideration as it delivers and does exactly what it says it will do. A lot of Nokia N97 users are power users and often times have at least one spare battery if not more. The cradle allows you to charge your spares while you are syncing your phone with Ovi Maps or another Symbian application much needed for your phone. During the period of several weeks of syncing, charging or both. I had no issue with the unit and it performed consistently and solidly over time. No surprises or unexpected behaviors.
In conclusion, the sync/charge cradle is a MUST have for anyone who is serious about their device and uses it a lot. My only issue was the not so friendly travel design, but again it is not meant for that purpose really. I just like stretching the limits and taking products even further to see if they deliver.
- Design 4 out of 5
- Practicality 5 out of 5
- Ease of use 5 out of 5
I highly recommend this product so hop over to the web site and have a look.
[Thx Radical for the review]
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