The OrionGadgets iPhone 4 Sync & Charge Flexible Cradle is a simple and effective combo charging stand and/or sync stand for your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPod – despite the name, it will happily accommodate any iDevice with a standard dock connector, thanks to an adjustable and fairly deep dock connector, it can even do so with many cases/bumpers in place.
Setup/Adjustment
You have two options for this cradle, as you can see in the photo above. You can either connect it to a computer via the USB cable for use as a sync stand, or you can use the included AC to USB power wall wart and use it as a charge stand.
As you can see in the photo above, the dock connector can be (gently!) slid up or down to position a docked device snugly against the backstop. I found it easier to slide the connector forward a bit and then mate the iDevice to it, and then push the iDevice back until it was snug. Once that’s done sliding my iPhone 4 on and off the dock was easy.
Life in the Dock Lane (charging station)
When used as charging station, the supplied wall wart generates a gentle 500Ma of power via the USB cable. This isn’t going to win any speed awards for charging, but it’s actually not a horrible idea if you’ll be tossing your phone on the charger for hours at a time ever day.
You can tell the cradle is getting power when the blue charging LED lights. That’s great for the office, but its yet another glowing point of light that needs covering if used on the nightstand.
Life in the Dock Lane (sync station)
When attached to a computer, your iPhone won’t be able to tell the difference between the cradle and the standard Apple sync cable. The only difference here is that your device will be upright, and supported sufficiently to tap.
Even in a silicon case, the iPhone 4 was securely docked and sufficiently supported to tap when sitting in the dock.
Parting Thoughts
The Orion Gadgets Cradle does a couple of jobs just fine. It will charge and act as a sync connection for just about any iPhone or iPod – it worked with everything I threw at it, anyway. It’s adjustable, so it should work for devices that are encased in most any kind of case that isn’t more than a quarter inch thick, and it supports the device such that it’s usable in the dock.
Product Information
| Price: | $22.75 |
| Manufacturer: | Orion Gadgets |
| Requirements: |
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This looks like a great solution for charging with a case. Does anyone know if it works with the Apple Bumber case? The bumper case seems to elevate the iPhone a bit higher than a regular silicon cases.