Accessory Review: The Samsung Galaxy S III Multimedia Dock lacks HDMI output, still a solid option

Welcome back to another installment of our Samsung Galaxy S III accessory roundup. Just to bring you up to speed, we’ve already checked out the Case-Mate Tough Case, the AMZER Shellster case, the MHL-HDMI adapter and the C Pen — all of which we’ve gotten some pretty good feedback on thus far, and all of which are recommendable items, in my book.

Today, I’ll be going over the official Multimedia Dock, which is my favorite accessory yet, even though it lacks HDMI output. If Sammy ever decides to go back to the drawing board and release a revised edition, this is one feature they should definitely consider adding because it’s one of only two that could make the dock better than it already is. I’ll get to the second one in just a bit.

First, here’s a few things I like.

The dock is light and portable. It features a removable flip-down cover, which helps to keep dust and dirt out of your charging port when the dock is not in use. Upon docking the phone, you hear a notification sound (you can disable it in your settings if you don’t care for it), and the phone automatically goes into dock mode, which changes the UI into something a bit more dock-friendly.

While charging, you can still do anything you need to do on your phone, provided it doesn’t require the device to be rotated into landscape mode, as it is only designed to dock the Galaxy S III in the portrait position. I would liked to have seen Samsung opt with side dock terminals, as this would have freed up the micro-USB port for connecting the MHL-HDMI adapter; otherwise, you have 100% access to your phone while it is docked.

The back of the dock features a micro USB connector, compatible with the official Galaxy S III charger. There is also a 3.5mm jack for audio output, which you can connect to headphones, or any other type of speaker that has a 3.5mm input. I have mine set up with a decent pair of PC speakers and the results are nice, but will obviously vary, depending on the type of speakers you decide to use.

As I mentioned before, there is one other thing about the dock that “doesn’t sit right” with me and it’s that the phone sits rather loosely on the charging port. When you connect the phone to the charging port, there’s just a little bit more wiggle room than I’d like to see, but hey — a dock is a dock, right? It’s not really meant for extensive usage while the device is plugged in, so just take the phone off if you need to do anything other than a quick notification check, or something along those lines.

Take a look at a few pics of the dock, followed by my review summary below.

Gallery

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Likes

• Lightweight and easy to transport
• Flip-down cover
• Compatible with official Galaxy S III Flip Cover and most cases
• Audio output via 3.5mm jack

Dislikes

• No HDMI output
• Device doesn’t feel secure in dock

Final Words

Is the official Multimedia Dock a “must have” item? Not necessarily, but it’s not a bad purchase, should you decide to pick one up. If you have a computer desk or bedside dresser, this will make a nice accessory to add to the collection.

From Samsung’s online store, the dock will run you$49.99, but you can always save a couple bucks by picking one up from Amazon for around $32. There’s a link below if you’d like to do so.

Samsung Galaxy S III Multimedia Dock – Desktop Charger – Retail Packaging – Black