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My first impressions on the Seidio Desktop Cradle for the Blackberry Storm had to do with the fit of the phone with and without the Seidio Innocase II installed. As soon as I realized the removable plate, I knew Seidio had this covered. The build quality is very nice, not equivalent to Blackberry’s Cradle but very close. I do miss the stylish brushed finish the Blackberry cradle has, but taking off my Seidio Innocase every night is just not an option. Opening the box I immediately noticed a Sync cable was not included, which I stopped and thought about for a while, considered the price and thought of it to be fair. I do have to say I wanted this cradle for home and keep my OEM cable at work for those spur of the moment OS leaks and app installs, but does the Blackberry cradle bring a sync cable? Nope.
The navy blue matte finish surrounding the Seidio cradle is very nice, sits on your desk and is not an eye sour and matches the matte finish on other Seidio accessories. Doesn’t pop out much, perfect for work or home. The bottom of the cradle has 5 foam feet to keep your desk/night stand surface scratch free and the cradle not rolling around, Thanks Seidio! The microUSB connector that the Blackberry Storm sits on moves back and forth and I thought of this as more of a safety feature to prevent cracking or breaking the connector over time.
The Seidio cradle features a green LED power indicator on the front which most of you will come to find a PITA over time. The LED comes on and stays on when power is supplied to the cradle which I found to be one of those things that doesn’t make this cradle bedside friendly. This issue is something I have been told by Seidio they are aware of and currently trying to address. My opinion put it in the back of the cradle. If I want to know if the cradle has power, I’ll simply look at the phone’s battery icon. But that’s just me.
Enough about that let’s move on to the fit of my phone in this cradle. Not getting scratches on my phone was one of my biggest concerns as I found my Storm’s chrome bezel getting blemished from the constant rubbing against the Blackberry cradle. This problem is not something I found to be present with Seidio’s cradle and was very happy about. The removable plate featured with this cradle is something I really liked. It was not obvious to me from Seidio’s website that this was something included and one of the cradle’s main features. It can be removed rather quickly. Here how it works: With the plate in place, the Storm will fit snug on its own or with Seidio’s extended battery door. With the plate removed, the Storm fits with Seidio’s Innocase or the Seidio Innocase Surface Extended case. Now this might sound like a lot to take in but take a look at Seidio’s website (seidioonline.com), any case they have for the Storm at the moment works with this cradle. That is something I have to give Seidio a BIG thumbs up for! I like their build quality and don’t want to have to mix matching accessories that might and might not work well together. This way it’s a one stop shop.
For my final thoughts on Seidio’s Desktop Cradle I have to say I recommend it to anyone who wants an alternative to Blackberry’s cradle in order to not have to remove your Innocase Surface daily. Who wants to do that right?! This cradle has a sturdy build, like any other product it has some features can be seen as pros and cons. No one is perfect, I personally did not find any features on Seidio’s Desktop Cradle to be a deal breaker or even make me think twice about my purchase. I am very happy with my choice on Seidio’s Desktop Cradle for the Blackberry Storm. I hope that this review gives readers an in-depth look at Seidio’s product and help in determining if this product is for you.
Link to the cradle is below on Seidio's Website. Current price is $29.95 before shipping. Product code is CRDSIBB9530. LINKLast edited by azboricua; 04-30-09 at 07:10 PM.
04-29-09 03:56 PM
