Official HDMI dock for HTC EVO 4G finally available
Nearly five months after the release of the HTC EVO 4G, the official HDMI docking station is finally available at Sprint stores for $39.99. Back in May, it was believed to be "coming soon" to Best Buy and shown to have a red docking seat.
Today, however, the dock is sold at Sprint and all black. The top and sides are smooth, glossy plastic; the bottom is covered in a soft rubber for grip. What makes the dock unique, however, is that unlike all the third-party docks and cradles we've seen so far, this one connects to the EVO via its micro USB and HDMI (Type D) ports. A micro USB and HDMI (Type A) port are located on the back of the dock for connecting to a computer, USB wall outlet, and of course an HDMI-equipped device like an HDTV.
Photos and some hands-on thoughts about the HDMI dock below.
The first thing that stood out to me about the back of the box, sadly, is the typo in the first sentence. All kinds of typos bother me (I used to be a copy editor and proofreader), but the it's/its error is one of the worst ones. It makes me cringe.
Most people probably wouldn't notice or care about something like that, though, so let's move on.
Inside the box are the dock, user manual, and a 6-foot HDMI Type A cable.
The dock weighs about 3.8 ounces and is incredibly glossy. Expect to see the surface smudged with fingerprints as soon as you take it out of the box. The rubber feet on the bottom keep the dock in place and prevent it from sliding around when seating the EVO into it.
There's a little wiggle room when the EVO is seated in the dock, but the fit is very secure. It takes a bit of fiddling to get it properly seated because both ports/plugs need to connect at the same time, so you can't just carelessly drop it in and expect it to connect.
An extended battery with a replacement door (like this one) that doesn't alter the thickness of the bottom of the EVO will be able to fit into this dock, but even the thinnest silicone case makes it very difficult to put it in without really, really forcing it (and even then, the connection will be loose).
In other words, this is not designed to be used with a case.
I wasn't able to test the HDMI output, unfortunately, so hopefully someone else who has this dock can chime in with their experience with that in the comments. Anyone?
The HDMI docking station for the HTC EVO 4G is available now for $39.99 from Sprint.
Update: Win this dock for your EVO! Enter here.
