Develop Bugs

Kingston wi-drive now supports kindle fire and is at amazon store

Just seen this anyone know what this is.
http://kindleworld.blogspot.com/2012/01/kingston-wi-drive-app-for-kindle-fire.html

johnsaldivar said:
Just seen this anyone know what this is.
http://kindleworld.blogspot.com/2012/01/kingston-wi-drive-app-for-kindle-fire.html
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I posted this a few days ago in the General forum...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1443654
it definitely looks like a good idea.

$100 32gb flash drive
I hope kindle gets usb host support

I assume this works over WiFi? Would be cool if it worked over secret bluetooth and we finally found out for sure the BT worked...

I just ordered one..

This seems pretty cool; however, the 3 hour battery life is somewhat disconcerting.

podspi said:
I assume this works over WiFi? Would be cool if it worked over secret bluetooth and we finally found out for sure the BT worked...
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It provides its own WiFi network to which up to 3 devices can connect but also has an extra element that allows it to use a bridging mechanism to let your Kindle Fire be connected to the Internet and the Wi-Drive at the same time (not possible with the otherwise interesting AirStash with nice features of its own). You can be using media from the Wi-Drive while looking up something on the Net.
Besides adding storage to the Kindle Fire this way, 3 people can be wirelessly conected to it at the same time and be watching 3 different movies (or the same one) with what customer reviewers describe as smooth response. But it lasts only 3.5 to 4 hours per session, on the battery.
The sharing function is a real plus for families.
- Andrys (anieb & Kindleworld)

What a ripoff....
We could have this same thing for $5-20 in a micro SD slot/card if Amazon had more sense before releasing this thing.
I will not be buying this. We have a cheap $200 tablet, if you plan to spend $50-200 more on this kind of thing you might as well have bought a better tablet instead.
I don't think this is anything to get excited about.

Since it is apparently a hotspot do you have to pay some sort of monthly fee? Seems co
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know someone that tried this with an iPAD2... streaming wasn't very good. they sent it back.

i bought one of this too, and im really enjoying.
It streams very well full hd movies to my fire and phone.
I'm having only one problem, cant access files on my windows laptop.
I go to 192.168.200.254 on browser and then i think he dont see well the code, cause appears just " /" NameLast Modified Size " and then the files i have on wi-drive. it's supposed to appear a list of linkable files i have, right?

krelvinaz said:
I know someone that tried this with an iPAD2... streaming wasn't very good. they sent it back.
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I've streamed original 1280 x 720 videoclips shot with a FlipMino HD from the Wi-Drive -- to a Kindle Fire, a Samsung S2 phone, and a Samsung Tab 10.1
They all streamed smoothly. But I don't have an iPad2.
It depends on how you do your file. I've seen now conversion software that is unstable on the intended device and which is not playable from the Wi-Drive and looks like it's torn apart on any of the 3 devices I mentioned.
Positive results came with DVD Catalyst 4 to downsize, and from Emicsoft's easy 'join'ing of mp4's.
I experimented with both the original videoclips and joined ones, which even if called 'lossless' changes something due to the resulting somewhat smaller file.
The FlipMino HD uses 60 frames per second.
---------- Post added at 07:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:39 PM ----------
Android16 said:
What a ripoff....
We could have this same thing for $5-20 in a micro SD slot/card if Amazon had more sense before releasing this thing.
I will not be buying this. We have a cheap $200 tablet, if you plan to spend $50-200 more on this kind of thing you might as well have bought a better tablet instead.
I don't think this is anything to get excited about.
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The Nook Tablet has the SD slot and costs $50 more + the cost of a good SD card. (It also has better specs in total.)
The Wi-Drive can be shared by 3 devices at a time, accessing the same data or different data. Can't do that with an SD card, but it all depends on your need for that. Some are sharing it on trips, for kids in the back of the car.
But it still lasts only 3.5 to 4 hours tht way.
Someone else mentioned it acts as a hotspot. Actually, it doesn't serve Internet data. It just serves its own stored data. Other devices connect to the Wi-Drive as a sort of cloud and it provides the wireless access to itself -- but not to the Net.
It can, though, be used with a connected device while the latter accesses the Net. It uses some kind of bridging mechanism to do that.

baj24 said:
This seems pretty cool; however, the 3 hour battery life is somewhat disconcerting.
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Here's the good thing. You can use the Wi-Drive while it's plugged in. Doesn't matter if the battery's drained. People on vacation can use it in their hotel rooms that way.
I just did the setup to use the Wi-Drive and be on the Net at the same time. It's easier than I thought from reading it the first time. You just put the Wi-Drive on your WiFi network (using the Wi-Drive app on your Kindle Fire) and then the Wi-Drive reboots.
After it's done, and ready, you use the app on the KFire to connect with the Wi-Drive again and then check the Wi-Drive's network connections status and there's an icon that, if it shows up, means you're both on the Net, via the Wi-Drive and also able to access the Drive. The other ones I've read about don't do both at the same time...

anieb said:
Here's the good thing. You can use the Wi-Drive while it's plugged in. Doesn't matter if the battery's drained. People on vacation can use it in their hotel rooms that way.
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Are you sure you can use it while it's charging? Did you actually try it?
The article states that you can not.
His caveats are that with two or more people using it at a time, constantly streaming, it runs for only 3 hours and then must be re-charged again and you cannot recharge this with the miniUSB adapter while using it. He doesn't say how long it lasts with one person using it.
That was actually one of the things that was turning me against it... would love to know if it's not true.
Though honestly, I will probably just wait for a stable ICS ROM that will, hopefully, by then have the usb host function working.

Xandralia said:
Are you sure you can use it while it's charging? Did you actually try it?
The article states that you can not.
His caveats are that with two or more people using it at a time, constantly streaming, it runs for only 3 hours and then must be re-charged again and you cannot recharge this with the miniUSB adapter while using it. He doesn't say how long it lasts with one person using it.
That was actually one of the things that was turning me against it... would love to know if it's not true.
Though honestly, I will probably just wait for a stable ICS ROM that will, hopefully, by then have the usb host function working.
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It turned out that the customer reviewer was wrong about not being able to charge it while accessing it. I've just replied to his review because I AM able to charge it while running a movie from the Wi-Drive. At home. With the power adapter that came with the unit. However, Kingston is clear that you cannot charge it and access it if you are using the USB cord with a computer. It has to be with the power adapter that comes with the unit or is Apple Certified.
The reviewer was describing not being able to charge it in his car once the battery was run down. I called Kingston tech support to find out if there was something different about its use with car adapters, and a Level 2 tech support rep said that it does charge it while you're using but the car adapter has to be up to a certain standard and the best thing to do is look for car adapters that are Apple Product Certified.
I haven't been able to test that yet though!

So anyone can confirm if we can use wi drive while charging with power. adapter?

therethere said:
So anyone can confirm if we can use wi drive while charging with power. adapter?
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Yes, I explained above that I can charge it while using it. The customer reviewer who said it wasn't possible has revised his review and is now letting people know how to do it, after I wrote to that review thread. He is very good about adding updated info.

does anyone know if they have mobile wireless 1TBs yet? the seagate one is only 500gigs

ok, thanks.
i tried with a charger i have but that don't work, maybe because it got a led light on charger. will have to try another

therethere said:
ok, thanks.
i tried with a charger i have but that don't work, maybe because it got a led light on charger. will have to try another
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It comes with its own charger. The chargers need to be at a standard, they said, which qualifies for 'Apple product qualified' ... The one that comes with it definitely works.
There's also a trick that's needed which I mentioned and the customer reviewer added to his updates. And that's to make sure it's off without the charger plugged in.
Turn it On w/o the charger plugged in. Then turn the Wi-Drive back On to let it get activated. At that point, plug in the power adapter .

Samsunged again!

So what is our best option to pester samsung and/or Google to release the 3 pin car dock? And home dock?
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.

Bricks through windows, moltovs, maybe mailing body parts one at a time?
You could also try Twitter or something.

Stadsport said:
Bricks through windows, moltovs, maybe mailing body parts one at a time?
You could also try Twitter or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tried the first 3 ... never worked
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I know, it's pretty silly isn't it? Not only are there no accessories out that use it, but apparently from what I read the charge isn't even enough to sustain the phone while it's on. Definitely a big dropped ball. There's really no excuse for that on a flagship phone.

Seriously!
I sure thought long and hard about the Razor because Moto "Puts out" when it comes to accessories and the Lapdock looks pretty promising if they get the bugs out of the new one.
There are plenty of issues to be irritated about with this phone (flaky data connection anyone?) and I have managed to keep my disappointment tempered since with 4.0.4 coming (SOON DAMMIT!) it should solve a lot of them but thank you for reminding me of another

May I suggest waiting another 11 days for the car dock?
http://www.expansys-usa.com/samsung-google-galaxy-nexus-vehicle-mount-225505/
And... another 12 days for the home dock?
http://www.expansys-usa.com/samsung-google-galaxy-nexus-desk-stand-226695/
EDIT: Interesting that those models are not compatible with the Verizon version.

Acererak said:
My guess is Verizon wants to sell their own car mount.
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But the mounts for the GSM and CDMA versions are incompatible so... this makes no sense. Verizon can't force Samsung to not sell to the rest of the world

Maybe the CEO just needs to wake up next to a horse head.

Stadsport said:
Bricks through windows
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Dont forget to attach a note to that brick so they get the message loud and clear.

Smokeey said:
Maybe the CEO just needs to wake up next to a horse head.
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I am Italian...

dmmarck said:
I am Italian...
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I'm Sicilian, we're the people who run the mob.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

thequinox said:
I know, it's pretty silly isn't it? Not only are there no accessories out that use it, but apparently from what I read the charge isn't even enough to sustain the phone while it's on. Definitely a big dropped ball. There's really no excuse for that on a flagship phone.
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I made my own cradle charger out of wood just so I could have one.
It appears the POGO pins only accept max of .5A, so it charges pretty slow. I use it as my overnight charger.
If you were using a car dock with GPS running, it won't sustain it at all, given that 1A chargers barely keep up if you're running nav.
I do want to say that I am really unhappy with the lack of accessories for it as well as the fragmentation of having two galaxy nexus form factors to deal with, which further reduces the desire for 3rd party accessory makers to look at making stuff for our phone. I feel like Samsung really blew it with this one.

wonshikee said:
I made my own cradle charger out of wood just so I could have one.
It appears the POGO pins only accept max of .5A, so it charges pretty slow. I use it as my overnight charger.
If you were using a car dock with GPS running, it won't sustain it at all, given that 1A chargers barely keep up if you're running nav.
I do want to say that I am really unhappy with the lack of accessories for it as well as the fragmentation of having two galaxy nexus form factors to deal with, which further reduces the desire for 3rd party accessory makers to look at making stuff for our phone. I feel like Samsung really blew it with this one.
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do we blame google or samsung? google probably gave in to verizon even though i am sure samsung has more say on accessories. so do we impale a nexus through the usb port and post it on samsung website's front page?

@rbiter said:
do we blame google or samsung? google probably gave in to verizon even though i am sure samsung has more say on accessories. so do we impale a nexus through the usb port and post it on samsung website's front page?
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It's entirely Samsung, nothing to do with Google. They built the phone. Unless of course, VZ actually said - our phone has to be a different form factor, in which case they can die in a fire.
Someone at Samsung with some common sense should of said, gee golly, maybe we should just thicken up the GSM version half a mm, throw in a bigger battery and everyone would be happy.

The Limb.al cable (Sweet USB cable with multiple uses)

Just saw this one Kickstarter. Think its going to be a hit. Im def signing up for this one. Will make for a nice car charger for me.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782458858/the-limbal?ref=live

I like it. I agree it'll be great for the car.

Interesting, but micro usb ports are flimsy as it is.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

No way that thing will hold a Galaxy Nexus securely. The USB port on the phone is already a very weak connection. Not to mention, that thing will probably destroy your port even more than it might already be.

This would actually be great. Might have to put some money towards it.

i'm much more interested in the software that lets you use your phone as a display.

v3rn said:
No way that thing will hold a Galaxy Nexus securely. The USB port on the phone is already a very weak connection. Not to mention, that thing will probably destroy your port even more than it might already be.
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The video shows it holding a GNEX, at like 1 minute.

Thanks we got pogo pins , but accessories cost to much, I have the desktop audio dock, and it's ****ing very high quality, still cheap price for working usb port

tspderek said:
i'm much more interested in the software that lets you use your phone as a display.
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In their picture they're using Air display, which is iOS and OS X only :-(. I too would kill for something like that for android.
kvizz said:
The video shows it holding a GNEX, at like 1 minute.
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He didn't say it wasn't possible, just that it's going to wreck the micro-usb port, which it most likely will.

Using the micro-usb to hold up the phone on its own weight? You’re asking to break the port and possibly ruin the phone.
no thanks

I dont think there should be any issues with this as long as you are careful when first putting it in the micro slot. Just like with a dock or regular charging cable, if you jam it in there, its going to cause havoc. And if it does break it, my phone is under a yr warranty so I wont mind. I think this is going to be a great product. I will write a review once they are shipped in Sept.

I thought about getting one for the car, but then I thought what would happen at a hard braking situation... I'll pass.

BlackKatos said:
I thought about getting one for the car, but then I thought what would happen at a hard braking situation... I'll pass.
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I just wont use it when I am racing, lol.

Docking Station

Hi,
so soon my nexus will be here and after over 6 years with iPhone I'm moving to try android.
one think i always loved about my iphone is the docking station, makes life better and easier.
now with the iphone its very easy to find docking station that fit 100% right, and then i dont have to worry about damage to the charging port, the phone is held up very tight and i never had any problem.
on the android camp its harder to find phone specific accessories so heres what i manage to find:
im looking for a cheap solution but can pay a little more if its really worth it
cheap:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-USB-D...AU_MobilePhoneAccessories&hash=item2ecab22c6d
expensive:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-M...Phone_PDA_Cables_Adapters&hash=item43c158ab0c
the expensive one at least comes with a cable, and heres a video i found that shows that this product might be a better choice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTyGmNTh6iA
i just dont want the device to wobble freely hanging only by the usb connector.
i also hear that micro usb is much weaker then apple connectors so im a bit worried.
any1 have any experince with such products? what do u think? am i risking damage to my usb port? thanks.

yossi_s1 said:
am i risking damage to my usb port? thanks.
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IMHO ... yes, you are risking damaging the port. I personally wouldn't even consider using one as I've gone through a bunch of phones that the Micro-USB eventually stopped working properly. The Nexus one was notorious for that problem as have been quite a few other devices. Micro-USB just doesn't hold up over time.
Now, back to your problem. One thing the Nexus 5 has over the iPhone is Qi Wireless charging. So, might I suggest stop thinking in terms of how you would plugin in your iPhone to charge it, and to sync it with iTunes. All of this can be done using apps that sync wirelessly (iSyncr etc) and a good Qi charger.
Here's a good starting point for a "dock" like standing position while your N5 charges:
http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-DT910-Wireless-Charging-Stand/dp/B00A3NCC8M

It's important for you to note the orientation of the Micro USB port on the phone. On nexus devices reversed compared to the samsung phones those docks are for. I own the dock on the first link. It will not work with the Nexus.
You need one that's pin-side facing you. Unless you want the phone facing away from you
It's an annoying aspect of the Micro USB standard -- when it comes to direction, there is no standard.
DIY: Not ideal because it doesn't LOOK great but does WORK great. I bought the dock from that first link for my S3 and because of its 'universal'ness it was extremely wobbly, putting much undue strain on the port. I stuck a couple wads of Sugru down on the dock and behind the connector (where the phones back would rest) and stuck my phone in. When it dried after 30 minutes I had a perfect custom fit. Looked like **** though. Function over form in this case.

scirio said:
It's important for you to note the orientation of the Micro USB port on the phone. On nexus devices reversed compared to the samsung phones those docks are for. I own the dock on the first link. It will not work with the Nexus.
You need one that's pin-side facing you. Unless you want the phone facing away from you
It's an annoying aspect of the Micro USB standard -- when it comes to direction, there is no standard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this...
but this is also a relatively new thing as the Nexus 4 was the "standard" way that everyone is used to (small side up where the Nexus 5 flipped it to small side down)

For charging, I would recomend the Google's wireless charger: https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_Wireless_Charger?id=nexus_wireless_charger. As for syncing, what kind of things are you going to sync from your computer to your phone? On the android side the majority of things can/are synced over wifi or cloud services.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Thanks for all the answers...
I didn't think about orientation lol, i forgot about this issue.. so docking stations seems meh ATM
about wireless chargers... quite expensive IMO and i always fear that since the phone is not being held tightly it might fall and break.
i put my phone on a nightstand near my bed so accidents in the dark could happen, and i also like it when the phone is standing so i can see the screen without picking it up.
so that limits the range of wireless chargers i can use.
syncing is not a problem btw.
good thing i asked here.. i almost bought one of those. i guess ill try to find wireless one that suites me.
thanks again!

yossi_s1 said:
Thanks for all the answers...
I didn't think about orientation lol, i forgot about this issue.. so docking stations seems meh ATM
about wireless chargers... quite expensive IMO and i always fear that since the phone is not being held tightly it might fall and break.
i put my phone on a nightstand near my bed so accidents in the dark could happen, and i also like it when the phone is standing so i can see the screen without picking it up.
so that limits the range of wireless chargers i can use.
syncing is not a problem btw.
good thing i asked here.. i almost bought one of those. i guess ill try to find wireless one that suites me.
thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google is your friend as usual, Kidigi are about to launch a Nexus 5 specific dock which is more substantial than the one you were looking at.

car accesories?

i opened this thread for discussion about car accesories for the pixel 3.
i'm specially interested in a dual 12v charger (one slot good for the pixel 3, another for standard usb smartphones); and too i'm looking for a phone holder.
anyone having experience with any of these?

miguelAr52 said:
i opened this thread for discussion about car accesories for the pixel 3.
i'm specially interested in a dual 12v charger (one slot good for the pixel 3, another for standard usb smartphones); and too i'm looking for a phone holder.
anyone having experience with any of these?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use this one from Aukey. It's half the price of the Anker.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E764DXM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And no distracting LEDs

I'm using this one from wicked chili.
Looks sleek in my opinion and has just a minor LED. Also not that expansive.
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07CQSHMJ2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_EPFeCb8FFDQVE
May be just interesting for Europeans, don't know if it's available in the US
Gesendet von meinem Pixel 3 mit Tapatalk

I'm using one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071WYF9HP
And one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D9FYBMJ
Liked the combination so much that I bought another set for my other car. They go on sale all the time, so I'd recommend waiting so you don't have to pay full price.

I grabbed this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GZ78R6D/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
since I've had good luck with other Anker accessories

Looking for a BT system that doesn't have the 1-2 second delay like the one built into the car.

USB Type C Car Charger, Nekteck 5.4A USB-C Car Charger Adapter with Integrated Built-in Type-C 3.1 Cord for Google Pixel 3 2/ XL, Galaxy S9/ S9 Plus/Note 8/ S8/ S8 Plus More, Black - Coiled Cord https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CH9NEM2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_m.vfCbV0RKYPA
That's the best car charger I could find. Built in coiled USB C cable (for compactness/neatness) with a regular USB slot to charge additional devices when needed.
Got one of these in mine and the wife's cars and they've worked great since my Nexus 5x days.

Looking for a cable usb a to usb c works well (fast charges) in a qc 3.0 car charger for pixel 3. Any suggestions?

scoliosis said:
Looking for a BT system that doesn't have the 1-2 second delay like the one built into the car.
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I have been using this one in the MINI
https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Re...r=8-6&keywords=roav+bluetooth+adapter+for+car

Are any of these fast charge compatible?

tony1208 said:
Are any of these fast charge compatible?
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You need something like this which had USB power delivery and QC3.0
GearMo 75W QC 3.0 & USB Type C... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07115BLPP?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Note10.1Dude said:
I have been using this one in the MINI
https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Re...r=8-6&keywords=roav+bluetooth+adapter+for+car
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Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll check it out and see how well it works.

scoliosis said:
Thanks, I'll check it out and see how well it works.
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Click to collapse
I see that thing is BT 4.1. If it's low latency you're after, look for something that supports BT 5.0. Also if you're looking to use a BT receiver for music or the highest quality sound available right now, look for ones supporting both BT 5.0 and APTX HD.

miguelAr52 said:
i opened this thread for discussion about car accesories for the pixel 3.
i'm specially interested in a dual 12v charger (one slot good for the pixel 3, another for standard usb smartphones); and too i'm looking for a phone holder.
anyone having experience with any of these?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw several options in the thread, but any of them are from amazon. I personally prefer the source - China, where everything from amazon actually is manufactured. Just've got car charger with dual sockets - USB-A and USB-C. It cost me $4.99 at sale, now $6.99:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Baseus-30W-Dual-USB-C-PD-Quick-Charge-QC-4-0-Car-Charger-For-Mobile-Phone/32919769665.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.17524c4dQHBim9
It's Baseus 30W Dual USB C PD Quick Charge QC 4.0 Car Charger. Nicely packed (perfect as a gift). Checked how it works - perfect for Pixel 3 and Pixelbook. Tested both sockets, no surprises, it USB-С rapid charge, in USB-A just charge. It comes pretty fast - ordered Dec 29, delivered Jan 11. It's not overnight, but you know - time is money. About phone folder I use simple one, without any build-it charger for $1.59 or even $1.19 for weird color:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Car-Phone-Holder-Air-Vent-Mount-Holder-Pop-Universal-Holder-For-Phone-in-Car-Mobile-Phone/32883695237.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dJZghQu
Pretty strong spring, good grip. Again, similar thing at amazon cost way more. This is why if I see something interesting at amazon, I search similar thing at aliexpress and almost always find exact the same thing at approximately half price. Hope it helps.

Agree with Che. Most things on Amazon are overpriced. There's pro's and con's to buying overseas though.
My biggest concern when going through stores like Aliexpress or Wish is quality and customer service (in case you have questions, received the wrong product, etc.) They either take a week or more to get back to you, or don't get back to you at all.
The other issue is the obvious one. Shipping speed.
Other than those things, I've noticed the reviews on those sites seem completely fake. There's a lot of the same type of comment, someone's verbatim, for certain types of products. As an example, check out the comments for bluetooth receivers on Wish. It's easy to spot if you look for it.
Now even with all these things considered and even if they're all true, it doesn't mean the product isn't worth the price. It also doesn't mean the product isn't a high quality one. But how do you really know what you're getting?

NoXion1 said:
My biggest concern when going through stores like Aliexpress or Wish is quality and customer service (in case you have questions, received the wrong product, etc.) They either take a week or more to get back to you, or don't get back to you at all.
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The customer service is actually pretty good. Only twice nobody answered my questions, but they just silently refunded in full as I requested. Mostly they reacted literally in hours. I've never tried Wish, I use only Aliexpress or other sites from Alibaba group (you can see list of them at the bottom of their page).
NoXion1 said:
The other issue is the obvious one. Shipping speed.
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Yeah, this is the real issue if you need something fast. Usually it is in a month, but in holiday season can be way longer (the worst case was 3 months, but I wasn't in rush). Again, as I mentioned - time is money. I was surprised this season - despite of warning of 60-day delivery, they delivered in less than 20 days (ordered Dec 10 2018, delivered before Christmas - wow!). Now many Aliexpress stores have warehouses in the US, so it can be even several days.
NoXion1 said:
Other than those things, I've noticed the reviews on those sites seem completely fake. [...]
Now even with all these things considered and even if they're all true, it doesn't mean the product isn't worth the price. It also doesn't mean the product isn't a high quality one. But how do you really know what you're getting?
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About quality and reviews - just use your common sense, like at ebay. As I mentioned, "if you see something interesting at Amazon" - so use Amazon's reviews to get a real review. The brandname at a gadget can be different, but remember OEM - they print whatever name you'd like, so if items look alike, they usually identical. Don't forget Google search, including image search. Also don't forget basic research of a seller - how long the store is active, how many positive reviews, what sort of negative reviews they have - some customers are just inadequate. Also positive reviews can be faked, negative - less likely. And. of course, you are right - it's easy to spot a fake one in both categories.
About returns - have never returned anything there, so have no idea how it works if it does. If something's wrong, a seller at Aliexpress in my case prefer to refund and leave you with a defective item. Once there was a shipping charge, so I discussed with the seller that issue and politely pointed that is illogical to pay for delivery of an non-working gadget and they agreed, refunding a half of the delivery charge, as I offered (I had two identical gadgets in my order and one was dead).
A little experience of interacting with Chinese stores - they value their names pretty much. They don't like to "lose face", so if you have a problem - contact them first instead of opening a dispute right away. Almost always we reached mutually acceptable solution. In case of Aliexpress, as I know, they have pretty strict policy there - if a seller hit 95% or less of positive feedback, Aliexpress will kick them out. This is why they are attentive, expecting your high (5 stars) feedback in return. It's better to lose some bucks, than whole business. Also keep in mind cultural differences - it's normal for a Chinese to see business relations as friend's relations. So don't hurt their feelings - it pays back. As everywhere.
Hope you are not bored to death by my long note.

NoXion1 said:
I see that thing is BT 4.1. If it's low latency you're after, look for something that supports BT 5.0. Also if you're looking to use a BT receiver for music or the highest quality sound available right now, look for ones supporting both BT 5.0 and APTX HD.
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Yeah I end up not getting it as Mazda actually made a retrofit kit available to enable Carplay and Android Auto in the CX9. So I went that route instead and it works really well now.

scoliosis said:
Yeah I end up not getting it as Mazda actually made a retrofit kit available to enable Carplay and Android Auto in the CX9. So I went that route instead and it works really well now.
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I don't blame you there. I'd much rather go with something that is built in than an extra box you have to plug into a jack and hide somewhere.