The Cheapest Charge & Sync Dock for Android Devices. (US$1)

Not bad looking and probably the least expensive these can be, provided that, like me, you have a few miscellaneous bits around.

Update 2/16/14: I dropped my HTC One XL again and this time the glass smashed pretty badly. I still can't bring myself to spend hundreds for new glass and I'm in the middle of a two-year contract, so I picked up a ZTE Radiant pre-pay phone and stuck my SIM in it. It's a bit lower end and a bit smaller, but hey, I do have a ten-inch tablet so no worries. The ZTE fits right onto the stand that was customized for the HTC. The only thing I changed was the lettering on the front!

Step 1:

I saw these at the Dollar Tree and knew that I just had to take a couple home.

To clarify, especially for those outside the US, everything at Dollar Tree is $1.

Step 2: Rewire - It Must Be Done.

The bad thing about these (and let's face it, for $1 there has to be a negative) is that the cord sucks. Out of the box, this thing makes my phone flash on and off and frankly has me afraid that something will be damaged. So, first thing was to grab a couple of old USB "tails" (cords removed from defunct devices, like card readers, cordless keyboard base units, etc) and graft them in to replace the original cables. I soldered them in (thankfully, the original cables use standard color coding) and taped them up. Ugly, yes, but it's all on the inside.

And, I should mention, these things seem made for DIY, as there is no glue or screws holding them together, just friction. I only needed my thumbnails to open them up.

Step 3: Individual Customization

The stand for the Nook was dead simple - change the cable and you're good to go.

The phone (AT&T One X) was a little more complicated. First, the plug had to be turned around. No problem, just pull it out from the bottom, turn it around, and put it back in. That's okay, but the phone is then way off center and hangs off the right end. So I used a tiny drill bit and X-Acto knife to create a new hole for the plug. The plug is glued in and then I cut/broke off the little post that held the plug tight in the original position (on the right in the second picture) and used a spot of glue to put it right under the plug in the new position. It wedges nicely between the plug and the bottom of the stand. Next time, I think I'll just use a blob of PC-7 or similar epoxy, but I just didn't have any around this time. Finally, I folded up a sticky note to bring the back support forward to match the angle of the phone. I'll replace that with something nicer, like maybe a piece of foam tape.

Step 4: All Done!

Here's my cool bedside alarm clock. I had some stick-on vinyl letters and thought I'd use them to dress things up a little. (The clock app is "Dock Clock".)