UPDATE:Henge Dock Installed and Reviewed.

[Afbar1114]

This is an install and review of this Henge Dock bought from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VV7QNY/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img


Just installed everything but firewire. so far everything seems fine. it seems a lil tight but i may readjust wires if needed. took about 30 minutes. much cleaner looking. although i wish it had a usb port or two in front of it instead of it coming out the back. maybe a thought for other products.

Install:
Make sure MBP is off.
1. Flip MBP over to ports
2. Place dock on MBP
3. Starting from audio port place in MBP and screw in place
4. Repeat step 3 for each connection
5. Make sure each connection is secure before moving on to next.
6. If needed you can use your own network cable but make sure to remove clip.
7. Use only Apple Thunderbolt/display cable as the cut out is only made for this.
8. Hook up and test everything to make sure it works.
9. ENJOY!!!

I maybe getting a USB hub to hook up other items but im seeing if I need it. My desk looks much cleaner and when I go to school i just take it out and im good to go.

Notes:
You may want to buy another charger to have it hook up to
If its not powered on you will need to undock to power on and redock



Review:
Initial thoughts are that this dock is well built. But it seems the plastic needs to be bit stronger. The dock does have a wide base and is very sturdy when the MacBook Pro is docked. When it is all put together it is very neat, all the wires come out the back and make the work area less cluttered. It is advised by Henge Docks to only use Apple made Thunderbolt/display cables are as the port is formed for this wire. Henge Docks does sell their own display cables if you do not have one and they will work as well.
The cables supplied were of good quality. It comes with two USB 2.0 cables, one Firewire 800, one audio cable, and one ethernet cable or network cable. The site states that it is a gigabyte networking cable. The user can use their own cable if they remove the clip first. Docking is extremely easy the user just places the MacBook Pro and it will dock. The user must supply their own display and charging cables. It is good to know that one can benefit from another charger if they travel a lot as removing the charger over and over again can get quite frustrating.
To remove MacBook Pro place hand on base and remove. The dock can be improved greatly with more features but it is a start to a great product. This dock can be great for students who need to use a bigger screen or people who travel a lot as well. Although the average user may not be using an external screen. Many can benefit from this dock. It is also worth noting that the user will not be able to use the webcam because the lid is closed. Also the user may want to buy some speakers because the sound is muffled when the lid is closed. It is also worth noting that in order to power back on from shut down it must be undocked.

I will be updating this post after a week of use.

UPDATE #1: 10/15/2012

After a few days of use i have found it to be a good dock. If you turn the MBP off you must un-dock turn it on and then re-dock. This can be annoying. I also would like to have seen the dock have built in ports instead of wires in the back. I contacted Henge docks about this and they told me they are in the works of a dock like this. it does take a bit of strength to undock the MBP and i found that the Firewire port does make this tougher.
The audio wire that came with the dock is broken and i have contacted Henge docks to see if they can replace this. It is also worth noting the the cable is only for audio and not the mic but they do sell one from their site that can fix this. The display cables from Apple are very short and you must tuck it in the slot in the back in order for it to fit. I might try to buy the one from Henge docks to see if this fixes the problem because they seem to be a bit longer then the apple ones.
Over all i am pretty impressed with the dock it makes my desk much cleaner and when i go to school i just simply undock and on my way. you can use your own network cable but MAKE sure it does not have any piece of clip on it. I will be trying the henge dock network cable to see if it is any better to undock or not and will update once i do this.

I will be updating this post for weeks to come if i find anything out.

 

[Afbar1114]

UPDATED POST #1 with new details.

 

[Coldmode]

I can confirm that the Henge dock video adapters work much better than those from Apple. They're about 75% longer and stick out the back of the dock nicely. I've been using my dock for about 23 months and have been happy with it. The only real annoyance is that you can't use the SD card slot when the machine is on the dock, but with the nice cameras on the newer iPhones I hardly use cameras that use SD cards anymore. I also use a 7 port USB hub, which was useful before getting the dock but since has been even nicer.

Edit: I'd also just add that when you're undocking the machine it's important to make it manually go sleep, and then to wait until the sleep light starts "breathing". If you just yank the thing out you'll be moving it around with a spinning hard drive, which really is not what you want to be doing.

 

[Afbar1114]

I can confirm that the Henge dock video adapters work much better than those from Apple. They're about 75% longer and stick out the back of the dock nicely. I've been using my dock for about 23 months and have been happy with it. The only real annoyance is that you can't use the SD card slot when the machine is on the dock, but with the nice cameras on the newer iPhones I hardly use cameras that use SD cards anymore. I also use a 7 port USB hub, which was useful before getting the dock but since has been even nicer.

Edit: I'd also just add that when you're undocking the machine it's important to make it manually go sleep, and then to wait until the sleep light starts "breathing". If you just yank the thing out you'll be moving it around with a spinning hard drive, which really is not what you want to be doing.

I just got the Henge Dock DVI cable. I will update my post once i get it. I also would like to know from a current user if it is really easy to undock or does it take some pull to undock it? because it seems as if i have to pick up one side a little bit before it undocks easy.

 

[Coldmode]

I just got the Henge Dock DVI cable. I will update my post once i get it. I also would like to know from a current user if it is really easy to undock or does it take some pull to undock it? because it seems as if i have to pick up one side a little bit before it undocks easy.

It takes a little getting used to. If you grip the machine over the optical drive and pull straight up it comes out of the dock easier. This means you're pulling up right where all the ports are connected. However, you generally need to hold the dock down with one hand while pulling up with the other. There are some good videos of this technique on the Henge Docks site (or at least there were two years ago).

 

[skitzogreg]

Are you worried at all about the sides scratching as it is placed in/removed?

 

[Coldmode]

Are you worried at all about the sides scratching as it is placed in/removed?

I can answer this for OP, sort of. I wasn't concerned about scratching when I bought the dock...computers are tools made to be used in my opinion. But after nearly two years of use my MBP hasn't scratched at all from use in the dock. The fit is snug but not suffocating, and the dock is plastic.

 

[Afbar1114]

after a few weeks of use it seems like i may be returning it. I do not like how tight the ports are and how hard it is do undock.