Aftermarket iPhone 5 Docks Fill Missing Void

The launch of the iPhone 5 brought a brand-new Apple Lightning connector which unfortunately made 30-pin-optimized, third-party accessories useless until recently, when the Lightning-to-30-pin adapter hit the Apple Store. But one thing is still missing: the iPhone 5 dock to sync and charge your favourite iDevice sitting upright.

Fortunately, there are aftermarket solutions available. iPhone5mod.com has already bypassed Apple’s security chip found in the Lightning cable, and made a decent offer for an illuminated Lightning cable and dock package for $39.99.

But this isn’t the only one. A quick search on eBay opens the door to paradise for aftermarket iPhone 5 docks. From that moment on, the choice is yours: you can pick up a Braeburn iPhone 5 acoustic charging dock for $27, or you can start bidding on a Radial engine WWII Raw Airplane piston iPhone 5 charging dock, with a starting price of $119.99.

However, eBay isn’t the channel through which you can purchase an iPhone 5 dock. AGizmos, an aftermarket manufacturer from Texas, has plenty of iPhone 5 docks available for shipping priced at $24.89, plus four shipping methods starting from $5.50 (Airmail, up to 18 days delivery) to $60.50 (FedEx up to 5 business days delivery).

If you are a do-it-yourself handyman, you can manufacture one of your own, though; just like a MacRumors forum member, Inaka did. The iPhone 5 user needed an iPhone 5 dock, so he didn’t wait for Apple to release one, but instead did it on his own, converting the USB lightning cable into a charging dock with some scrap wood, a few screws, some sandpaper and a splash of paint. And the whole manufacturing process took only 90 minutes. The result speaks for itself.

So which iPhone 5 dock will you choose?

[Image credit: braeburndirect, Inaka]