I have one of these and at first it was great. My springy one kept dropping the phone. I used it for weeks and was very happy. And then it got cold out and the phone becomes red hot when the heat kicks in! There is no space between the vent and the phone, even a little air will bring the phone to cherry red.
Until I read this, I’d have expected that attaching a strong natural magnet to your phone would have unwanted consequences. Guess not. I always learn something on boingboing.
I have a Garmin satnav which has a magnetic attachment to its base, and can be removed. This is very clever until it wipes the magnetic stripe on a car parking ticket and you have to pay for a whole day. Only once.
The only mounts which I have found totally satisfactory after years of trying (including making my own) are the ones made by Brodit. They are expensive. I had to import mine. They fit individual cars. They work. Perfectly. And they look like a manufacturer accessory, not an afterthought.
I bought this Spigen off of Amazon a few months ago, for around this price. I wanted to get two, but the coupon I used was only good for one. About a week later I bought a magnetic Mpow mount off of Amazon (if they didn’t have logos I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart) on sale for even less. And right now the Mpow is on sale for $5.99 + free shipping.
My review: They both work equally well. Just stick it and forget it. The only issue I’ve encountered is that sometimes the strong magnet pulls the mount off of the vent slits when I go to remove it. Not that big a deal, and definitely worth the price.
Those Brodits look pretty cool, do they work if you have a case on the phone?
I have a similar crapgradget to this, and the metal plate slips between the phone and the case. Happily, I can close the vent it’s mounted upon, so no issues with overheating here.
Mountek magnetic mounts are amazing. I’ve had one for 4 months and it’s the best I’ve ever used.
My wife and I just put the metal plates inside our cases and they work great. I love this thing!
Don’t know, haven’t tried.
One thing; they hold the phone away from the vent (if you have a vent mounted one) and the bracket also deflects air away. So the vent doesn’t need to be closed.
Does anybody actually use CD player slots for CDs any more?
I actually went and looked; both my cars have them but I had never noticed.
(Disclaimer- used to sell Brodit products)
If it’s a popular phone they’ll have different device holders to handle different cases. There are also adjustable holders that can fit most phone cases. That’s what I use currently, with an iPhone 6 and hard case. It has side brackets that can slide in and out and are locked with an allen bolt. Had it since May and it’s not slackened off. The active holders which charge the phone are expensive, but most of the passive mounts allow you to plug in the charging cable.
The brackets come in two parts, the one that clips in to the car (No screws!) and the device holder that then gets screwed to that. It means that the device holder can be easily changed when you get a new phone without replacing the car mount.
They are really well engineered products, and all made by a small team in Sweden. I think they tend to focus on cars available in Europe, so you may need to check for US applications. The range is extensive, covering virtually every car available in Europe, it’s only very obscure or old cars that you might struggle with.
I just can’t bring myself to attach a magnet to an electronic device. I accidentally erased one too many 5 1/4 floppies back in the day. Intellectually I know it’s ok, but my gut won’t let me do it.
MY favourite car phone mount is the passenger seat next to me. Or the cup holder.
I have a GPS unit in the car that I paid $100 for with unlimited map updates - it works just fine. Its UI is designed with big buttons that are easy to read and press from the seat.
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