Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPhone, iDevice Accessories, Reviews
Provides: iPhone 4 car holder
Developer: BringMobi
Minimum Requirements: iPhone 4 (also available for iPhone 3)
Price: $49.95
Availability: Now
When you think about it, the iPhone 4 Design Car Kit by NAVIGON makes perfect sense. Looking into your rear view mirror, what do you see? The mirror (and whatever’s in it). You don’t see the device the holds it to your windshield, you just see what’s important. This is the approach BringMobi took when developing the iPhone 4 Design Car Kit. Depending upon your placement of the holder, you’ll see only the phone when looking for directions.
Good design doesn’t end with blending it into the environment, however. The iPhone 4 Design Car Kit is built specifically to hold your iPhone 4 (a mount for the iPhone 3 is also available). The good thing about this is that your iPhone is easy to place and remove, and you won’t have to worry about any important ports or buttons being covered. This was a problem with my previous mount. It used spring-pressure tabs to hold pretty much any phone in place, but the tabs had to be placed directly over my iPhone speaker if the dock cable was plugged in. Not good for hearing directions, obviously.
However, this also means that if you upgrade your iPhone or want to use someone else’s phone that’s not an iPhone 4, you’re out of luck. It doesn’t appear Navigon or BringMobi sell the holder on its own, but that could change. Otherwise, you’re looking a full price upgrade when the time comes.
The mount is also very sturdy and easy to use: there’s just one ball socket to tighten. Mine was pretty stiff when I first used it, but I didn’t bother to loosen it because the connection is so solid. My previous mount, which offered more placement joints and knobs, would bounce a bit even during standard highway travel. The iPhone 4 Design Car Kit keeps said bouncing to a minimum, but it doesn’t sacrifice versatility to do this. You can still orient your iPhone horizontally and vertically, but you’ll be happier if you can find the placement you like, tighten it up and leave it there.
The suction cup is quite strong. I always test these sans iPhone to make sure they won’t pop off the window, and the iPhone 4 Design Car Kit gave me no indication that it would. This is important, because the precise fit means you won’t be able to using a protective case. I always kept my iPhone in an iSkin revo4 to protect the screen should the worse happen, but I can’t do that with the iPhone 4 Design Car Kit.
Navigon sweetens the deal with a nearly 5 foot USB charge/sync cable and a 12-24V car charger so you can easily plug into your car’s cigarette lighter (do they still call them that?). Five feet is excessive for my use, but I’d rather have too much cable than too little. If the extra cable hanging loose bothers me, I can easily buy a standard 3 foot USB charge/sync cable. Not a problem.
BringMobi also offers a dashboard mounting pad, sold separately for two for $9.95, should you prefer to keep your iPhone on the dash.
There’s obviously no shortage of iPhone car mounting kits out there, and you know your needs better than I do. I really do like that the design of the iPhone 4 Design Car Kit by NAVIGON hides everything but the phone, and I love how sturdy and bounce-free the mount is. But I do miss the security of placing my iPhone in a protective case as it’s held a couple feet above my gear shift. And if you’re looking for a mount that also enhances cell reception, you’re not going to get that here.
Still interested? Good, because this is a well designed unit that will serve you well…until you get a new phone, anyway.
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Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »
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