Sunday, 22 March 2009
Garmin Nuvi Vent Mount - electronic device holder, gps holder
Great price and excellent quality. Holds a phone, GPS, satellite radio, etc securely without covering controls or charging ports. Spring clamp hooks to the car's air vent- screw and adhesive options also included. I opted for this style as I didn't have to have a bulky case or clip attached to my phone. The whole unit just sits in the car and you pop your device in and go- it is super easy to remove your device too. I love it! Bracketron PHV-200-BL Grip-iT Mobile Device Holder (Black)
I read a review by someone who purchased this item since they didn't want to use the suction cup. They wanted something easy to remove so no one would know a GPS was being used in the car. I wanted it so I could mount it closer to me so I could take advantage of the bluetooth (hands free phone). This device, once put in the air vent is difficult to remove. As a matter of fact, there is still one prong stuck in my air vent after I removed the unit. I wanted to use it with a Garmin nuvi 275T. The location of the plug for the Garmin is in the rear. When you plug in the wire it sticks out the back. You cannot fully mount the Garmin unit in the holder. It is biased to the right which adds a little difficulty when viewing your GPS. Also, this is not a problem with the unit per se, but if your vent is angled in a direction which makes viewing difficult, you will be disappointed. The only adjustment on the unit is the 360 degree rotation. If you need to adjust it in any other position, you're out of luck.
My friend had this bracket device and I wanted to get it because I liked the fact that you would place it on a vent and not have it distracting you from the road if you had a mount that was a suction cup on the windshield. As for the fit on the phone, I have an HTC Incredible and had no problems with fit.
Now for the cons - I'm using this in a Honda Civic and the front vents are too small to use this product. I have also verified that these would not fit on the front vent of Lexus and Mercedes. One solution is to have this on the driver's side vent, which is useful because I don't remember ever really getting any benefit out it. Of course, then it is difficult to stretch any a/c power.
So in summary, good product, but there are some pros and cons associated with it. I'm still happy with my purchase though!
This complex device holder worked fine for a few months. One day I secured my iPod in the holder and the iPod fell out as I started driving. I put it back in a couple more times; when it quickly fell out each time, I realized that the holder was listing to one side. I tried adjusting it upward but it was already pointing all the way up. Then I noticed that one of the two air vent grippers was no longer gripping the vent. Upon inspection I found that the outer vent clip, along with its spring, had vanished. They're nowhere to be found in the car; I think it's likely that they're now inside the air duct. The clip piece must have broken since it would otherwise have stayed on the arm's track. The device holder is completely useless now.
UPDATE: I called the company. They said to go to their website and look toward the bottom of the main page for the link to order replacement bracket springs set for free. It's [...]. The link is in red and is fairly easy to find. Once I sent the email, they actually sent a replacement set via USPS - free! My guess is, I was far from the only one who had this problem. Clearly, the company stands behind their product and is committed to customer satisfaction and easily resolving problems, so I've upgraded my review from three to five stars.
Just got this. Amazing product. Build quality is decent. The fitting onto the air con vent is absolutely brilliant. There is no sort of movement after fitting it so it does not rattle however you can turn it 360 degrees as it is designed to use it in any position. The opening clasp is amazing and to even lock it once you put in a device is very easy. The air con does not get blocked as there is quite a lot of distance between the mounting and the actual holder. You can charge your device whilst it is on the holder and even if the pin is anywhere around the device it can accommodate it due to its flexible design.
Overall great product and incredible design!
Having fried my previous iPod in my cup holder (filled with leaked coffee), I needed a mount that would keep its replacement out of harm's way. Since I live in California, I can't use a windshield mount and the dash mounts don't work for me. This style vent mount works perfectly. I am using it on a '96 Honda Accord with iPod Classic 7th Generation. It will work with the iPhone also.
I was looking for holder with spring clips so it could be easily removed. (The "grip" clips are almost impossible in my estimation.) I have a Garmin vent mount and was pleased to see the mounting part of this set up to be identical. I installed the mount on the left center vent and attached the holding unit. You have to press the "lever" to gradually expand the arms until your device will fit, then squeeze the arms to firmly grip your device. There are swing out arms at the bottom of the holder to use in the vertical position. All the arms are padded. To swing the unit horizontally, you just loosen the plastic nut on the back of the holder, rotate the unit and tighten the nut. The little arms you use in the vertical position swing out of the way to use it horizontally. The holder unit sits forward of the mount so it has room to be tilted toward the driver.
It holds my iPod beautifully and does exactly what I wanted it to do. Couldn't be happier, and the price was right. Not the most beautiful, streamlined thing in the world, but being black, it blends in fine with the vent and the iPod.
I have had this for 2 months now. I use this with my DROID X in a Otterbox case when navigating around. Because of the Otterbox I can't use the OEM mount. It's a great after market substitute. Mounts easily to the vents on my civic and montero. It rotates to any position. The grips hold the phone well through all the vibration and car movement. Hasn't fallen or slipped out ounce. - Gps Holder - Bracketron - Electronic Device Holder - Gps Mount'
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