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funny how cars have built in cup holders but not built in phone holder, seeing how the vast majority of owners have phones these days. the problem with all these solutions is there's an eye sore holder that's mounted!!!! car industry are you listening????
I don't ever see that happening for many reasons. The cell phone industry and customer preferences are subject to rapid change. There are far too many phone shapes, sizes, and probably a majority don't want their phone mounted. A search for phone holders on Amazon reveals hundreds of designs reflecting no consumer consensus on what is best. A universal manufacturer-designed "phone-holder" really would be an eye-sore.
My 2013 motorcoach has a built-in phone holder next to the steering wheel, which became obsolete by the time I purchased the coach, because Apple switched connectors with the iPhone 5.
The far more likely and desirable future will be a phone that stays in one's pocket, purse, or briefcase, and is completely integrated into the cars infotainment system.
Mike, I love where you have your phone, but there's no way to run a charging cable to it at that location, and when using certain Apss and / or streaming Bluetooth audio, the battery runs down fast.
Also, with these newer magnetic mounts... my phone always has a boatload of data stored on microSD cards. I've always HEARD that Magnets and PC Memory just don't go well together. Heck, even take a strong magnet and run it close to your PC monitor and see what happens. Are magnetic mounts safe for long term use without damaging screens or having the possibility of losing data?
Are you still using an old CRT monitor? LCD monitors are not affected by magnets at all. Hard drives, (excluding SSD) and any other magnetic storage could be damaged by strong magnetic field but not chip based memory.
Are you still using an old CRT monitor? LCD monitors are not affected by magnets at all. Hard drives, (excluding SSD) and any other magnetic storage could be damaged by strong magnetic field but not chip based memory.
I'll quote Biernut from page 1:
Magnets only affect disk based storage, not flash. There is nothing magnetic in flash memory, so it is immune to the effects of magnetism. A magnet powerful enough to disturb the electrons in flash memory would be powerful enough to suck the iron out of your blood cells. At this point, ruined memory would be the least of your problems.
This was a concern back in the day with floppy drives, but not any more.
Here's my observations/suggestion regarding using the iMagnet.
Putting a steel plate inside the case behind the phone will rattle in your shirt pocket and scratch the phone if the case has any additional room. Also, the magnetic force through the case won't be strong enough to keep the phone from launching onto the center console if you push anywhere around the edges of the phone. Just take one of the self adhesive plates and stick it square in the middle of the back (outside) of the case. Your case is probably all scratched up anyway, so who cares if you glue something to the back of it. Provides a strong force to the iMagnet, so even adrenaline induced poking won't dislodge the phone.
I found the same thing with the magnet inside the case thing. It doesn't work well.
I ordered both the Iron Mike (Schosche) stick-on mount, as well as the SoCal (iMagnet), and Iron Mike wins. I mounted it just as he did, and it is the perfect location. The Schosche mount is so small it's not very noticeable without the phone on it. It's also easily removable with a piece of fishing line and adhesive remover if need be.
That big suction cup dome on the iMagnet bugged me, and I'll use it somewhere else.
Works excellent. Use it for iPhone 6 Plus and it is the best phone holder that is transferrable without marking interior I have found in past two decades of using this type of item. It really secures to glass and does not give no matter how hot or cold interior temperatures get here in northeast.
Looks like it can mount on the window, the dash, or on any relatively flat surface, like the space below the central air vents. It's also flexible and easily removable without needing adhesive.
Though I do like the look at some of the other mounts suggested.
Works excellent. Use it for iPhone 6 Plus and it is the best phone holder that is transferrable without marking interior I have found in past two decades of using this type of item. It really secures to glass and does not give no matter how hot or cold interior temperatures get here in northeast.
Just transferred one from my 06 GTO to 04 XJ8.
I used the round metal plate and just taped it on the inside of my samsung galaxy removable back cover. Figure a pic may help-
I found the same thing with the magnet inside the case thing. It doesn't work well.
I ordered both the Iron Mike (Schosche) stick-on mount, as well as the SoCal (iMagnet), and Iron Mike wins. I mounted it just as he did, and it is the perfect location. The Schosche mount is so small it's not very noticeable without the phone on it. It's also easily removable with a piece of fishing line and adhesive remover if need be.
That big suction cup dome on the iMagnet bugged me, and I'll use it somewhere else.
I would have to agree...
The minimalist footprint and the ability to mount in an ideal location are what sold me on the Schosche mount.
What continues to surprise me however is how solid the phone is on this mount. Whether centered on the mount, or way off to an edge or one corner, or rotated to any angle, the phone remains solid in all applications. I've come to a point where I enter the car and practically toss my phone at the console, and it always seems to find the magnet.
I use a genuine leather ultra-slim case by GYMLE ($17 at Amazon) but instead of sticking the adhesive metal plate on the back of the phone, I adhered it to the inside of the leather case, then put the case back on the phone. Thought for sure the magnetic contact would be substantially impaired with the case separating the metal from the magnet, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
Works great!
And thanks for persuading me to go this way. Even though I've just been listening to the Waze lady telling me what to do with my phone stuffed into the cupholder, I really do love having it at eye level immediately next to the steering wheel.
I use a Spigen Tough Armor case, which has an aluminum back, and is lined with rubber inside. While it does stick when the plate is inside the case, it's a much weaker bond, so I just stuck the plate on the back of the phone case, which is no big deal.
BTW, the iMagnet works equally well, with an equally solid bond. What I don't like as much as it is 3X larger than the Schosche mount and also 3X taller.
Scroll up to Iron Mike's post #15 on page 2. I mounted mine exactly as he did, and he posted many good pictures both with and without the phone mounted.
funny how cars have built in cup holders but not built in phone holder, seeing how the vast majority of owners have phones these days. the problem with all these solutions is there's an eye sore holder that's mounted!!!! car industry are you listening????
Seriously. It's absolutely shocking to me that there isn't that one (or two) glorious intuitive places to lay your smartphone... not this car, but all cars. Eventually I imagine you slip it into a tray that disappears and fully integrates with the car like it's "one" thing....
for now... fumble fumble. =) Glad I got the suction cup...
Scroll up to Iron Mike's post #15 on page 2. I mounted mine exactly as he did, and he posted many good pictures both with and without the phone mounted.
Mine is on the left, over the home button, immediately right of the steering wheel. Will take a pic... it's amazing how it snugs into it so it's not too obvious as an after market add on.... Right at eye level too. It's the solution for now, for sure. =) Cheers.
Mine is on the left, over the home button, immediately right of the steering wheel. Will take a pic... it's amazing how it snugs into it so it's not too obvious as an after market add on.... Right at eye level too. It's the solution for now, for sure. =) Cheers.
Not sure why another pic is needed when this thread is full of pictures, and Foosh already directed readers to my post which contains pics of exactly what you are describing...
Unless you have an IMagnet instead of a Scosche, in which case I happen to agree with Foosh that the IMagnet does not look as clean as the Scosche. The whole suction cup thing screams "look at me - look at what I stuck here", while the Scosche could easily be confused for being an OEM phone mount. JMHO and unbiased one too...
Yes, I realize this owner mounted theirs on the passenger side of the console, which for the life of me I can't understand why someone would put their phone any further away from their line of sight to the roadway than they have to...
Not sure why another pic is needed when this thread is full of pictures, and Foosh already directed readers to my post which contains pics of exactly what you are describing...
Unless you have an IMagnet instead of a Scosche, in which case I happen to agree with Foosh that the IMagnet does not look as clean as the Scosche. The whole suction cup thing screams "look at me - look at what I stuck here", while the Scosche could easily be confused for being an OEM phone mount. JMHO and unbiased one too...
Yes, I realize this owner mounted theirs on the passenger side of the console, which for the life of me I can't understand why someone would put their phone any further away from their line of sight to the roadway than they have to...
Wow, this thread's grown. Since I was the one who posted the photo and suggested the iMagnet, I thought a response was merited
1) When I mounted this, the weather in LA (as you may know) was in the upper 80's/low 90's and I had the AC on all the time. I simply didn't block the driver side vents :P I've since moved it more towards the middle.
2) To be honest, I'm not too bothered by protrusion from the dash, and my line of sight is not that much further from looking at the built-in screen. I sit pretty far back so the degree of variance isn't too much.
3) I drive several cars so the ability to take this mount from one car to the next was appealing when i bought it.
All in all, the iMagnet's served me well. As I suggested in my earlier post, if the adhesive part of the Scosche was a concern, a suction option existed.
As I suggested in my earlier post, if the adhesive part of the Scosche was a concern, a suction option existed.
+1. While the Scosche is a great and unobtrusive solution, I prefer not to glue to glue anything anywhere even if it is easy to remove with dental floss. The iMagnet is a great alternative solution for temporary applications.
Would still love to see photos of this device as installed and utilized. It may be the only system we've not seen.
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger
Hi gang. New owner and 1st post! Not sure how to do pictures yet so you'll have to use your imagination.
Thanks all for the great ideas. I didn't see this one which is what I'm currently using.
A "CD-Mount" smartphone holder is designed to slide into a CD slot about 1 inch with a thin approx. 1mm piece of plastic. There is also a screw that allows you to separate the thin 1mm blades to brace into place.
I used this mount but slid it inbetween the plastic trim piece to the left of the pistol shifter and the leather trim around it so it sits next to my right knee. Doesn't mark the leather at all (so far) and is slides out easily. I took out the adjustment screw as it fit tightly without having to separate the blades.
I like Shifts solution nearly as much as my own.
Clearly, everyone has their own opinion on what makes for a good phone mount, but IMHO I have seen some pretty hideous solutions shown on this forum over the last several months.
In my view, the fundamental purpose of a good phone holder is all about location, location, location... while being unobtrusive in the process. Phones mounted down near the console force the driver to avert their eyes too far from the road, and/or for too much time... and therefore can be a huge distraction to the responsible operation of the vehicle.
The ProClip console mount, cupholder mounts, and cigarette holder mounts all fall into the category, and some are not very attractive to boot...
This is my phone, mounted, from several angles:
Straight-on view - Vertical Orientation
Straight-on view - Landscape Orientation
View from Driver's position - Vertical
View from Driver's position - Landscape
As you can see, the phone is located higher up into the driver's normal line of sight with eyes on the road. I can easily glance at my phone while still having great vision of the road in front of me, and more importantly, what other vehicles may be doing around me, like hitting their brakes suddenly or while following in traffic.
I can even operate/navigate the phone, without removing my right hand from the steering wheel. Dialing the phone is even safer than using the Navigation screen. Summoning Siri to dictate a text or email is effortless. Evaluating traffic conditions on my InRix Traffic app can be done without distraction from the road. And yes, I can even manually correct a text on rare occasion with diverting my attention from the roadway.
Better still, the phone in this location blocks relatively No buttons, No features, and No other services of the auto. Only the Home Menu button for the Nav Screen is obscured, and then only with the phone in a Vertical orientation. Not like I used that button much anyway as there are other ways to do this from the touch-screen itself, and I can still easily get to that one button if needed by sliding my finger under the phone. Approximately 40% of the left side air vent from the center pop-up is obscured, but again only with the phone oriented vertically. Since I've also directed the right side vent of the central pop-up toward the driving position, this issue is of little consequence to me. With the phone oriented in landscape, it blocks absolutely nothing whatsoever... well except one's insignificant view of some of the Technical Weave pattern on the console itself.
This Scosche Mount is Sturdy, Compact, Efficient, and Effective.
The mount is secured to the upper console with an adhesive pad, which I can easily remove if and when the time comes. The phone is secured to the mount with a thin metal plate attached directly to the back of the phone, the back of the case, or even between the phone and the case (which is where mine is hidden).
The phone is easily placed on the mount in an infinite array of positions due to the broad magnetic field feature of the mount, and the phone is much more secure once in place than I anticipated. The phone does not move unless lifted from the mount and repositioned by hand. It stays in place when I punch the gas, or when I fishtail around a corner, or when I'm zooming along at 140mph. And No, the magnet has no effect on the internal operation of the phone, at least not that I've noticed in two months, despite some internet reports to the contrary.
In summation, this mount puts the phone in the best possible location. The mount itself, when not in use, is far less obtrusive than many of the other options (one could even argue it has an extremely compact footprint compared to most). and everything with both the phone and the vehicle work well together.
Lastly, and before Foosh comes along and comments about his battery life while using waze... I don't experience routine battery problems, and I don't use Waze. However, while I have yet to complete this last little part of the install, and for those instances I do need a charge, I intend to run my charging cable to the phone, by securely tucking it up under the side lip of the console, leaving only a few inches of cable showing, well in back of, or behind the Wiper Control lever.
do you know if that adhesive would ruin the dash finish? have you tried peeling it off yet? but yeah that is the best solution I've seen in this post yet.
do you know if that adhesive would ruin the dash finish? have you tried peeling it off yet? but yeah that is the best solution I've seen in this post yet.
The mounting point in that picture is not actually on the dash, but on a trim piece above the center screen. It matches the trim pieces around the HVAC controls and around the shifter console.
I can't speak for all the materials used in the various trim options available, but on my car they are aluminum, and they are carbon fiber in the photo above. You'd have to try very hard to damage either of those, and all it that's needed for removal is piece of fishing line and mild adhesive remover (e.g. Goo-Gone) at most.
10-29-2015, 12:43 AM
iOttie
