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Accessories Best vent car holder?

T

troyv

Lurker
Hi all.

My company is switching to all Droid Xs on Friday, and I wanted to get a vent holder for it to use as a GPS.

I have read through most threads, and it seems the Arkon is highly recommended. These two look slightly different. Is there any optimal one?

solid arms

or

hole in the arms

And then there is the Bracketron and the GoMedic that seem like a better design.

I really like that the Arkon gives you multiple mounting options, so that I could keep the vent in my car, and then when on family trips I could use the windshield mount in the family car. But the GoMedic and Bracketron seem like a better holder/design.

Thoughts?

And thanks again.
 
I have an Arkon vent mount, and while it works great, the main problem with it it the clamp arms block the USB port, so it's tricky to charge it while it the car. And if you are going to be using it a lot as a GPS device, you'll want to be able to plug it in. I'm eventually going to cut off the bottome of the arms side to uncover the port (it covers the USB port but no the HDMI port), but keep this in mind.
 
I have the Brackertron and it works great. You can turn it to Landscape without removing it from the vent and slide the arms enough so they don't block the USB charging plug.
 
Hrethgir said:
I have an Arkon vent mount, and while it works great, the main problem with it it the clamp arms block the USB port, so it's tricky to charge it while it the car. And if you are going to be using it a lot as a GPS device, you'll want to be able to plug it in. I'm eventually going to cut off the bottome of the arms side to uncover the port (it covers the USB port but no the HDMI port), but keep this in mind.
Click to expand...

I plug in the charger BEFORE I put my dx in the case to bypass this problem.
 
First of all in my opinion there is no such thing as a GOOD vent holder. Sorry but I have never seen one that holds up, or doesn't rattle or ect ect.

Remember that the DX is slightly heavy (with a case worse) and touching it all the time will just make things worse.

However of the ones I have seen I like the ARKON's.

That aside I have the ARKON mega grip (and suction cup dash mount) for my DX. Love it.

As far as the grippers thing. Option 1 set your phone so your camera hump is against the back of the mega grip, thus allowing easy access to the USB ports.

Option 2: take the mega grip appart, mill the edges of the lower frame with a dremel, reinstall grippers backwards, and now you can use the camera and fit the USB port through the cutout of the mega grippers.

I did option 2. I guess I should post pics.
 
What do you guys do in the winter when you have to turn on the heat and it's blasting hot air onto the back of your DX?
 
^ bingo! blasting a heat into the back of DX with overheated battery is a big no-no. While being a fan of Arkon and doing my review for it in this forum, I actually switched to M2 Soundgate and never looked back. IMHO, Arkon w/MegaGrip (not Mini, you need Mega) is one of the best built solutions for windshield and top dashboard mount (backward compatible with Garmin ball mount), while for face dash mount Soundgate is excellent. For vent mount the best is Tetrax XWay (http://androidforums.com/droid-x-accessories/131271-tetrax-xway-car-mount.html)
 
Actually on most HVAC systems the majority of heat is pushed out from the vents under the dash. If you are blowing a lot of hot air out of the upper vents how are your eyes feeling?
 
depends on how you have it setup. My feet are almost always hot, so when I do run a heater in the car I have it blow out the middle vents or for the windshield defroster.
 
My biggest pet peeve about air vent holders.

Is the extra stress placed on the airvent and where it is mounted. Granted so airvents are very stong. True. However if/when you break them. Some are extremely expensive to replace, requiring pulling down the entire dashboard in some cases. 150+ dollar vent, plus labor if you ask someone to do it for you.

Assuming you can even get the part in the first place.

OR suction cup to a dash top, clean and re-use. Just seems safer to me.
 
Bankswood said:
Actually on most HVAC systems the majority of heat is pushed out from the vents under the dash. If you are blowing a lot of hot air out of the upper vents how are your eyes feeling?
Click to expand...

Huh?

There's a control on most dashboards that sets where the hot air is blowing from. If you have it set to the upper vents, it'll come out of the upper vents.

I know a lot of the climate-controlled systems primarily use the floor vents, but for a lot of us that aren't driving the digital climate controlled cars...

I often use the upper vents because on my particular car, the lower vents don't push enough air and I have a station wagon, so it's got a lot of air to warm up. Thus, blowing hot air directly at my body is usually the best solution.

My eyes are fine. I don't tend to point the vents at my eyes, do you?
 
Weird, the instant email replies aren't working for me.

Thanks everyone for your input.

The Tetrax xway looks great, but I wish you didn't have to put something on the back of your phone. The spider mounts from Breffo look great, but how would you make sure it stays in the vent?

As far as heat, in my car I can turn off whatever vent I put it in, so heat isn't an issue, but I would guess it would be for those who can't turn theirs off.

It looks like the opinion is to get the Arkon MegaGrip. Is this the one everyone seems to be talking about?

Arkon
 
Arkon MegaGrip it is. Since its sold through Amazon (you can get free shipping if you order something else for a total of $25), you will not have a problem returing it back if that vent clip doesn't suit you.

BTW, for the comment above, I have a dual digital climate control in my car, and it still requires to select if you want air flow to go to the feet or the face or both or the window/feet. The only true way to turn it off is by closing the vent which prevents clips from staying intact. In general, my air vent ribs are flimsy, so it wouldn't be an option even in my fancy-schmancy car...
 
troyv said:
The spider mounts from Breffo look great, but how would you make sure it stays in the vent?
Click to expand...

The Breffo works great in my car's vent. The flexibility of arms allow them to be slightly bent so that they "grip" the sides of the vent. Also by bending the out they, along with the rubber surface, actually stay in place without and danger of falling out.

My vents (2009 Malibu) are quite sturdy and i have no fear that the Breffo will damage them as it is held in place by the sides of the vent rather than hanging off the vent slats.

Also the arms of the Breffo act as shock mounts further reducing impacts and vibrations on the DX.

I use the charger cord that came with the DX with no problems as the bottom is completely free.

Finally after bending the arms just right my DX slides in and out without any problem.

A good buy, an excellant solution and even looks great.
 
Bankswood said:
Actually on most HVAC systems the majority of heat is pushed out from the vents under the dash. If you are blowing a lot of hot air out of the upper vents how are your eyes feeling?
Click to expand...

Mine are always on vent(dashboard) and I'm always adjusting them some. Never have dry eyes. Just never blown directly on me(Unless it's very hot or very cold). Could never use a vent cell phone mount but that is just me. I use the dash vents to help clear the side windows as the (idiots) that design these things never have enough air flow to effectively clear the side window with the little POS vents they put for that.
Had a Renault one time that could blow out every outlet available(vent, floor and windshield) at the same time. LOVED it! Don't know why all cars can't be like that! And don't get me started about not having a separate A/C button :mad:
American cars have the WORST ventilation systems IMHO. I like having total control over the system. Most American cars have no separate A/C switch. Here in southern USA it is very humid and many times you have to run the air on the windshield all the time but then usually that means you can't have it on the dash or floor. Then in the summer the exterior of the windshield will actually condense outside air on the windshield unless you turn some heat on with it...not good in the summer! Who designs these things!
My Ford Excursion has only 2 positions where the A/C is NOT on and that is full dash and full floor.

Rant mode off...
 
I've been using it for awhile, and it works well. Very stable while the phone is in there. I just wish it wouldn't protrude so far out from the vents. It definitely isn't stealth. And it isn't as easy to take the megagrip out as I had hoped, so I just leave it connected while not in use.

I will take pics in a bit.
 
Here's my Arkon Universal Mega Grip. You'll see I super glued a small magnet that I got from a Michael's store. With the magnet positioned in this spot and with the DX inserted into the Mega Grip with the camera lens side on the opposite end resting against the two feet it works great. In fact, the thickness of the magnet compensates for the lens bulge so that the phone sits fairly flat in the mount. The magnet activates the car dock app automatically (make sure you glue the magnet with the right polarity as one side will activate the car dock app and the other will activate your desk clock app). Mounted in this manner, there is also plenty of room to plug in your micro usb charger without any interference from the side grips.

The vent clamp only works in one of my two cars. On one car, the vent fins are too thick and too deep so the clamps can't lock onto the fins. I've read elsewhere that you can get some plastic tubing and put it on the clamps then insert the clamp between the fins and it'll stay in place so I'm going to give that a shot.

I also just got an Arkon bicycle mount recently. Uses the same Mega Grip but is paired with a different mount for the handlebars. Haven't really been able to test it out yet.
 

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B360155 said:
Here's my Arkon Universal Mega Grip. You'll see I super glued a small magnet that I got from a Michael's store. With the magnet positioned in this spot and with the DX inserted into the Mega Grip with the camera lens side on the opposite end resting against the two feet it works great. In fact, the thickness of the magnet compensates for the lens bulge so that the phone sits fairly flat in the mount. The magnet activates the car dock app automatically (make sure you glue the magnet with the right polarity as one side will activate the car dock app and the other will activate your desk clock app). Mounted in this manner, there is also plenty of room to plug in your micro usb charger without any interference from the side grips.

The vent clamp only works in one of my two cars. On one car, the vent fins are too thick and too deep so the clamps can't lock onto the fins. I've read elsewhere that you can get some plastic tubing and put it on the clamps then insert the clamp between the fins and it'll stay in place so I'm going to give that a shot.

I also just got an Arkon bicycle mount recently. Uses the same Mega Grip but is paired with a different mount for the handlebars. Haven't really been able to test it out yet.
Click to expand...

I assume you're using it in landscape mode, unless your GPS works upside down?

Is there room to fit the audio cable in, with the top of the phone resting on the 'feet'?
 
NCTurner said:
I assume you're using it in landscape mode, unless your GPS works upside down?

Is there room to fit the audio cable in, with the top of the phone resting on the 'feet'?
Click to expand...

Yes, I do use it mainly in landscape mode in the car although I think the 2 side arms will hold the phone in place without the feet under the phone in portrait mode just fine. There is some cushion to the rubber grips inside the arms and paired with the Incipio case, it grips the sides of the phone very well and I don't think you'd ever have to worry about it falling out. Just took the case off and it seems to hold the phone naked in place without any problems too.

I don't use the audio port as I have a bluetooth fm transmitter (Motorola T505), however the Arkon Mega Grip is very flexible and you shouldn't have any problem doing so. The feet fit into a channel on the bottom of the Mega Grip and can be slid to any position along the edge. Actually, there's even a channel on the opposite end of the mount too.
 
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