Do you have advice for this - car phone holder?
5I need a good phone holder for the car. I have a phone (Samsung) with a case, so assume any clips needs to be big enough to handle that. The cheap ones I got suck. I don’t like the strong magnet ones because the case I have looks like this (holy cow, I can now post photos in threads I start!.. at least on my laptop)
- 11 comments, 19 replies
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I’ve been pretty happy with the ones that attach to the vent (the type that have a clip that attaches with a threaded piece with a hook to hold it in place). I have a Samsung S10 in a case that worked flawlessly when I was using one that I took with me to Italy for use in the rental car. I use one in the RAV4 I have as well. There are several available on the big A site. Like this one…
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CSG1WKLQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
@chienfou This was a great suggestion, thanks! The hook was long enough to fit over my Toyota’s big-ass slat and the vertical wings on the piece that the other end of the hook is attached to rest on the part of the dash the vent is recessed into. Zero worries about this falling off or breaking any time soon.
@chienfou @mikey The only worries you’d have is if you live in a place where it gets over 100 degrees with 99% humidity. Then you’d want all of your air vent available to blow cold air on you. Of course it would keep your phone cold. Actually I’d worry the phone would get too hot in the winter with heat blowing on it.
@chienfou @Kidsandliz Even in below zero, the heat is coming out of my floor vents and I’ll kill the man, woman, child, or quokka that tries to change that.
@mikey
Glad to help.
If you don’t mind giving up some space in your cup holder these are actually pretty convenient as well depending on the configuration of your console.
I have used both styles and can attest to the fact that my phone stays rock solid in each of them. They were also very easy to put the phone, in having a button on the back that you push to open the clamps allowing you to set the phone down and close it with one hand.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CJXWZ9GX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
@chienfou The only downside is having to look down to see it.
@Kidsandliz depending on your cup holder configuration it’s almost as high as one that would be part of your radio.
I have a WeatherTech CupFone (because USA made), but it doesn’t handle thick phone cases well.
Holders that have rigid arms and thumbscrews to adjust/tighten tend to be less “bouncy” than flexible ones.
I don’t trust the vent mounts; I’m not going to risk breaking the slats that costs $$$ to replace. Cupholder or windshield suction mount would be my suggestions.
@narfcake
Be careful with a windshield mount. They are illegal in some places…
@narfcake This happened to me once. Loved that vent mount until I broke a slat. Next car had a dashboard that I could rest the phone in. Current car has all the bells and whistles and rarely need my phone.
@kalma @narfcake I saw the results of a DIY mount that combined dash-top with windshield-suction to brace both ends, and it damaged both when the vehicle flexed significantly on a really hard hit on a pothole.
My phone mount is on a stalk coming up from the floor with a steadying clamp about halfway up.
@narfcake Seems like even the long-necked cup phone wouldn’t be high enough to allow for non-distracted (? Undistracted?) driving. How’s it do?
I overpaid for that external CarPlay/Android Auto thing from Car and Driver (ok, licensed by…) a year ago, and I like it… for long trips. Unlicensed ones are only $40 on Amazon now. Except for changing the FM station it parasites for sound every few hundred miles and setting brightness by hand for day/night, I like it lots better than a mount. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ ymmv etc.
I have a large phone, in a large case… fairly heavy, my car has vents that are up and down rather than the normal side to side, and I have a phone holder similar to the one Chienfou suggested. Only difference is mine has side prongs so when you tighten the back (where it grabs the vent) it presses against the side of the vent for stability to prevent the wiggly giggily that happens on bumps and dirt roads( I live on one). It has the adjustable width and opens with the press of your finger… I’m a bargain hunter like anyone else… I didn’t get it at the big “ A “ site… but I got it where it seems like most of there stuff comes from for even less if you have the time and patience… lol I like to call it the “ T to the Moooo” site… lol…
As phones are getting bigger, I trust the cup holder more and more. The dash/vent grips just can’t carry that extra 4 oz.
I wonder if this might be the ground floor of a new side hustle opportunity? Should I charge per call/text, hour, mile or inch/ounce? Might need to add an iphone/ipad convenience surcharge as well.
KuoH
@kuoh Oh, hiring a person to hold your phone while driving? That’s like “Phone Uber” or something.
Probably call it Phuber. Or anglicize the spelling to Fubar.
@kuoh @xobzoo
This place has vehicle-specific mounts. I have one and like it. https://www.proclipusa.com/.
@walarney These are expensive ($40 base plus $40 phone mount in my case), but otherwise this is an underrated comment. Interesting option; thanks.
I tried this one and it did a good job holding my phone, if you don’t mind something in your view.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BD932DDR
Ended up keeping this one. Didn’t like the cup holder ones, and couldn’t use the vent ones. This one replaces the CD player slot you’re probably not using (if your vehicle is old enough to have one). Goes in and out of the hinge mechanism one handed.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BD48K1NN
@katbyter
my only problem with those is that they cover my radio screen and some of the controls…
@chienfou @katbyter Activate camera mode?
KuoH
@chienfou Yes it does cover the my clock. But since none of the options were better, I live with it.
@katbyter
@chienfou @katbyter @algae1221Yeah but can you still play the radio with something in the CD slot? My 2010 minivan turns the radio off when you load something in the CD player and won’t turn it back on until you eject.
@chienfou @Kidsandliz yes I still play the radio. Maybe it doesn’t engage the thing that registers there’s an actual CD? My vehicles are 2003 and 2011.
My car is old enough that it has a CD slot and I use one of these. I love it because it doesn’t fill up a cupholder and it keeps the phone higher so I don’t have to look down to see it.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/iottie-easy-one-touch-5-universal-cd-mount-for-mobile-phones-black/6409834.p?skuId=6409834&extStoreId=390&utm_source=feed&ref=212&loc=19555202309&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwt-OwBhBnEiwAgwzrUihTpkesZ4vL4rauxfmcx2o2viCLGgFX_KjazgbkwOXAxu_PUfa2HhoCg_8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
how about this?
