The Five Best Car Mounts for Smartphones
Finding the perfect smartphone mount in your car is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are tons of options. Some of them are quite cheap, others are expensive and with a lot of widgets and features that you may not need. Then there are others that are just right. This week we’ll be taking a look at the top 5 based on your nominations.
Earlier this week, we asked you for the best smartphone car mounts , and you weighed in with t – we mean tons of great nominations – enough that there is something out there for everyone. If you don’t like it, you should really check out the Challenger Call thread – there is probably something in there for you. However, here we only have room for your top five most popular nominees, and here they are, in no particular order:
iOttie Easy One Touch 2
The iOttie Easy One Touch 2 Car Mount is easy to install and adjust. It’ll set you back about $ 20 on Amazon , but for your money, you get a car mount that’s easy to set up, holds your phone snugly, has an adjustable telescopic arm so you can hold it closer to you or your dad, and even has a swivel, adjustable base. that can be placed wherever you want. As the name suggests, the mount locks in place with one touch (although it’s not as easy as it sounds from the product) and has a semi-adhesive gel pad to hold your phone in place once you’ve locked it in place. It’s also a suction cup mount, which means you have a little more flexibility in where you place it, but that comes with the tradeoff of needing a flat surface to stick to. The stickiness of the suction cup degrades slightly over time, but you can freshen it up by rinsing with warm water and spreading to dry. The mount case itself keeps your ports free (mostly), and while you’re not going to slide a tablet or anything into it, it should hold up pretty well most phones, even large ones.
Those of you who nominated it praised its flexibility – you noted that for the suction cup mount, which is notorious for losing suction and dropping when your phone is too heavy, or the weather is too hot (or too cold), or that something else. Another crazy situation happens, this one seems to withstand extreme heat and cold very well, does not deform or fall, can support multiple types of phones, can be easily customized for comfortable use by the driver or passenger, and of course it is available. Read more in the nomination thread here .
Mpow Grip Magic Air Vent Magnetic Car Mount
The Mpow Grip Magic is a tiny $ 6 magnetic phone mount on Amazon that attaches to a car air vent, adheres neatly to the back of your phone and holds it in place without a ton of glue, clips, cables, etc. or other bells and whistles … If your phone has a metal back (or your case has a metal back) then this will work fine right out of the box, but the mount comes with a magnetic back that you can slide between the back of your phone and your case (seriously, it very thin), and if you really don’t want to use the case (or can’t put anything in it), you can instead attach a sticky metal plate to the back of your phone or its case. The mount itself is designed to fit snugly into just about any vent and has adjustable clips for wide and narrow openings. Plus, it’s a simple and cheap mount that gets the job done.
Those of you who have nominated Mpow Grip Magic have commented that this is definitely a one-of-a-kind case with ventilation holes, and if you find one that fits well and is just as good at platters like this one, you will be in good shape. They don’t have to cost a lot of money, and they hold your phone securely without the braces that cover your ports or controls, and can be used in portrait or landscape mode, whichever you prefer. Plus, many of you have praised the price – about $ 6 with free shipping, making it a great experiment even if it doesn’t work out in the long run. Read more in the nomination thread here .
Kenu Glider
The Kenu Airframe is another smartphone mount that uses your car’s vents as the perfect place to keep your phone close at hand for navigation and speed dialing, but still close at hand. It’s also portable, which means it doesn’t need to be installed in a specific vehicle, and it can fit just about any type of phone, so you can use it with multiple devices. It will set you back $ 20 on Amazon and is available in both black and white. It’s a simple spring-loaded clip that you slide into a vent, lock in place, and then slide your phone back into place on the inside. It’s simple, elegant, and that’s the beauty of it. You can even insert the card into the vent clip and use it as a table stand when you’re not driving, or you can just drop it in the glove compartment when you’re done with it if you don’t want to put it in. in your pocket or bag. Because it’s spring-loaded, you can fit phones of almost any size, and there’s even Airframe Plus for phablets and larger devices if the original Airframe isn’t right for you.
Those of you who have nominated the Kenu glider have praised it for being so small and portable, and versatile enough to be used with multiple devices and multiple vehicles – all you have to do is remember to take it with you or just leave it in the car. … You don’t need glue, mounting adhesives, suction cups or plastics, and it even works with phones in their cases, which some of you really liked. You also pointed out that in addition to the side arms, you can use the ports on your phone to charge or connect to your stereo. You can read more about this in the nomination thread here . Also watch the promo video above – we have to appreciate the amazing transition from “typical boring app / device promo” to “what the hell is going on right now.”
Frame mount RAM X-GRIP
The Ram Mount X-GRIP series looks a little bulky, but don’t be fooled by the looks. The X-Grip is available in several form factors depending on whether you want your mount to sit in the cup holder and raise your phone to hand level, sit in the air vent, or attach to your dash or windshield with a suction cup. In almost all of them, you get an adjustable bracket and this X-shaped bracket that holds your phone securely thanks to an adjustable grip that can tighten or loosen the grip handles to fit your phone. The arm itself is also adjustable so you can rotate it to your ideal position and it holds your phone securely without vibrating or wiggling. There are even arm extension options so you can fit closer to you if you need one, and X-Grip models are available for larger devices such as phablets and full-featured tablets. If you need one, it’ll set you back about $ 45 on Amazon .
Those of you who have been nominated for X-Grip have shared many stories of how impressive your experience was. Except for the price, which might be a little overpriced compared to some of the other, simpler options, almost all of you said that you have your own X-Grips and you like them. You praised the X-Grip Series for offering so many options yet versatility enough to fit what you put in them, and for having suction cup-free mount options if you’re not worried associated with suction cup mounts. One of you even called it the “M1 Abrams of Phone Mounts,” noting that it doesn’t vibrate, doesn’t wobble, it locks your phone securely in place, stays where you put it, and is easy to get and set up without the need for loose or cheap. Seriously though, don’t just take our word for it – you can read a lot of reviews in his nominations thread here .
Mountek nGroove Grip
For around $ 20 on Amazon, you get the Mountek nGroove Grip, a CD slot mount (and the only mount for a CD slot in our roundup outside of honorable mentions) that sits securely in a supposedly unused CD player slot. disks of your car and has an adjustable bracket and semi-adhesive backing that securely holds your phone in place regardless of its size. It also leaves the top and bottom open for use for charging or connecting audio cables, but the side brackets are slightly wide to allow easy access to the side buttons. Like the others here, it works in portrait or landscape mode with quick turn and avoids glue or problems with suction cup mounts or other more permanent fixtures. That said, you pay for it with vibration and motion while driving, but the mount is covered in rubber to improve your grip, and many of you noted that this is one of the most stable CD slot mounts you’ll ever use. …
Those of you who have nominated the nGroove Grip praised it for being adjustable and keeping your important ports clean so you can charge your phone or even access the headphone jack while driving (for example, to connect to the AUX input of your stereos). You noted that it is very easy to install, holds your phone comfortably, and some of you pointed out that the mounts for the CD slots are even more durable than the more durable dashboard solutions like some of the suction cups you can see here (and everywhere). You can read more reviews in the nominations thread here .
Now that you’ve seen the top five, it’s time to put them up for a general vote to determine the Lifehacker community favorite:
Honorable mentions
Honorable mentions thisweek are for theTechMatte MagGrip , a magnetic smartphone mount with CD slot that was voted the best mount by The Wirecutter and will set you back just $ 12 on Amazon .
Of course, there is also a vent-vent version of MagGrip if you prefer, but both are great options that are simple, affordable, great without a ton of vibration, and get the job done. You can check his nominations thread here .
Steelie Car Mount Kit , about $ 17 on Amazon. It also garnered a lot of support in a round of nominations, with many of you praising the surprisingly strong neodymium magnets and discrete, flexible mounts. You’ve noticed that the magnet stays on the back of the phone and doesn’t add a ton of bulk, and the tiny silver ball that lives in the car can be placed anywhere you need your phone. Best of all, with the magnet on the back of your phone, you can place your phone on any metal surface, which is pretty neat. Read more in the nomination thread here .
We also have to give credit to the ever popular Binder Clip Air Vent Mount , which can do the job with minimal vibration, a secure and reliable mount, and keep ports and buttons clean – all for less than a dollar or free. if you can get a folder clip in the office. We love it – in fact, we love him so much that we nominated him ourselves. You can check out this thread here .
Do you have anything to say about one of the applicants? Want to substantiate your personal favorite even if it wasn’t on the list? Remember, the Top 5 is based on your most popular nominations from the Call for Applicants thread earlier this week . Don’t just complain about the top 5, let us know which option you prefer and justify it in the discussions below.