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Introduction:
If you're looking for a simple, economic and all in one solution for mounting your HTC Desire in your car for satellite navigation, music or bluetooth related apps as I was, then the following HTC Desire complete car kit from Ultimate Mobiles could be right for you. Everything you need to mount and power the HTC Desire in your car is included. Will the car kit be up to the task though? We shall see.
Product: UltimateAddons Windscreen Suction Mount Dedicated Holder for HTC Desire
Supplier: ultimate-mobiles.co.uk
Price at time of posting: £12.99 including VAT and free postage
What's Included:
- 1 x UltimateAddons HTC Desire Dedicated Holder
- 1 x UltimateAddons Gooseneck
- 1 x Free 2.0 metre Micro USB Sync & Charge cable
- 1 x Free USB Car Charger
A big thank you to Craig at Ultimate Mobiles for supplying the UltimateAddons review sample
You can find a large range of accessories for mobile phones, netbooks, tablets, ereaders, cameras and MP3 players on the Ultimate Mobiles website here.
Aesthetics
As usual I was looking forward to the arrival of a review sample, and I was pleasantly surprised when the HTC Desire UltimateAddons car kit from Ultimate Mobiles arrived very quickly, and all in a large padded envelope. Opening up the package revealed the contents shown above, and everything was well packed and protected from bumps or knocks in the post.
Breaking the packaging down further you are left with the key components needed to mount and charge your HTC Desire in your vehicle. These are the suction mount, the HTC holder, the USB accessory charger and the Micro USB to USB charge cable. The suction mount is available in two types, a fixed version or a flexible version, you can choose which one suits your needs when ordering. The flexible version is the one I'm using in this review.
Construction and materials
Taking a look at each component individually:
- The suction mount: This is very robust and comes fitted with a lever that locks the sucker onto the windscreen.The flexible gooseneck is encased with rubber rather the the flexible tubing of similar mounts, this of course helps stop vibration and shock. The head of the suction mount cleverly rotates into any required position for ease of viewing your phone at whatever angle you require.
- The HTC Desire holder: Constructed from what I assume is ABS plastic, t's also really well finished and moulded to the shape of the HTC Desire perfectly.It is without any rough or sharp edges at all, and will therefore protect and hold your phone securely and snugly without any damage.
- USB accessory charger: Made from the same material as the the HTC Desire holder, and again is of very good quality. It has the required European CE approval for use and construction puposes.
- Micro USB to USB charging lead: The lead supplied is a very generous two metres in length, which should be ample for all mounting/charging situations. There is a velcro wrap included that can be used to tidy away any excess cable when in use.
Installation
The fitment of the car kit is a very straightforward affair. Place the HTC Desire into the holder while bending the top of the holder back and slide the phone into position, let go at the top of the holder and the phone fits perfectly. Now fix the HTC Desire holder complete with phone onto the the suction mount by sliding it into position and then clicking it securely into place so that it cannot fall off.
Now you just need to find a suitable clean mounting point on the windscreen for the suction mount, once found lightly moisten the sucker and make sure the lever for extra suction is lifted away from the sucker. Place the suction mount into position and press firmly onto the windscreen, then push the suction lever fully down for extra grip. Once fitted correctly it will stay put!
Now we have the HTC Desire mounted on the windscreen it was just a case of connecting the phone to the included USB accessory charger with the Micro USB to USB lead to charge the HTC Desire up. This is important as satellite navigation or any app though bluetooth (eg music) can be a power sapper. I removed the existing accessory plug from the socket and replaced it with the included USB accessory charger. The generously long Micro USB to USB lead was then plugged into the charger and into the HTC Desire.
The excess cable was carefully looped up and secured with the fitted velcro cable tidy to keep it from getting in the way when driving. So now we have a fully wired in and screen mounted HTC Desire ready for use as a navigation aid, for music or whatever else takes your fancy.
The pictures below show how adaptable the windscreen suction mount is. Its capability to rotate a full 360° is extremely useful and saves having to bend the gooseneck mount into the required postion for landscape view on the HTC Desire. When testing the UltimateAddons car kit on the road I didn't notice any vibration of the HTC Desire at all and found the kit and HTC Desire performed exactly as they should without any problems whatsoever, and that was very pleasing.
Pros & Cons
Superb value Well constructed Excellent quality 360° movement on the phone holder Phone fits perfectly in the holder Strong suction and adhesion when fitted to the windscreen
NoneConclusion
I have to say that considering the whole UltimateAddons car kit costs only £12.99 including free delivery I'm amazed at the quality and thought that has gone into this product. Plus the fact that you get a one year warranty and a thirty day no quibble money back guarantee thrown in too!
If you want this kit with another phone besides the HTC Desire there are other UltimateAddons kits available at ultimate-mobiles.co.uk, or you can use the same kit and buy a different phone holder so it is very adaptable.
I have no choice but to give this product the big thumbs up and recommend it, I cannot believe what excellent value it represents.
Boz @ smartphonegurus.com
