Accessories Review of Arkon Mega Grip car mount w/DX

[twister6]

I have never done a review before, but truly believe that pictures are worth a thousand words. So below I include shots from every angle I can think of.

I just received Arkon Mega Grip universal holder with windshield, dashboard, and air-vent car mounts. I wasn

 

[john_ecko]

Thanks for the pics man.

I noticed that the bottom holders are actually on the top of your phone (compared to the video). Do you have it like that so it doesn't muff the speakers?

 

[twister6]

I didn't get my car charger yet so I haven't tried it in the car. But I think that speaker needs to be open for a clear sound. My phone gets connected to cars built-in bluetooth, but I'm not sure if turn-by-turn voice directions will be transmitted through bluetooth or its own speaker. BTW, those bottom holder "legs" can be taken out and put on the opposite side of the grip. This way you can change the direction of side grip cutouts in relation to those extra side holders/stoppers. For sure, this universal mega grip is very well designed.

 

[sodaboy581]

Oops, noticed you answered this already!

 

[mahers]

I didn't get my car charger yet so I haven't tried it in the car. But I think that speaker needs to be open for a clear sound. My phone gets connected to cars built-in bluetooth, but I'm not sure if turn-by-turn voice directions will be transmitted through bluetooth or its own speaker. BTW, those bottom holder "legs" can be taken out and put on the opposite side of the grip. This way you can change the direction of side grip cutouts in relation to those extra side holders/stoppers. For sure, this universal mega grip is very well designed.

From my experience so far, Nav will NOT transmit through the BT headset. Unless there is an option for it I don't see yet.

 

[twister6]

@mahers: thanks for confirmation! I wonder if they are going to "fix" this in froyo 2.2?

So indeed, it's a good idea to keep speaker end of the phone clear

 

[mahers]

@mahers: thanks for confirmation! I wonder if they are going to "fix" this in froyo 2.2?

So indeed, it's a good idea to keep speaker end of the phone clear

Hope so. Can't stand messing around with volumes when trying to drive!

 

[kungfugecko]

hi new to forums =P

could anyone tell me what case that is please?

thx =)

 

[twister6]

The case is Rocketfish from Best Buy. Its a piece of crap and I would not recommend it to anybody. Already returned it back. The best case I found so far is by Luxmo argyle clear smoke one. Check out one of the recent threads discussing it in the forum.

 

[kungfugecko]

The case is Rocketfish from Best Buy. Its a piece of crap and I would not recommend it to anybody. Already returned it back. The best case I found so far is by Luxmo argyle clear smoke one. Check out one of the recent threads discussing it in the forum.

great thanks, i'll prolly end up getting the luxmo case too.

one more ?, does anyone have a link to- or can put up a pic of- where on the droid the magnet would need to go (to make it enter dock mode)? also does the size of the magnet matter? (if its too powerful i dont want it messing up my phone!)

 

[jbeck22]

From my experience so far, Nav will NOT transmit through the BT headset. Unless there is an option for it I don't see yet.

it works through the speakers in my 08 ford edge with microsoft sync.

 

[mahers]

it works through the speakers in my 08 ford edge with microsoft sync.

That's cool, but I am not planning on buying a new car to get that working!

 

[W0lfpack]

you mentioned the universal ball socket connection... I currently have the garmin bean bag which attaches to the garmin gps via the ball socket... Would like to use same ball socket for a phone mount - so cant tell from the pics, but does this Arkon mount have the ball socket connection underneath those 2 slots or am I missing something? Thanks in advance...

 

[W0lfpack]

Wait, I think I see the ball socket on the suction cup swivel end...is that right? would just take that off the suction cup mount and it would attach straight to my existing bean bag mount...

 

[twister6]

Yes, it has standard universal ball socket which you can use with your Garmin beanie bag. That square piece at the end of suction mount has hooks on one side to connect to Mega Grip while the other side has ball socket with a plastic nut to tighten it up. As a matter of fact, right now I'm using Garmin's own suction cup because its one piece that doesn't protrude too much, but I hate window suction cups and will switch to my beanie bag mount. Definitely works with Arkon.

 

[bemaitea]

Nice review!

I've been meaning to start hunting for a car mount...putting in on my lap isn't working out so well anyomre...

 

[twister6]

Here is how it looks with my Garmin suction cup mount. I took it from the angle where you can see the ball socket.

 

[Doyer]

Nice pics and great review!

 

[lucybear06]

Here is how it looks with my Garmin suction cup mount. I took it from the angle where you can see the ball socket.

Does the phone slip out since it has to go in upsidedown?

 

[twister6]

I'm not quite sure about "upside down" comment? A number of people asked this before, and I even got an email from VP of Sales and Marketing from Arkon office Orientation of how you place the phone doesn't matter. My intent was to keep back speaker at the bottom of DX on the opposite side open. The side grips hold the phone very tight so you can't move it until you push the release button.

 

[gotmydroidx]

Nice write up. Question...does the mount cover the camera? Its actually nice to have just in case....first day I had mine mounted I came across a car fire on the highway and a 5 car accident. It was nice to be able to shot a quick video of both.

I purchased a mount at walmart and while it leaves the camera free it does cover the charging port and camera button. A drill bit was a i needed to be in business and everything works great.

 

[twister6]

Yes, camera will be covered. But if you slide out those edge feet/stoppers and shift the camera up, I think you can find a sweet spot to have both camera and speaker open. But I’m not sure if the magnet will still work in that position. Personally, I'm still hoping that in Froyo 2.2 or any future updates they will implement audio transfer through bluetooth so we don't have to worry about DX speaker.

 

[gotmydroidx]

I have mine connected through the aux in on my headunit and I can hear navigation commands through my stereo. My head unit will not support the BT streaming feature but hope it will support the nav commands through BT.

 

[mxsjw]

Thanks for this...ordered it, a silicone case, and a spark plug from Amazon today.
Sparky was $0.21 to make the $25 for free shipping

 

[akita]

Got this in today. Probably the best mount you will get for the money and in my opinion, better than the ones they are selling @ Verizon. I'm basing that on build quality, functionality, and being compatible with cases. I prefer to leave the cradle in position where the feet are at the bottom however, you can remove those should you choose to do so. I also got in a SPN5400 charger that will come handy for the GPS. Also, using Dock Simulator eliminates the need to get a "dock" type mount like that over priced one they are selling @ Verizon.