Database Develop

[Q] car mount?

Just wondering if anyone has heard, knows of, or thinks there will/won't be a device specific car mount for these Evo Shift's?
Personally i'm hoping there will be one and soon. Something like whats out for the EVO now, but only for the shift.
I'd suppose it be a car mount that lays the phone on its side due to the USB port being on the side rather than bottom.
For now I have one of those universal mounts, but hate it. Miss having a car mount that i just drop my phone in and it holds it firm and charges it without me having to hook a cable up.
So anyone else wanting a good car mount? or heard about one coming out soon maybe?

I've been hoping for one as my last 2 phones have had them. Motorola Droid then the EVO.
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk

With this phone's charger port being on the side (vs the bottom as on the Hero) the chances of a mount that charges as soon as you place it in there is 0.

I'm sure there is a work around that. Mount landscape then tilt vertical. Nothing too hard.

I got a cheesy $5 one by cellet from Fry's Electronics. The charger is in a weird spot though. I just put it on the mount when I'm using google maps.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

This one apparently works with the charger plugged in. A couple people in the Android Central forums have it. I am waiting on it right now.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ELOOZO/ref=oss_product
Edit - sorry didn't read the bottom of your post about you having a universal but wanting one you can just set the phone in.

well, if it really comes down to it, i'll just deal with a universal mount and be happy anyway. Tho I am a little worried that with the universal mounts the clamps on the side would hit the volume buttons. but the one you linked from amazon looks like it might just work since on the side its got that little cut out. might barely miss the volume buttons.
heh, guess my other option is to switch to the EVO. But I'm liking this built in keyboard a lot. not sure if it'll be worth giving up.

Although, doing a more in-dept search online for car mounts for android phones, I found several mount options out there for the HTC Desire Z which has a side slide keyboard and the USB port is on the side and yet there's a custom fit car mount kit for it. So maybe there is hope that one will be out for the Shift after a while.

The generic suction car mount I have has sides that slide so that it avoids buttons when gripping the phone.

ProClip...duh. They'll create a holder that slides in from the side with the rails on the top and bottom. Will have a cutout for the power button and volume buttons.
wardfan220 said:
With this phone's charger port being on the side (vs the bottom as on the Hero) the chances of a mount that charges as soon as you place it in there is 0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Check out this one on amazon instead of the one posted earlier:
amazon
That's the one I bought for my hero but it works much better with the shift. The bottom of the holder actually goes on top of the phone so that the volume rocker fits right in the hole on the sides (unlike my stupid hero haha). And it can also be used with the sand bag to sit on the dash or suctioned to the windshield.

Mine works well
I have one and it works well, but I do have to be careful where I place it or it will hit the volume buttons.

Has anyone had any luck in finding a car dock specifically designed for the Shift? If not I'm going to get the universal dock from amazon a couple post back as long there is access to the usb and audio ports. I lost count of how many times I've had to reach over and grab my phone in order to keep it from flying on the floor after a sharp turn or quick stop. The dock may even save my life by keeping my eyes on the road instead of having to look down and over to change music or check Maps..

ProClip will have one, but they haven't given me an ETA yet.

zenulator said:
Has anyone had any luck in finding a car dock specifically designed for the Shift? If not I'm going to get the universal dock from amazon a couple post back as long there is access to the usb and audio ports. I lost count of how many times I've had to reach over and grab my phone in order to keep it from flying on the floor after a sharp turn or quick stop. The dock may even save my life by keeping my eyes on the road instead of having to look down and over to change music or check Maps..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm currently using a universal car mount I've gotten from Amazon and it works great.
It holds it nice and snug, the usb port is unblocked (as I use a car changer to keep the Shift charged during long drives)
Only real downside is that it covers half of the volume controls (you can still turn volume up, but the bottom portion is covered) which is no problem for me personally

Just shows how dumb the overall design is. That left side is so cluttered due to the microUSB and the bad placement of the volume buttons.
ProClip will most likley have top and bottom rails allowing the phone to slide in from the left side of the phone. Will allow for a charging cradle and possibly rotation to landscape to allow the slider to open.
That said, my Shift is getting sold. Keeping the Epic and picking up an Arrive to play with as a second phone.

I posted this awhile back on Android Central if anyone cares to have a look at what the Shift looks like in one of the Amazon universals. (Hmmm is me)
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-evo-shift-4g/53163-car-mount-gps-2.html

I have a universal car mount. It's suppose to fit through the vents, but I broke the little flips and they went all the way back into the air tube... I'm never getting one again. I'd rather just have the phone on my seat.

I haven't had any luck with any universal mounts. I tried an ARKON one that plugged into the the cigarette lighter with a flexible arm, but the plug didn't tighten enough so the thing would flop upside down when you hit a big bump. I don't understand why a company can't come up with something that works? I think a cigarette lighter mount has a lot more promise then the vent mount crap, but thats my opinion.

I bought the Arkon mount that goes into the cigarette lighter and it works perfect for me. It is extremely adjustable in almost any direction, so you can get the desired angle rather easily. It doesn't cover the charging port and it never hit the volume keys on the side (I have a phone case). You can also adjust how firm you want it to grip your phone, with a quick release button on the side. I find that if I have it gripped firm but not too tight, I can slide my phone in and out without adjusting it each time. It holds it firmly and doesn't slide while I drive. You can also switch between landscape and portrait mode easily while it's clipped in. Hope this helps.
Btw I have a 2011 Infiniti G37x Coupe.

Brodit Mount

Looks like Brodit will be releasing a mount soon:
One mount with two power options listed as "new product - coming soon"

I've sent an email just a week ago and this is the answer:
"Dear sir!
Thank you for the mail.
We are sorry but for the moment is this nothing we have in our plans.
Best Regards"
And now (a week later):
"New product, Coming soon"

Defy fits the mount to htc desire. Just in worst case
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App

Brodit Active holder available
http://www.brodit.com/?main=searchb...-BC4A-AB094BCB0609&showTypeHidden=0&showID=69
But what about the automatic car dock switch (magnet) ?

I've got the passive mount (the active one seems to be out of this world expensive, even for a brodit). The phone slides from the right (or from above if you use it with the usb connector facing the floor); this "landscape" position seems to be the best in fact.
Really good fit as usual, power button a little hard to reach if you have fat finger but everything works nicely. Probably the "active" holder is a good choice as well, especially if the prices drop as it becomes available at more shops. I was under the impression that you might need to plug the connector manually (after you insert the phone) so there's no point in having the active holder (you would just get a charger which most of us have). But I'm wrong most likely, as the phone slides from the right I imagine it would just fit in the connector that waits for it from the left side. Probably you can even fit a connector there with the right combination of plastic and glue (or screws) and mod a passive holder to be an active one.
There's no magnet as far as I can tell but I don't have the software that takes care of it anymore anyway. That's for the best as it was quite a big pain, it would turn on the phone just because I put the headphones in the same shirt pocket, etc.

d210 said:
/....I was under the impression that you might need to plug the connector manually (after you insert the phone) so there's no point in having the active holder (you would just get a charger which most of us have). But I'm wrong most likely, as the phone slides from the right I imagine it would just fit in the connector that waits for it from the left side..../
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With regards to active holder, the phone does slide into holder and connector, thus you don't have to fit power connector manually..

Thanks, got it - works rather nice, assuming you didn't forget to move the port cap out of the way
Inductive charging would be "'da bomb" here...
Anyway, second question: anybody has access to a Defy+ to test if it fits the active Brodit holder for the Defy?

d210 said:
anybody has access to a Defy+ to test if it fits the active Brodit holder for the Defy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why wouldn't it? The Defy+ chassis is identical to the Defy.
I doubt I'll be buying a Brodit mount any time soon though, just tooooo expensive.

Looks cool, but I like the Motorola original better.

for those who found a brodit or other permanent mount too expensive... i m currently using a sports armband bgt from ebay $3-$5... strapped it round the handle bar like u wld strapped round your arm whenever u need it... n u r good to ride already!! wif music n gps navi... i m enjoying my long rides even more now!! :-D

Created My own Car Mount

I had been looking at car mounts for awhile and didn't really like the large generic mounts. While I was in Best Buy last week I saw they had these IQ Mount that works with Iphones etc that was on sale for $8.99. It also comes with 3 universal tabs so I ordered a snap-on hard (back only) case on ebay (I ordered this one that kind of went with the base and wasn't totally black, hopefully reducing the temperature) and put it on the back of this case. The universal tabs allow you to mount it either horizontally or vertically allowing you to rotate your phone by just pulling it out and putting it back in. The case doesn't block any of the buttons and is easy to take on and off since I don't like having to have the extra bulk of a case. The tabs are very small so they could be put on your existing case as well and you'd probably not notice. This mount also gives you the ability to mount it on the windshield with a suction or on the dash with a strong 3m tape. I will try to get some pictures to post on here but I am very happy with they way this turned out.
Hope this helps someone else too.

Sounds pretty neat-o to me. Too bad my miata has some weird ass vents lol. I like the idea of it being suctioned to the windshield, hard to use navigation with it in your pocket.
Sent from my Evervolv powered Shift using XDA Premium App

Cool! Got any pictures?

I pulled the trigger on this, I'll take some pictures once I receive everything.. Not bad for $15..

where are the pics.... im interested

Excellent solution
Purchased this based on the original recommendation and it works very well in my new toyota sienna. Thanks for the recommendation.

My semi DIY car mount.

So lately I've been trying to figure out a way to get my tablet mounted at the optimum position for GPS usage without obstructing anything. In my van I have the Arkon seat bolt tablet mount, which is perfect because it keeps the tablet lower in the dash area so it's not blocking my view or baking in the sun, and it's also a solid mount point. I'd have no where else to mount it in the van aside from the window if it wasn't for this mount, and I absolutely don't like window mounting anything bigger than a cell phone. So in that instance, things work out great. Recently I put that Arkon mount in my car, which is a Hyundai Elantra. I thought since the distance from the seat bolt to the mount area would be less, I'd have more (if anything, too much) "neck" to work with. It turned out to be the opposite. My Elantra is stick shift, so when I had the tablet mounted in the most convenient spot that reached, I was all but punching the screen when I went to 3rd/5th gear. The only other alternative was to have it sitting over in the passenger area, which works for me but it adds as a huge inconvenience to any passengers in that seat since their left knee is where the tablet is. As a result I decided to put the Arkon seat bolt mount back in the van and work on something else for the car.
I have an empty space under my head unit for random storage, etc. I began to wonder if I could somehow utilize that space for incorporating a mount there. It would be the perfect height because it's higher up from the gear shift and it would definitely be optimum viewing for GPS usage. Originally I made the perfectly sized wooden block that had a slight slight slope to it so it would wedge itself in place. I then epoxy'd a BluRex Amazon case to it that I wasn't too happy with and was no longer using. This proved to be an awesome 10 minute mount, but it also gave me zero adjustability. I began to think was going to be important since last time we were on a road trip when the road I was on was going to be 3 hours long my wife watched a movie, so I knew I'd want a way to move it around for best viewing in multiple scenarios.
Here's two pictures from that build:
http://i.imgur.com/dsfQx.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/guw86.jpg
I began to give it more thought. I knew that the empty space under my head unit was going to be the mount point, but I just had to figure out how. I searched through multiple mounts, particularly from Arkon. In the end I bought this mount on eBay for about 20 bucks. It came with a suction cup which I knew wouldn't work for my uses. My plan was to cut the arm off, drill a hole into a wooden block, then fill it with epoxy and shove the arm in. The block of wood in question would be a piece that I cut to perfectly fit the open slot under my deck with a slight slant to it, that way as I pushed it in, it wedged itself in place (much like the last mount)
When I got this mount from eBay I began to wonder if I even needed to cut the arm off. Fortunately the height of the suction cup base was ALMOST the height of the opening in my dash. I figured all I had to do was wedge that in place and I wouldn't have to do the whole sha-bang with the wooden block and epoxy. I ended up cutting off the suction cup since it was useless in my case. The bottom of the plastic suction cup area had some flat ridges, so I figured I'd use double sided tape instead of epoxy to adhere it to a flat piece of wood. The flat piece of wood was to bump the thickness up just enough to replace the need for that wooden wedge.
http://i.imgur.com/yHOLR.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/l9mRO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/O4Gin.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KFJad.jpg
In the last picture you can see that I flipped things around. Originally I had the arm facing downward, but when I had the tablet mounted, 5th gear was still a problem as the gear shift would nearly hit the tablet. I knew if I flipped it upside down the arm would be facing upward, giving me some height... so I re-did the tape and put it on the other side. Since I mounted it more to the right (to ensure there was a super low chance of the steering wheel ever obstructing view, even if I was leaning far to the left while driving) I sensed a small amount of uneven stability since there was nothing keeping the left side tight against the roof of the opening. A small wooden wedge later and we were golden.
http://i.imgur.com/t7v4P.jpg
I ended up painting that wooden piece black to blend it in a little bit. I also noticed while driving that some roads had a degree of ripple to them, which would cause the tablet to sway back and forth. It didn't obstruct my view-ability of the screen at all, but if I was in an area where the tablet was casting a glare from the screen it became more obvious. On a hunch I pulled out two quarters and slid them under the arm mount, which is where I thought I was seeing a degree of flexing. Surprisingly it helped quite a bit and that area no longer has any flex. Not bad.
http://i.imgur.com/gzcV0.jpg
Final product:
http://i.imgur.com/LoUZT.jpg
Hopefully those of you out there who are finding some tablet mounts are *almost* perfect but not a home run can utilize some sort of DIY ideas like I did to make it work. I now have a solid mount for both vehicles, so no more worries about where the tablet will sit, etc. No complaints there. :good:

Great mod! I too have a compartment like that when I replaced my factory double din to a single din radio. To compensate, I had to put in a CD holder type opening, much like your area. I just have slots for CD cases. In my case, it wouldn't work out too well because my opening is held by epoxy and because of the texas heat, loses it's adhesiveness big time and alas, too weak for N7.
I have since bought a Kropsson Aero, which can hold both my tablet and Sensation. I do wish someone made a mount that can fit like the Aero can. Oh well, sorry to detract, just wanted to give you some kudos in getting a mount that works for you! :good:

I'm curious on how the epoxy is failing you. Is it not gripping like it should? A little side story - I epoxy'd a cracked side skirt in my first car, and when I got tires one day the hydraulic lift bowed the sides out pretty dramatically. (this wasn't a body kit - just lower siding from the factory. Here's a picture of a car nearly identical to what I had). It took the weight of my car for 30 seconds on that lift before the pressure was enough that it broke the epoxy bond. We may not have Texas heat, but here in Pennsylvania we have some crazy cold winters and some pretty muggy summers... I would think the differentiation wouldn't be good for epoxy when it's outdoors and hitting rain/snow/mud/hot/cold throughout the years.
I'm curious if the surface you epoxy'd wasn't really that optimal for epoxy. I say that based on my own experience recently, as I thought for sure epoxy would bond to anything, and for the most part it does, but take a look back at the first pictures of the BluRex/wooden block mod I did. I epoxy'd those two things together. After I took it out of the car and didn't use it, I wanted to see if I could somehow separate the two. I figured if anything the epoxy would separate from the wood and the epoxy would have just stayed gripping to wood particles from the block. But it was the opposite - the epoxy let go of the semi rubberized BluRex case, pretty cleanly too. It took a good amount of force, don't get me wrong, but once done it was a pretty clean break. I'm basing this entirely on assumption as I don't know what you were bonding together, but I wanted to throw out those FYI's as part of my epoxy experience.
So, that Aero can widen itself enough for a Nexus 7? I Googled around and I keep seeing screenshots of it with iPhones and Galaxy 3's... not tablets. That's wild if it does. Does your's mount based on suction cup? Or did you do some sort of additional mod?

JaSauders said:
I'm curious on how the epoxy is failing you. Is it not gripping like it should? A little side story - I epoxy'd a cracked side skirt in my first car, and when I got tires one day the hydraulic lift bowed the sides out pretty dramatically. (this wasn't a body kit - just lower siding from the factory. Here's a picture of a car nearly identical to what I had). It took the weight of my car for 30 seconds on that lift before the pressure was enough that it broke the epoxy bond. We may not have Texas heat, but here in Pennsylvania we have some crazy cold winters and some pretty muggy summers... I would think the differentiation wouldn't be good for epoxy when it's outdoors and hitting rain/snow/mud/hot/cold throughout the years.
I'm curious if the surface you epoxy'd wasn't really that optimal for epoxy. I say that based on my own experience recently, as I thought for sure epoxy would bond to anything, and for the most part it does, but take a look back at the first pictures of the BluRex/wooden block mod I did. I epoxy'd those two things together. After I took it out of the car and didn't use it, I wanted to see if I could somehow separate the two. I figured if anything the epoxy would separate from the wood and the epoxy would have just stayed gripping to wood particles from the block. But it was the opposite - the epoxy let go of the semi rubberized BluRex case, pretty cleanly too. It took a good amount of force, don't get me wrong, but once done it was a pretty clean break. I'm basing this entirely on assumption as I don't know what you were bonding together, but I wanted to throw out those FYI's as part of my epoxy experience.
So, that Aero can widen itself enough for a Nexus 7? I Googled around and I keep seeing screenshots of it with iPhones and Galaxy 3's... not tablets. That's wild if it does. Does your's mount based on suction cup? Or did you do some sort of additional mod?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got the Aero in actually. It doesn't fit the N7 with my Seidio Case installed. So it's a fail on my end. It fits my Sensation fine, but thats a given lol.
As for the surface areas, I think you are correct that maybe the surface I am trying to apoxy to (on the car) does not play well/adhere with the epoxy I put on. No biggie though. I wanted something off the dash anyways. I may just get the exogear/kropsson mounts eventually...
EDIT: semi DIY modding LOL...
Just getting back, regarding the Kropsson Aero. Because of the Seidio case making the N7 bigger than expected to fit in the Kropsson Aero, I decided to cut down the foam pads on the sides. Now the N7 fits! The said arms are maxed out, but I will try it in the car after work. I took pics, but my work computer is borking at the card reader. But I'll try to upload them at home if I have time ( I have a 4 yr old to contend with lol).

I did almost the same thing, except the empty space is above my stereo instead of below. I just drilled some holes in the top of it and fashioned a plastic mount that bolts in and connects to part of an Arkon mount. If I want to remove the mount, I can just unbolt the Arkon part from the part that's bolted to the double din kit and you barely notice the rest of it.

I did something similar with my GNex car dock so it wasn't on my window. I placed a adapter plate (see link below) so I could use the suction cup on some interior plastic below my stereo. It holds pretty snug, not sure if it would be enough to support a tablet though.
http://www.amazon.com/AP020-Adapter-Circular-Adhesive-Console/dp/B001DAT0XE/ref=pd_sim_cps_10

xxgoosexx said:
I did something similar with my GNex car dock so it wasn't on my window. I placed a adapter plate (see link below) so I could use the suction cup on some interior plastic below my stereo. It holds pretty snug, not sure if it would be enough to support a tablet though.
http://www.amazon.com/AP020-Adapter-Circular-Adhesive-Console/dp/B001DAT0XE/ref=pd_sim_cps_10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have that same disk that came with my tomtom gps that I never used. But it works! I have it installed and holds the arkon mount fine without issues.

ydoucare said:
I did almost the same thing, except the empty space is above my stereo instead of below. I just drilled some holes in the top of it and fashioned a plastic mount that bolts in and connects to part of an Arkon mount. If I want to remove the mount, I can just unbolt the Arkon part from the part that's bolted to the double din kit and you barely notice the rest of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! Do you have any pictures of the actual mounting point where the bolts are? I'm super curious how you accomplished this. :good:

JaSauders said:
Nice! Do you have any pictures of the actual mounting point where the bolts are? I'm super curious how you accomplished this. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't, I'll try to grab one and post it here.

"Custom" Nexus 7 Car Mount (Using Miscellaneous Parts)

So I had a burning desire to mount my Nexus 7 in my car (2008 Dodge Charger) for some time. But all of the docks/mounts out right now either use suction cups, are bulky, or block significant portions of the head unit in the vehicle already.
This has been a bit of an obsession, trying to find something that would work the way I wanted it to. I had a vehicle specific bracket that I used for my Sirius radio a few years ago. It has holes drilled for the AMPS universal mounting pattern. This is what I decided to utilize at this time. Just a few pics and links for now until I get some better pictures later.
AMPS T-Bracket
Arkon Slim Grip. I actually used the one that came with my ARKON Windshield mount, but I'm pretty sure they're the same thing.
This vehicle specific bracket was from Bracketron, however, it was purchased 3 or 4 years ago, so I don't believe it is made any longer. I couldn't find it on their website. However, a few other companies make vehicle specific brackets, and Panavise was on the ones I found with a quick search. I like the AMPS mounting system because it's fairly modular. Stay away from the RAM mounts, even though they make some very excellent products, they generally use proprietary accessories for their mounts.
LINKS
Arkon Slim-Grip Holder (I purchased the Windshield mount, but it's the same holder, I believe)
http://www.amazon.com/Arkon-Slim-Gr...ckaging/dp/tech-data/B0056G142G/ref=de_a_smtd
Arkon VSM AMPS adapter
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BA503Y/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00
I also use the Belkin BT adapter for playback of music. It's pretty much awful for anything besides phone calls.
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Blueto...&keywords=belkin+bluetooth+car+hands-free+kit
I'll update later on.

nice
it is nice what you have done.
I have the exact same car dodge charger 2008 SE and I would like to know how I can remove the factory stereo that comes with the car ( same as the one you have in the pictures) and put the nexus 7 in its place.
if anyone had done this kind of project please send me the details on how to do it

Very cool and nice setup you have there although it seems like if you have a passenger in the car with you their view of the screen wouldn't be so good since it's on an angle.
One thing I'd like to know is though, is that bracket permanently attached to the car or is it just a matter of sliding in and sliding out that bracket that is between the crack there?

jonnyg1097 said:
Very cool and nice setup you have there although it seems like if you have a passenger in the car with you their view of the screen wouldn't be so good since it's on an angle.
One thing I'd like to know is though, is that bracket permanently attached to the car or is it just a matter of sliding in and sliding out that bracket that is between the crack there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I do have passengers that ride with me, but 90% of the time it's just me traveling for work. I didn't do this with them in mind. lol. However one modification I'll likely be doing to it is adding tilt/swivel adjust. Had it originally planned, but haven't found my solution yet.
The bracket is affixed to the car with the screws in the radio bezel. This makes it much more sturdy.
This isn't the same exact bracket as mine, but it's a similar one from Panavise. It uses the same screws.