[Don Tolson]

Product Category: Phone/PDA Car Mount
Manufacturer: Proporta
Where to Buy: Proporta
Price: $25.95 USD Includes self-adhesive mount, cleaning cloth, two 'sticky pads' for mounting two phones or PDAs.
Specifications: 80mm (3.1 in) x 30mm (1.2 in) x 5mm (0.2 in).

Pros:

Convenient, attractive mount;

Magnetic sticky pads for PDA/Phone are very thin and unobtrusive;

Strong magnetic clinch.

Cons:

Requires a long flat surface which may be difficult to find in some vehicles;

Paper user manual provided is almost unreadable.

Summary:
Proporta has developed a magnetic dashboard mount for phones and PDAs which can provide an attractive alternative for those not wanting to stick a suction cup to their windshield. While a little pricey, the mount is small, attractively finished, and provides a good solid magnetic 'clinch' to hold the device in place. Plus, you get two thin magnetic sticky pads which don't add a lot of bulk to the phone or PDA.

Read on for the full review!

Introduction
Having your Pocket PC (with or without phone) handy and accessible in your vehicle is a great convenience, especially if it's equipped with a GPS receiver and navigation software. Unfortunately, thieves are becoming more technologically astute and recognize the suction cup mounting systems as an invitation to search the car for electronics. Specifically in the last few months, there have been a number of articles (for example, here, here, and here) regarding the rise in break-ins and thefts of phones and portable navigation systems that were left, even out of sight, in cars. So, for those looking for an alternative, Proporta has developed a magnetic mount which is easily attached to the dashboard or any other surface in the vehicle and provides a secure mounting for your Pocket PC or phone. The best thing about this mount is that it's relatively small, unobtrusive, and it doesn't look like the typical device mount when installed.

What Comes in the Box
What arrives from Proporta is a small but complete kit of everything you need to use the mount.


Figure 1: What you get from Proporta.


Figure 2: And here's what's inside the box...

As you can see from the picture above, the system is pretty simple. It consists of:

A self adhesive magnetic mount;

Two metal 'sticky pads' for attaching to the back of your phone / Pocket PC;

A cleaning cloth for the surfaces the mount and sticky pads attach to; and

A user manual printed in 2-point font on rice paper.:evil:

I know it's a 'nit', and the manual is also available on Proporta's website, but really guys, do we have to print a one page installation guide in multiple languages that tiny and on paper that rips when you breathe on it?

Mounting and Use in the Vehicle
So, you'd think installation and use of the magnetic mount would be simplicity itself right? Just stick the mount to any flat surface in the car, slap on a metal pad to the back of the Pocket PC and there you go. Well in many cases, it could be that easy. In fact, on the Proporta website, they provide a suggested mounting position which should work in most vehicles.


Figure 3: Proporta's suggested installation of the mount.

Unfortunately, putting the unit on top of the dash doesn't work for me. Not only is it likely to get knocked off from up there, but my Pocket PC has a built in GPS and I always use it for navigation around the city. I also have a Bluetooth handsfree unit for the phone portion of the PPC. So I need to be able to see the screen and interact with it without picking it up.

Now the problem is trying to find a sufficiently long, flat surface on the face of the dash where I could conveniently place the mount. If you take a look at the centre console of my Toyota Sienna, you'll see there aren't a lot of flat surfaces there.


Figure 4: Flat surface, flat surface, hmmmmm.....where???

So instead, I found a more convenient position on the hatch door of the centre console between the two front seats.


Figure 5: This looks better, and it's close at hand, too.

On my Eten X500, I placed the metal sticky pad on the back of the unit, in a place that was away from the camera and speaker, yet provided a good secure spot in the console. The metal sticky pads are about the size of a dime and are very thin, so they can be mounted almost anywhere on the Pocket PC without adding a lot of extra bulk.


Figure 6: The sticky pads are very thin.


Figure 7: Mounted on the back of an Eten X500. The X500 is already a very thin unit, so I was worried about adding extra bulk, but it still fits very nicely into the custom Noreve leather case.:-)


Figure 8: And here's what it looks like, all snug and cozy in its new home.

There are no particular specifications provided on the magnet used, but I suspect it's one of those 'rare earth' ones, since it's quite strong and there's a very satisfying clunk as the metal pad comes in contact. It's a good, solid feel of being locked in place. After driving around for a number of days with the power cord plugged in, I have not noticed any movement of the unit at all.

Because the mount is magnetic, it's very easy to remove the unit to take it with me when I leave the van (after all, it is my phone as well!) and with it on the inside of the lid of the console, closing it completely hides the mount and any trace of extra electronics in the vehicle.

Conclusions
I found this to be the perfect alternative to using the typical windshield suction cup mount. I don't really like putting things in the way of my forward view while I'm driving and this provides a secure mount without having to make any permanent modifications to the vehicle.

Don is an Associate Director with Fujitsu Consulting and leader of its Enterprise Mobility Community.