10-17-2007, 04:00 PM
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Thoughts Media Review Team
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 749
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Sticking it to the Thieves - the Proporta Magnetic Dashboard Mount
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; andA 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.
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10-17-2007, 04:17 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 459
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Hmm, it will be interesting to see how this works with the TyTn and all it's variants: That uses a magnetic switch to flip the screen between portrait and landscape depending on whether the keyboard is in or out. Sticking a strong magnet on the back of the device may stop that working or make it behave very oddly. Anyone fancy checking that out?
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10-17-2007, 04:21 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 8
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Would the magnet have any affect on the performance of the flash memory? Maybe I'm just getting it mixed up with magnetic disks or cards.
I like the concept of having more options to hang items. Since the bulk of the item is just securing the magnet to car, I'd like to see car makers just install one on the dash. Could someone simply get a strong, small magnet and superglue it somewhere? I know it makes it more permanent, but it's only a small disc.
The like the idea of folding it away in the side compartment, but wouldn't want my navigation screen to be down there.
Jay
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10-17-2007, 04:41 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 109
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by JayP
Would the magnet have any affect on the performance of the flash memory? Maybe I'm just getting it mixed up with magnetic disks or cards.
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Flash memory isn't affected by magnetic fields. Disk drives and magnetic strips on the other hand are another story.
A good point is made earlier in the thread about the TyTn and it's magnetic screen orientation sensor. The official HTC case for the TyTn has an extremely strong magnetic enclosure that messes with the product it was made for! This same magnetic case also did in my iPod hard drive. :-(
Is it just me or does the the picture of the company's suggested mounting make it so the PDA is tilted upwards? I can see that being a problem on really sunny days. 8)
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10-17-2007, 05:06 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 242
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by JayP
I like the concept of having more options to hang items. Since the bulk of the item is just securing the magnet to car, I'd like to see car makers just install one on the dash. Could someone simply get a strong, small magnet and superglue it somewhere? I know it makes it more permanent, but it's only a small disc.
Jay
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To expand and possibly improve on this, why not build a super strong magnet into the dash somewhere convenient? Then attach that thin piece to the back of your device. This way to don't see anything when you take the device with you and it looks far cleaner.
Just me, but I would never glue anything to my dash.
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10-17-2007, 08:08 PM
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Thoughts Media Review Team
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 749
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by JayP
Would the magnet have any affect on the performance of the flash memory? Maybe I'm just getting it mixed up with magnetic disks or cards.
I like the concept of having more options to hang items. Since the bulk of the item is just securing the magnet to car, I'd like to see car makers just install one on the dash. Could someone simply get a strong, small magnet and superglue it somewhere? I know it makes it more permanent, but it's only a small disc.
The like the idea of folding it away in the side compartment, but wouldn't want my navigation screen to be down there.
Jay
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Hi Jay.. As noted in other replies, I don't think the magnet will have any effect on flash memory cards. I've had mine happily installed for at least 3 weeks now and everything works just fine. I don't think the disk on the back of the unit is actually magnetic. I think it's just a thin metal disk. The really strong magnet is in the mounted silver unit.
__________________
/drt
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10-17-2007, 08:10 PM
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Thoughts Media Review Team
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 749
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[quote="rob_ocelot"]
Quote:
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Originally Posted by JayP
Is it just me or does the the picture of the company's suggested mounting make it so the PDA is tilted upwards? I can see that being a problem on really sunny days. 8)
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Yes, if you use Proporta's suggested mount position, the unit would be facing up toward the windsheild (windscreen?) at probably a slight angle toward you. It wouldn't work for actually USING the unit -- only as a place to put it. That's why I was looking for some way to mount it on the front of the dash, directly facing me.
__________________
/drt
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10-18-2007, 09:34 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 8
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Don Tolson
I don't think the disk on the back of the unit is actually magnetic. I think it's just a thin metal disk. The really strong magnet is in the mounted silver unit.
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Yes, I got the impression that the disk attached to the device is just metal, but the unit is then being connected to the strong magnet. I'm glad to hear that flash memory is not affected, for that is what I use in my portables. I suppose one should not use a microdrive in the PDA then. :-)
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