Arkon doking car mount DM300 series

For the first time Arkon is producing a car mount model-specific for each pda. The design is completely modified from their past universal car mount although some details recall it. There are also some new great features, so let’s get into details.

SPECIAL OFFER: Arkon offered to our readers $10.00 off on any DM series docking mount or Docking mount bundles. The offer will expire 11/30/05 and it is good only at www.arkon.com. Just mention www.pdagold.com in the special instructions area when ordering online.

Traditions…

Arkon maintained the old brownish-grey colour which someone might like and someone might not. Personally I think is ok and it blends nicely pretty much with any interior or any pda colour. Also the holding system for the pda is the same as it was in the past. I did some testing locking the pda in place and trying to shake the cradle vigorously upside down. My Axim X50v stayed in place without problem. In my opinion this holder is strong enough.

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…and news.

As I said the whole mount has been redesigned going from universal to model specific. The new look is definitely more elegant compared to the more essential universal car mount. Besides this the model specificity allows for integration of most of the cables which reduces the hassles to the minimum and improves the general look. Unfortunately losing the universality of the mount has a major downside: the pda will need to be pulled from the case in order to fit in the car cradle. I only tested the RhinoSkin aluminium case and it doesn’t fit.

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Details:

The car mount comes in a nice box (another news) which includes the mount, a suction cup windshield holder and a 12V DC power cord. I won’t spend too much time on the holding system since it looks pretty much the same. The suction cup and the gooseneck are solid and well working.

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The cradle has the volume control as well as the on-off button and the speaker plug on the left side. On the right side there is the release button for the pda holder and the hands free set plug.

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Performances:

Arkon puts a great emphasis on the quality of the new integrated speaker. Paired with my Dell Axim X50v which has a great audio setup I was quite satisfied. The sound quality is definitely the best I have ever heard coming from a car mount. Please not from the picture the detail of the speaker hidden in the front under the Arkon sign.

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A battery in the car mount?

The DM300 will come also in a GPS integrated version which will be called DM500. We haven’t tested this unit yet. I will update this review as soon as it becomes available. Someone might think that having the GPS integrated in the car mount could be a problem if you ever decide to go walking around with your GPS. For this purpose Arkon introduced a never-seen-before battery compartment in both the DM-300 and the DM-500. This means that you can just slide off the cradle from the holder and take the whole thing with you. Of course it won’t be small, but it will allow for the occasional walking with the GPS. Please keep in mind that this battery will not power the pda; it only powers the speaker and, in the case of the DM500, the GPS. I tested battery like with my Dell Axim X50v. I ran out of power on my Axim before I could reach the end of my test, so battery life seems pretty good for the DM300. Of course this test would be more informative for the DM500 (the GPS will be more power demanding). Once again, I will update this review when this unit is available.

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Price:

The DM-300 and DM-500 will be available for Dell Axim X50/X50v/ X51/X51v, for Ipaq 22xx, 24xx, 27xx, 17xx, and 45xx series and for i-mate and Qtek devices. Prices are set at $60 for the DM300 and $150 for the DM500 which includes the GPS. The battery is sold separately for $20. Bundles are available at discounted prices. For instance if you have a Dell Axim you can have car mount, GPS and navigation software with European maps for only $200. You can find more information here.

The DM-500 with integrated GPS looks exactly the same. A GPS is added to the slot in the back. I currently have no specifications on the GPS chipset that will be included. Please visit www.arkon.com for more details.

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