HandNav Technology Ltd ProClip PDA vent mount kit

August 4, 2003 | | format - Other (ar.) | viewed - 60x
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HandNav Technology Ltd ProClip PDA vent mount kit

Here’s an interesting marketing concept: sell people an expensive Pocket PC. Then sell them an expensive GPS navigation jacket to go with it. Then ask them to stick this all to the car windscreen with a suction cup that has less staying power than a kid’s bow and arrow set and watch the whole lot fall on the car floor or the driver’s lap while travelling at 70 mph.

I understand physics, I know how powerful suction can be and I followed all the rules about cleaning the surfaces and STILL the suction cup failed even when stuck on a dead flat window pane next to desk. Enough of that gripe: you’ve heard it before. So what’s the answer. Well, there are lots of answers, but here’s one that really does it for me for a number of reasons.

What I really wanted from a car mount was not just a secure platform that would put the GPS screen in a comfortable, glanceable driving position, but one which would keep my trusty iPAQ charged up and ready for action without a lot of messing around with cables that I’d have to remember to carry to and from the car.

And here's what I found while trawling the internet: "A safer and more convenient driving environment for your mobile equipment. The ProClip system offers a safe, secure and flexible method of mounting mobile equipment inside your vehicle. A combination of the unique clip and dedicated GPS mount allows your GPS receiver and/or PDA to be positioned in almost any location in your vehicle giving unparalleled safety, comfort and usability.

However, the ProClip system is currently available for over 4300 different makes and model of vehicle. Please complete the following details to establish the correct clip for you..."

So that's what I did. The ProClip system, made in Sweden by Brodit but retailed in the UK by HandNav Technology Ltd.(www.handnav.co.uk) promised to do everything I needed. Rather than being ‘one size fits all’ the mount is tailored to your vehicle. In my case, the car is an Audi, and the mount comes with illustrated instructions on how to fit it. The kit as supplied comprises the Proclip itself, which is the 'tailored' part of the system and either a fixed or swivelling PDA mount, depending on how much you want to spend and whether you feel you will need to adjust the PDA screen position while driving or to suit more than one driver. On to that screws the PDA cradle itself.

Not just hung on the nearest air vent, the ProClip is nicely engineered to clip in to the gap between the trim and the vent surround. Someone has really thought about this and it shows in the end result. As you’ll see from the photos, the mount looks as if it’s supposed to be there and doesn’t spoil the lines of the car’s cockpit. But it’s not just a mount. In the base of the cradle is a power connector which plugs into your cigarette lighter and powers your PDA while on the move. At your destination, just lift your fully powered PDA out of the cradle and you’re ready for action doing all the non-GPS things that the PDA is so good at.

Of course, for those of us who spend a lot of time either on the move, or sitting in our cars making phone calls from lay bys and service stations, having your PDA positioned so ergonomically is a godsend.

Fitting is straightforward, but you have to be prepared to secure he mount (swivel or fixed) to the ProClip with four self tapping screws, then secure the cradle to the mount with a single screw. I must admit to a few moments uncertainty as to whether the correct ProClip had been supplied: the gap between the trim and the fascia in my car just didn't look wide enough to admit the lip of the ProClip and forcing it could be expensive. But I got there in the end, and having done it once could do it again very quickly. The result was a stable and solid fit that certainly wasn't going to be shaken loose in a hurry - or indeed at all. The same can't quite be said for the screw that holds the cradle to the mount, as the weight of the PDA and the vibration of the car combine to loosen this to the point where the PDA 'sags'...a quick quarter turn with a screwdriver and the screen stays where it's put again for another few weeks. To be honest, it's more my fear of overtightening than anything wrong with this great product!

This really is the best implementation of a car mount that I’ve met to date. Options exists for cradles with and without jackets, but as I use my iPAQ in a Krussell Whitney CF containing case which will also fit in a mount designed for an expansion jacket, the cradle works for me whether I’m doing GPS related things or not. The bare iPAQ will fit in a cradle designed for an expansion jacket, but it’s not a snug fit.

The downside to all this is that with a mount tailored to the car, a new car (probably) means a new mount….but as the Brodit mount costs much the same as a full tank of petrol, I wouldn’t let that worry you too much.