Home | Stories | Reviews | TreoCast | Treo Store | Accessories | Software | Discussion at webOS Nation | Mobile | About | Search
 
treocentral.com >> Products & Reviews >> Accessories
Arkon CM910 Vehicle Mount Kit

Tue Mar 28, 2006 - 1:30 PM EST - By Xious Sonenberg

Overview

So, you've been searching the globe for the perfect no-frills car mount for your Treo?

Yes, there are a lot to choose from, but most have some big drawbacks. Many car cradles with a built in speaker phone tend to be so tight fitting that if you have your Treo in a case of any kind– even a skin case, the case has to come off first.

It’s a hassle to take your Treo in and out of its case, especially a rubber skin-type case, every time you want to plop it into a car cradle that demands the phone be completely naked to fit in it.

Besides, wouldn’t it be slick to be able to use your car mount for your other portable devices too? Fitting an iPod Video in or other mp3 player or phone; they too need a secure but handy place to vegetate while you cruise along the highway.

Your quest for the perfect simple car mount is over with the Arkon CM910!

Yes, sometimes simplicity trumps complexity! The intelligently designed and sturdy CM910 car cradle holds a wide range of devices, including all Treo models, to keep them within easy view and reach, and from sliding off and into the dust bunny catacombs under your car seats if you have to slam on the brakes. When you’re driving and your phone rings, you want to get to it quickly, if just to see who’s calling. It’s dangerous to take your eyes off the road to fish it out of a belt holster, console, pocket or purse, and where do you usually keep it if you have a passenger on the seat next to you?

Sure, the Arkon mount is pretty bare bones compared to fancier, more expensive units - no built-in Speakerphone, no GPS or charger, but you can use it with external devices (Bluetooth, Infrared or cable driven) as your budget or needs change.

Besides fitting such a mind numbing range of devices, the CM910 gives you enough mounting options to make an obsessive-compulsive sultan as content his Persian cat.

Choice is nice! Arkon has outdone themselves with this smart, handsome accessory that mounts to your vehicle with one of three methods: Suction cup, A/C vent clip or space age-y, semi-permanent glue pad.

The easiest and obvious first choice is to suction cup mount the cradle to your car window - either a windshield or a side window will do nicely. The CM910 has a beefy bendable arm which to which the cradle connects. The suction cup method also makes it trivial to move the mount from one car to another.

If this doesn't fit your fancy, you can instead try the included clip to attach the cradle to your dash A/C vents, if they’re the right shape. This method rewards both you and your Treo, giving it a nice igloo of cool air around it to keep it cozy on those hot summer nights, and easy access to your phone or other device at a comfortable reach, without having to move your hand more than a few inches from the wheel.

But since heat is the enemy of small electronic gear, unless you want to fry your Treo like a hamburger patty if your dash vents are pumping out hot air, you’d be better off sticking to the glass mount, or try the third mounting option: adhere the arm with the supplied sticky pad to your dash or console. This is probably your best alternative to keeping your Treo within easy reach.

Sure, you could try to use the suction cup to attach the kit to the dash, but suction cups are designed to hold onto glass, not textured vinyl, and besides, most modern car dashes don’t provide a glass-like smooth, flat, level surface but instead, have enough contours and curves to make J-LO jealous.

With the glue pad mount, Arkon has you covered. Provided in the package is a 3M mounting pad with the same type of adhesive your prankster buddy in high school used on his teacher's chair.

The 3M pad is, however, a rather permanent mounting option and not easy to remove once you’ve adhered it. Trying to remove it will probably force you to resort to using a blowtorch, high explosives, or nasty solvents. Use caution before you go this route because once you decide to use the adhesive pad, you’d better mean it, because it’s gonna stay there. Oh, and try not to glue yourself to the dash in the process.

But the adhesive mounting method does mean that you could even attach the cradle to areas of your car that a suction cup could never hang on to. You could even attach it to your forehead, though you would probably get a lot of strange looks and make it a lot harder to get a girlfriend

Now, the meat of the meal is of course cradle itself. With this, Arkon outdid themselves: the cradle holds your device as tight as Jack Benny holds his wallet. It comes with adjustable, sliding feet to rest the base of your Treo on and spring-loaded, locking side wings (Arkon calls these "jaws") that slide in place with a firm click to keep your Treo steady enough to go over rough mountain passes in Central America.

The wings are also easy to open and adjust, by pressing a release button that gives just enough resistance to feel very solid.

The expanding and contracting wings mean that you can keep your Treo in a case of almost any kind: Even the high profile Speck Toughskin ruggedized case fits just fine.

You can access all your Treo's ports perfectly by sliding the feet out to each side for easy port connectivity. You could connect a cassette adapter, FM transmitter, car charger or Sync cable to the bottom of your Treo while it’s in the holder with no difficulty at all.

Using a FM Transmitter or cassette adapter with this kit gives you the real 90s Car Phone feel as you can use your car stereo to listen to conversations or music which is really cool!

This mount is also a perfect combination with most any Bluetooth headset, GPS kit, or wireless keyboard for providing a totally hands free experience. No cables required.

The cradle can hold other PDAs, phones, iPods, and shrunken heads firmly so that you can enjoy them staring back at you as you drive down the highway. Regular size iPods fit, but not the teeny weenie ones like the Nano or Shuffle. (Sorry, but it doesn't shrink down that far.) The maximum width of a device you can fit with the wings spread out to their max is 3 9/16" and they’ll snuggle down to 1 5/16". So worry no more, weary traveler! The inexpensive mounting kit of your dreams has arrived.

Next Page: Conclusion >>



Treo accessory store
 
User Opinions
No reader opinions available.
Would you recommend Arkon CM910 Vehicle Mount Kit?
Yes   No  

Product Info

Sponsored Links


Arkon CM910 Vehicle Mount Kit from
TreoCentral Store


References
Actions
> Print this page
> Digg!

 
 

Copyright 1999-2016 TreoCentral. All rights reserved : Terms of Use : Privacy Policy

TREO and TreoCentral are trademarks or registered trademarks of palm, Inc. in the United States and other countries;
the TreoCentral mark and domain name are used under license from palm, Inc.
The views expressed on this website are solely those of the proprietor, or
contributors to the site, and do not necessarily reflect the views of palm, Inc.
Read Merciful by Casey Adolfsson