Reviewed By: Stephen Peterson on 20/09/2005
I had a problem. Having recently purchased an i-mate PDA phone, being on-call for work, combined with receiving calls in my car; my battery required constant charging, I couldn't make calls while driving and I could not tell who was calling me, despite using a hands-free Bluetooth device.
The Arkon Powered PDA Mount provided just the solution I needed. The mount securely grips the PDA between foam pads via a ratchet mechanism so that is visible and accessible at all times. The mount charges the PDA via a USB connection as if it were cradled. I've not had to place the PDA on charge outside of driving to work and back. The windshield mounting, employing lever action suction cup, stiff yet flexible goose-neck and a ball-and-socket fixing plate provides the ultimate flexibility in regards to ease of installation and positioning. It took maybe five minutes with no invasive drilling required. The unit also provides a speaker output via an earphone connection should my Bluetooth hands-free be inoperable. Ports are also provided for other devices such as the Navman GPS navigation unit. I've not used this feature as yet but plan to in the future.
On the negative side, should active synch be enabled for when the PDA is cradled, the active synch process is started on connection of the USB cable and the PDA attempts remote synchronization despite no remote configuration being defined. This represents a minor inconvenience as I simply disable the active synch when cradled option, re-enabling it when I actually wish to perform active synchronization. More significant, however, is that the pins supporting the gears of the ratchet mechanism, come under significant stress but are composed of plastic and are part of the outer case molding. As was my experience, one of the pins sheared, rendering the gripping mechanism useless. Upset by this event, I fashioned a makeshift solution by substituting a screw for the broken pin, invalidating any warrantee.
Fortunately, I was placed in contact with the good people at Arkon, specifically Marc Richards, who was very responsive and promptly shipped me a replacement unit in spite of my "craftsmanship"!
All in all the Arkon Powered PDA Mount provides me with an ideal solution suited to my lifestyle. The robustness, however, is certainly an area that could benefit from some improvement. I must say though, the support I received certainly went above and beyond.
Thanks Arkon and Marc!
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