Review: iGrip Universal Flexible Mount

A window mount for your BB phone is the easiest way to mount your phone in any car... especially if you are like me and have to move it a lot with rental cars for work. But if you are like me, you have found that not all window mounts are created equal. At around an average of $15 - $30 a pop, it can get very expensive to find that perfect mount that will not lose its suction and fall off your windshield, that does not have a support arm that annoyingly constantly pushes the buttons on the side of your phone, or to find out that it is made so poorly that it breaks in the first 3 weeks.
With my job I am on the road a lot, so I am constantly in rental cars with my BB 9650 guiding me with my GPS, so finding that perfect window mount that can put up with some of the abuse of being moved from car to car frequently, has been a goal of mine for some time. Well, after years of experience with several examples of how a good window mount should not be made, I have found one that I absolutely love. In this review I will share with you the little reasons that add up to a very successful iGrip Universal Flexible Window Mount.
Read on for the full review!

Quality

Even though it is mostly made of plastic, the Igrip Universal Mount is built solidly. The release mechanism seems solid and does not do that shotgun fast release that sounds like it is going to break into pieces with the impact of releasing the arms that hold the phone in place. The flexible neck is firm but can still easily be adjusted as needed. There are four foam pads on on the face of the mount plate to protect your phone from scraping plastic on plastic. It also has really thick foam pads on each arm that securely holds the phone in place, but there is more information on these below. The large 2.76” suction cup is well made with the standard design with the leveler that secures the suction cup on your windshield.

Ease of Use

Without any obvious concerns about the design or quality of build, it was time to put it to the test. I spent several weeks on the road with this mount, with more than usual daily use. As a result, I have never been this impressed with a generic universal mount before, and I have a fair share of them in my junk box in the attic to judge against. After using it in over 10 rental cars ranging in outside temperatures from 20 - 95 degrees, I never had it fall off the windshield once.
Most WM phones have buttons on the side of the phone. Even though I am always grateful for more buttons on my phone, this can become a HUGE pain, as with many phone mounts I have found the utter frustration of the side buttons being pushed each time I close the arms to secure the phone in the mount... resulting in rotating my screen, starting my camera, activating voice command, etc. One of the major advantages to the iGrip Universal Mount is the thick foam pads on the arms that I mentioned above. They offer two benefits. First is that when I tighten the arms of the mount to secure the phone, they rarely push one of the several side buttons on my phone. The second benefit is that once I adjust the arms to secure the phone, I do not have to release them to remove the phone. The phone will not fall out, but due to the thickness of the foam pads, I can remove the phone easily without releasing the arms. I can also simply push the phone back in between the foam pads to secure it again in the mount. I am not sure if this was intentionally designed or not, but it makes this mount dead easy to use with full confidence of holding my phone in place.
I am glad that I do not have to release the arms each time, because the only con I can see is the placement of the mount's arm release button. With the width of my BB 9650, it is slightly wider than the back plate of the holder, so you have to reach slightly around the phone to push the release button. You can still get to it okay, but not the most convenient. This is not an uncommon situation with most mounts.
The holder can be flipped around and the supports are adaptable to the top and bottom of the holder so you can have the release button on either side.
It also comes with a Self-adhesive "Power Disc" that allows use of the suction cup on the dash, center console, and non-smooth, porous surfaces inside the vehicle. Even though you cannot move the disc plate from car to car because you have to stick it to your dash, I can see this being very handy in cars whose windshields are simply too far away to make a windshield mount practical.

Conclusion

The iGrip Universal Flexible Window Mount has now become my official recommendation for anyone who is looking for a universal windshield mount for a WM phone. It is well designed, easy to use, with several little extras that make it well worth  $17.49.
Get it at Everything4Blackberry.com