Although most countries around the world have placed laws against texting while driving, many citizens around the world use their mobile phones in the car for far much more than texting. Our phones have become our GPS units, as well as our media centers.
I love to travel and don’t mind driving to my destination, so I may spend many hours inside my car, both using Google Maps, and streaming music, news, or a podcast. When skipping songs on a playlist or looking at those turn-by-turn directions, it is convenient to see the screen at a glance. We want to look at our phone now for our phone; rather than grabbing one’s phone from the passenger seat, or some random cubby (We all have done that, haven’t we?), we need something more helpful.
Design
The Dashmount Minipro Window by Ventev is a design with which many of us are familiar–if we haven’t used something like it before, we have definitely seen them being used in other people’s vehicles on the road. It has 360-degree rotation with adjustable brackets, so it will fit nearly any smartphone in place and supports both portrait and landscape.
The heavy-duty suction cup has a lever that sucks in the extra air, giving it a firm hold that won’t fall down. This is, of course, assuming that you have cleaned the window properly–don’t worry, though, they included an alcohol wipe in the box to clean the windscreen/windshield.
It also includes a dash mount with 3M adhesive backing, so you can mount it directly to the dash. Although I trust 3M, and we all know that it is strong, just note that you are essentially permanently choosing a location for your mount, and cannot move it from car-to-car like you can with the window mount.
Ease of Use
Once you take this out of the box, it is fairly self-explanatory. My phone, even in a case easily slides in and out of the adjustable holder. Incredibly simple to operate.
The suction cup allows for your phone to be mounted to either the window or the dash. Both the window/dash cup AND the separate 3M holder are included, giving yet another option to how to mount your device, and finally, the spring-loaded arms allow the mount to fit even large phones.
Value
The Dashmount Minipro Window will run you about $25.00, which is cheaper than many phone cases. Since this comes with two different options for mounting for the same price, I say it’s well worth the cost, plus, Ventev offers a limited LIFETIME warranty, as long as you keep your receipt.
Wrap-Up
Some people aren’t mount users–they prefer to just leave the phone in the pocket, auto-connect to Bluetooth, and use the steering wheel for controls. I used to be one of those people until I had to use my phone as a GPS; just hearing directions does not work for me. I was constantly looking at my phone, so then I became a mount-person.
The Ventev unit is affordable, practical, and more than a little bit convenient. To me, there’s not much more you can say about something without outright trying to sell it to someone.
Availability
You can purchase the Dashmount Minipro Window at Ventev’s website where it’s offered for $24.99.