Smart Phone Car Mount for Under $10

As often as we road trip, it’s hard to believe that up until last week, we didn’t own a smart phone car mount. We tried a suction cup phone mount that I got for free with my old smart phone a few years ago, but after it repeatedly fell off the windshield and dented our screens, we tossed it.

Well, after five road trips in the last four months, I decided it was time to do something about it. As much as we love having to navigate podcasts blindly or stop and wait for our phones to find their signal because they slipped under the seat, we thought the convenience of having our phone in a place where we could safely use it was worth at least looking into. Preferably one that didn’t fall off as soon as the Colorado sun started heating up.

And to my surprise, a simple Amazon search pulled up a four star smart phone car mount for under $10. What? Crazy. I know. And even better, it was available for prime shipping. With an upcoming road trip to Shelf Road and a deal this good, I couldn’t pass it up. I pressed “Buy Now With 1-Click” and had the IPOW Smart Phone Car Mount in my hands two days later.

I pulled three pieces out of the small blue box and had it put together in about 15 seconds. I probably could’ve done it faster, but our cat, Katie, insisted on helping. Less than two minutes later, it was installed in our 2015 Toyota Sienna (aka the Adventure Van).

The IPOW smart phone car mount, straight out of the box

I really liked how simple it was to put together, and also how easy it was to install into our vents. The only downside is our gear shifter is right below our vents, so we don’t have a lot of room between the car mount and the shifter. Personally, I think that’s a Toyota flaw, not an IPOW flaw.

Putting the IPOW car mount into the Adventure Van

There’s a button on the back that you push in order for the device to open up. You can then put your phone into it and squeeze the sides closed for a tight fit. There are also two legs at the base that keep your phone from falling out. You can easily move them around your charging port, so that you can charge your phone while it’s mounted. Both my Droid Turbo 2 and Christian’s LG G3 fit into it without a problem. So far I prefer to use it vertically, but Christian likes to use it horizontally. It’ll work either way.

My Turbo 2 hanging out in the car mount.

When it’s time to go, you just push the button on the back to release it and your phone is safely back in your hands. No falling off the dash board or searching for it under the seats.

So far, I’ve used the IPOW smart phone car mount for navigating, chatting on the phone and for instagramming at red lights (Hey, at least I’m honest).  I really like that I can use my speaker phone with the mount, and I don’t have to go through my car’s bluetooth feature. I’ve never been a fan of that.

Pros:

• Easy to put together
• Easily secures phones of different sizes
• Can be used horizontally or vertically
• Easily releases phone

Cons: 

• Gets in the way of my gear shifter (Not an issue with all cars, just something I’ve noticed in mine)
• The phone gets hot when I have my car heater running (This would apply to any and all phone mounts that clip to your air vents)

Overall, I’ve very happy with this $10 investment and if you’re in the market for a smart phone car mount, I highly recommend this IPOW car mount.