I'm breaking my trend of scripture commentary to cite a frustrating issue with phone mounts for cars. If you are a school looking to invent in order to fund yourselves, a home hobbiest that knows how to fabricate without it looking ugly, or a designer looking to make a name for yourself, please read....
Problem
All of
the solutions available on the net (I checked page
after page on Amazon) have various drawbacks. One of the biggest being poor
quality materials that easily break. I have also noted from my own (negative)
experiences in buying these things that regardless of whether it attaches to
the car with sticky silicon, adhesive, suction cups, or anything else, within
less than one hour the device loses its grip. Sunlight, heat, stresses on dash
from turning, all of those are suspect as culprits as well as bad and cheap
product design.
At the
other end, where the phone attaches, is another whole problem. Sudden stops,
starts, turns, etc., all affect whatever design I've tried. The phone either
drops out of its hold or goes flying somewhere in the car.
Besides
cheap plastic, here are other issues I’ve noted: Making anything out of
black-colored floppy silicon is a VERY BAD idea. Making the part that grips the
phone loop over to the front of the phone could potentially cause stress marks
on the front glass.
Add my
personal experience to a multitude of bad reviews on Amazon for just about
every product-solution for phone mounts and what you have is a huge opportunity
to make something worthwhile and make money. I wish I had the tools, knowledge,
and resources to do it myself.
Ideas On Solutions
Solution
must have sufficient counter-weight to lay on dashboard without sliding or
raising up when attaching phone or from force of turns, stops and
acceleration. (Perhaps attaching the holder to a universal dashboard mat
(cover) would be one idea.)
Telescoping
so that you can bring it into touchscreen finger reach without awkward
stretching
Height
adjustable from above the horizontal plane of where the device sits to below
that plane.
The telescoping arm should be able to pan from side to side.
The telescoping arm should be able to pan from side to side.
Final
joint is a ball joint allowing angle adjustments and full rotation.
All joints should lock in place and, especially for the phone, have a quick-release.
All joints should lock in place and, especially for the phone, have a quick-release.
The
materials used should be strong enough that the weight of the phone does not
cause the whole unit to sag over time. (I have experiences where the phone was
set at a comfortable position but everything from the potholes in the road to heat
from the sun affected the unit and the phone sagged so that I couldn't see it
without raising it up.)
By the
way: In California windshield mounts are illegal. Not sure what other states
have laws affecting the design. The design should also not affect full &
clear forward visibility nor block the rear-view mirror.
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