Navigon iPhone 4 Design Car Kit - Cellular phone accessory kit - Apple iPhone 4

Since upgrading to the iPhone 4S I was in the market for a new windscreen mount.

Before choosing the Navigon I looked at many other mounts. Some were specific to the iPhone 4 shape, others were suitable for any phone. Some were as cheap as £3.99 !

As soon as I saw a photo of this mount on Amazon I could see it was a bit special. The price was a pretty good clue too, but if you want quality you have to pay a bit extra.

It is a very simple and sleek design, that when positioned correctly is almost completely hidden behind the phone.

There is a lever behind the suction cup that when depressed sits flush with the rest of the moulding making the lever invisible. It's quite hard to press, but this give the impression that it's really going to stick to the screen, which it does. Be careful though of trying to stick it too close to the edge of your screen. Most screens curve at the edges and the suction will fail and drop off. This is true of any suction mount though.

The actual part that grips the phone is interchangeable so technically you could keep the mount and just replace that part if you changed phones. This is attached to the main body by a ball grip. Once you have adjusted the allen screw to set the pressure on the ball you can move the phone 360 degrees and also tilt it forwards or backwards slightly. There is plenty of movement so that you can always get the best viewing angle.

Like many mounts, the phone needs to be taken out of any protective case before it will fit into the mount. It's a bit of a pain, but I can't really see how they could make it work with all the different cases available. The phone is inserted base first and then there's a little spring clip on the top that stops the phone falling out. With practice you could insert and remove the phone with one hand. There is a hole on the gripper part that leaves the rear camera clear to see the road ahead. I think it must have been designed for left hand drive because if you have the phone angled to see the screen then the camera sees too much of the mount. If you just want to record the road without needing to look too much at the screen you can find a position where the mount is not visible at all.

It comes with a cigar lighter adaptor that has a standard USB connector on the end. Unfortunately it keeps on popping out of my Volvo socket, but I think that is a design flaw in the socket (not being deep enough) more than the plug, but the plug is partly to blame too. (It has two spring loaded balls that grip the inside of the socket. They seem to be set too far back from the tip and only just grip on the rim of my socket.)

Thankfully the supplied cable to the phone is straight rather than coiled so it's not going to keep pulling tight (like my last one). There is a little slit on the underside of the mount behind the phone with a rubber insert in. This is so you can press the cable into it so that it doesn't just hang down from the socket on the phone. It's not that strong and a slight tug will cause the wire to fall out but it does go some way to keep things tidy.

Overall I think it's very well made and thought out.

The item is great, I like it, it is strong and does not wabble when driving. However, I have used Navigon products before and for the price I have to say they messed up the finish. The 4 corners that hold the phone together have absolutely no padding and are just plastic or the material used to make the entire holder. I am really picky about my things and with just one use I have scratches on my phone because of snapping it in and out of this holder. As said, good build, poor finish with lack of padding.

Having just picked up a 4S, I wanted a Car Kit that both kept the iPhone secure, and also looked good, and I'm happy to say the Navigon Design Car Kit is the business.

The fit is good and snug, and although I would have liked a bit of padding around where the kit clamps onto the phone, I have found that if you take a few seconds more to carefully seat the phone in the holder, you should minimise the chances of scratches.

Like a few other reviewers, I bemoan the fact that the adjustment for the holder is done by loosening/tightening an allen screw (not supplied) I actually had to go to my local DIY store to buy the right key as non of mine fitted. I now keep this key in the car, but since I set it up originally, I have not had to tighten it.

I use my Navigon on the dash, rather than the windscreen, and have found it to be very stable over some pretty horrible road surfaces. The level of adjustment is fine for my needs, and the provided usb cigar lighter adapter and lead look to be of good quality.