Pocket PC Thoughts: Arkon's Docking PDA Mount Reviewed

From the Box to the Car
Installation is extremely simple. The windshield pedestal's mounting head slots into a set of mounting grooves situated on the rear of the docking cradle. On the other end of the pedestal, there is the suction cup. This firmly attaches to the windshield, with the locking lever ensuring the attachment is secure (see Figure 2). The cup also includes a release lip for painless removal.


Figure 2: The windshield suction cup and the locking lever to help keep it in place.


Figure 3: The flexible arm of the pedestal.

The pedestal, while flexible, is a tad short (see Figure 3). I just managed to get my cradle to rest on the dashboard (in a bid to reduce vibrations while driving). I imagine it being not so easy in other cars.


Figure 4: The pedestal's mounting head fits securely within the cradle's mounting grooves. A swivel tightening ring allows you to adjust the orientation of the holder.

Once everything is attached, the cradle can be rotated around the pedestal head, so if you wish to use the cradle in landscape mode (as opposed to the standard portrait mode), you can! When you've decided on a comfortable orientation, you can use the swivel tightening ring to secure it in place. (see Figure 4).


Figure 5: The mount uses a standard cigarette lighter power cord.

All that's left now are the cables, of which there are only two. The first is the standard cigarette lighter power cord that keeps the cradle's speaker and the PDA powered. The bulky end (see Figure 5) inserts into the car's cigarette lighter socket, while the other end inserts into the upper-right socket of the cradle. The second cable is an audio speaker cable which routes sound from the PDA to the cradle's speaker. It's a 2.5mm to 3.5mm stereo cable; the 2.5mm end plugging into a socket situated in the top-left corner of the cradle and the 3.5mm end plugging into the PDA's headphone socket (see Figure 7). The cradle does accommodate another cable, but I'll cover that a little later.