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Navigon iPhone car kit review: Navigon iPhone car kit

It mightn't be the cheapest iPhone windshield mount out there, but it's compact, holds Steve's phone in place without a trace of shakes and looks good to boot.

Derek Fung
Derek loves nothing more than punching a remote location into a GPS, queuing up some music and heading out on a long drive, so it's a good thing he's in charge of CNET Australia's Car Tech channel.
Derek Fung

Design and features

Navigon's iPhone car cradle is, like the windshield mounts supplied with the company's current batch of dedicated GPS navigators, shaped like an over-size shoe fitter. The key difference between those models and this iPhone unit, obviously, is that the cradle is designed to hold an iPhone in either landscape or portrait modes or, indeed, any one of the 360 degrees you so desire.

8.0

Navigon iPhone car kit

The Good

Good lookin'. Stable, secure; not a hint of shaking. In-car charger supplied.

The Bad

Not exactly cheap.

The Bottom Line

It mightn't be the cheapest iPhone windshield mount out there, but it's compact, holds Steve's phone in place without a trace of shakes and looks good to boot.

A flush fitting lever allows the suction cup to stick resolutely to the windscreen in spite of any road imperfections thrown at it — and without the annoying shakes that some cheaper units exhibit. For the iPhone's bottom edge there are two thick grips into which the phone easily slides; at the top there are two thinner, more flexible, grips that snap the phone securely in place, as well as a tab that lets you pull the iPhone out with reasonable ease.

The headphone jack, as well as the mute, volume and power buttons are all still accessible when the iPhone's mounted. The proprietary connector's slot is also exposed, allowing the fruity phone to be easily charged via the supplied Belkin car charging kit, which comes in two pieces: a USB cable and a USB port that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter socket.

Conclusion

It mightn't be the cheapest iPhone windshield mount out there, but it's compact, holds Steve's phone in place without a trace of shakes and looks good to boot.