Solid build quality. Nice suction cup action. Usually these suction cups are pretty flimsy but this one locks on solidly with one click of the level.
I saw in another thread that a poster said he could not put the Charge in the cradle with one hand. I had no problem doing it.
One note of caution though is that the usb female end sits in the lower right side of the cradle. It's a tight fit getting the Charge in and I said to myself "this is going to ruin the usb port on the Charge or the cradle" . . .
Well, I was doing it wrong and I did read the enclosed manual, but I must have missed it.
The usb female in the cradle is actually on a slide which you first click it into the down position, then snap the Charge into the cradle and then push the slide up and the usb slides effortlessly into the charge (just reverse the process for removal) Nice design on this sliding usb because when I viewed the dock online my first concern was that the constant docking and undocking was going to start marring the finish of the plastic Charge. It cradles it firmly but gently, without it clamping down overly tight and ruining the finish.
It does come with a stick on dash circle, but I worry that my dash is going to look like crap if ever you have to remove it. I've seen people go to sell their cars, remove their stick on stuff and the glue that holds them on had eaten into finish of the dash.
Another poster said there was not enough angle, but I'm sure his windshield was probably weird.
There is plenty of adjustment for normal windshields and it has a large control knob to tighten to prevent it becoming floppy like my previous Proclips did with other devices.
The manual also suggests you replace the suction cup every 6 months (I can't wait to see how much they get for a suction cup). Also, don't leave it on the windshield all the time. They say the sun or cold can damage it's suction ability if always left on. They suggest removing it every 5 days for awhile.
I'm not one to leave just the bracket attached anyway when the car is unattended. Doing this is an invitation for a druggy to break into your car, as once they see an empty bracket they think there might be a $1000 GPS in the glove box or the arm console or under the seat.
I always laugh when I walk by like a new BMW and see what is probably an expensive radar detector just sitting there on the windshield. Then the owner comes back and finds one of their side windows shattered and then they also steal anything else they can grab in 30 seconds once in the car!
I'm not thrilled with anything hanging off my windshield (I think it looks Ghetto) but I have to use a suction mount for my Tomtom GPS sometimes and I was hoping to at least not need that unit anymore now that I have the Charge. I was able to do away with carrying around my Blackberry (glad to see that finally go) and my 5mp 5 year old camera which I used on vacations. I don't need the camera now as the Charge takes better pics. I was glad to get rid of the BB and I'd like to ditch the Tomtom now too and just use the Charge for all.
Most of the time the charge sits nicely in my dash's swing out cupholder. I got the dock for the times I need a GPS or I'm using a rental. I also have one of those universal vent mounts from another device, but they are flimsy and a steady flow of AC air or heat can't be good for the charge anyway.
closing off that vent's air flow only serves to reduce the overall AC anyway.
Some rear view mirrors can be adjusted up higher and then angled down again. Using this dock it positions the charge nicely with a few adjustments and positions it just below where the mirror was, so as not to block more your forward view of the road.
All in all, I think it's a keeper!
I saw in another thread that a poster said he could not put the Charge in the cradle with one hand. I had no problem doing it.
One note of caution though is that the usb female end sits in the lower right side of the cradle. It's a tight fit getting the Charge in and I said to myself "this is going to ruin the usb port on the Charge or the cradle" . . .
Well, I was doing it wrong and I did read the enclosed manual, but I must have missed it.
The usb female in the cradle is actually on a slide which you first click it into the down position, then snap the Charge into the cradle and then push the slide up and the usb slides effortlessly into the charge (just reverse the process for removal) Nice design on this sliding usb because when I viewed the dock online my first concern was that the constant docking and undocking was going to start marring the finish of the plastic Charge. It cradles it firmly but gently, without it clamping down overly tight and ruining the finish.
It does come with a stick on dash circle, but I worry that my dash is going to look like crap if ever you have to remove it. I've seen people go to sell their cars, remove their stick on stuff and the glue that holds them on had eaten into finish of the dash.
Another poster said there was not enough angle, but I'm sure his windshield was probably weird.
There is plenty of adjustment for normal windshields and it has a large control knob to tighten to prevent it becoming floppy like my previous Proclips did with other devices.
The manual also suggests you replace the suction cup every 6 months (I can't wait to see how much they get for a suction cup). Also, don't leave it on the windshield all the time. They say the sun or cold can damage it's suction ability if always left on. They suggest removing it every 5 days for awhile.
I'm not one to leave just the bracket attached anyway when the car is unattended. Doing this is an invitation for a druggy to break into your car, as once they see an empty bracket they think there might be a $1000 GPS in the glove box or the arm console or under the seat.
I always laugh when I walk by like a new BMW and see what is probably an expensive radar detector just sitting there on the windshield. Then the owner comes back and finds one of their side windows shattered and then they also steal anything else they can grab in 30 seconds once in the car!
I'm not thrilled with anything hanging off my windshield (I think it looks Ghetto) but I have to use a suction mount for my Tomtom GPS sometimes and I was hoping to at least not need that unit anymore now that I have the Charge. I was able to do away with carrying around my Blackberry (glad to see that finally go) and my 5mp 5 year old camera which I used on vacations. I don't need the camera now as the Charge takes better pics. I was glad to get rid of the BB and I'd like to ditch the Tomtom now too and just use the Charge for all.
Most of the time the charge sits nicely in my dash's swing out cupholder. I got the dock for the times I need a GPS or I'm using a rental. I also have one of those universal vent mounts from another device, but they are flimsy and a steady flow of AC air or heat can't be good for the charge anyway.
closing off that vent's air flow only serves to reduce the overall AC anyway.
Some rear view mirrors can be adjusted up higher and then angled down again. Using this dock it positions the charge nicely with a few adjustments and positions it just below where the mirror was, so as not to block more your forward view of the road.
All in all, I think it's a keeper!
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