Garmin Car Mount Review
Posted by Justin B. on June 5th, 2008 at 01:07 AM
Oh boy, was this a fun one to review. Helio sells this “Garmin Car Cradle” from their online store (under the “Order Accessories” link), and I had no clue what it really did or was even like until Helio graciously sent us one. When I first opened the box it came in, I was sort of wishing that I still had no idea what it did or was like, as it doesn’t come with an instruction manual, and all these scary pieces were just taunting me in the bags. Without an instruction manual, it was a doozy trying to assemble it. After finally getting it all together and figuring how to make it suction to the window, it actually isn’t half bad. Overall, it’s very useful, especially since you can use it with a multitude of devices.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:40 am
Indeed! I bought this cradle as well, and I use it for the GPS, music, and it also fits a number of other devices also. If your wondering if your PSP will fit, the answer is no. Fits the Ocean like a charm though.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Kodec, did you have as many problems as I did when trying to put it together? Haha
June 5th, 2008 at 6:33 am
naa, i didnt have problems.. i was confused as to what the little disk was though. I guess its so you can stick it on surfaces other than glass, but im still not completely sure. the lack of instructions blew me away…
June 5th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Peach Pit?!? That’s not Pinkberry OR Red Mango
June 5th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Nice review, thanks Justin!
June 5th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I love my Garmin cradle. Everytime I get into my car I pop my Ocean right in it.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
is there a subscription for this?
June 5th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
For Garmin, yes. For using the cradle…no.
It was intimidating to put together, but I figured it out.
For some reason, they sent it to me for free with my Ocean, along with a 2 GB memory card.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
How Sturdy is The Suction Cup? I Ride A sportbike And This Would Be Perfect To Fix To The Windshield. Maybe Hard Mount It Somewhere, At 30 Bucks, You Cant beat The Price.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
It’s pretty strong. Check the review for more details, but it has a release, when you stick it to the window you tighten the release flap and it makes the suction like 10x stronger. It’s weird, but it works pretty well.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I bought one of these and love it! holds great. But one thing you’ll wana keep in mind and it’s not the fault of the product but, if you leave your car parked in hot weather for long periods it will fall. so if you just got back to your car from work or whatever and it’s beyond hot in there, give it a tug or take it off and give it a playful lick. don’t molest it!! I’d hate too hear that one of you say “i got in my car sweatin bullets and rolled down the windows right after puttin my helio in the cradle, took a sharp right and bye bye went my helio.” I guess a good way to remember would be “lick it or loose it.”
June 6th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I haven’t had that problem at all.
June 6th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
LMAO Playful Lick. Im The Type To Squeeze Some Man Juice On It To Make It Stick.
Just Ordered One. This Would Save Me About 3oo Bucks That I Was Saving For Another Garmin. Thanks Again People! 8:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::D~~ ~ ~~
June 7th, 2008 at 11:50 am
considerin’ i subscribe to garmin mobile monthly,this is great!ima cop 1 a.s.a.p!wiLl also be useful when im talkin’ via bluet0oth in my car.on a sidenote,i was debatin’ which is beTter,the garmin mobile on helio ocean or vz navigator from verizon!any opinions on that? -0n3-
June 8th, 2008 at 5:26 am
I subscribed to Garmin Mobile for a few months, and found it reasonably useful. I just DIY’ed a velcro-to-dash solution with the soft-velcro on my Ocean’s battery. Works great.
I gave up on Garmin Mobile not because of failings with the app, but because the Ocean simply doesn’t multitask. I gave in, and got a Streetpilot c550 refurb for less than $200. Couldn’t be happier. I use it as an SD-card based mp3 player to my car’s aux-in, which pauses/resumes the music for direction changes or when I take speakerphone calls with the c550’s microphone. Can the Helio’s mp3 player do that? No.
I liked the notion of having a “do-it-all device” in my Ocean, but it simply failed to live up to that notion.
Now, with the combination of the c550 and the Ocean, I have exactly what I was looking for.
And I still velcro my Ocean to the dashboard. Makes for easy one-handed texting (at red lights, of course).
June 9th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
i just love how the first thing it says when you open up this app is that you shouldn’t use it while driving and then helio goes and sells a car mount so that you can use the app while driving. sweet irony