Car mount, a recommendation

[Guest CashMoney]

One of the reasons I bought a Hudl was for use as a Sat Nav. I do have one of those non sticky (but still feels sticky) rubber mats on the dashboard of my Ford Focus MK3, and whilst this works for a fashion, it does pretty much point the screen up to the sky. The view during the day is therefore nothing but a reflection. It also means the Hudl needs to be on the passenger side in my car.

 

Time for a Car mount, and again, due to the odd shape of the Focus dashboard and the size of the Hudl, I wanted one that doesn't attach to the windscreen. I also hoped for one I wouldn't need to keep removing the Hudl from it's case nor would I need to drill holes or stick things permanently to the dashboard. Found this one on eBay.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Multisurface-Car-Dashboard-Desk-Suction-Mount-for-Galaxy-Tab-2-7-Tab-2-7-8-/380724251025?pt=UK_iPad_Tablet_Mounts_Stands_Holders&hash=item58a4ef0991

 

So far, tried this in my Ford Focus and a Honda Civic and it stays attached to the Dashboard perfectly in both. The suction cup is made from the same stuff as the rubber mat I mentioned earlier, so it sticks to flat but textured surfaces such as a dashboard as well as glass. You push down hard and drop the thumb lever to provide the suction.

 

The mount arm is adjustable and lockable with a thumb screw. Not much to say about that; it works :)

 

The cradle attaches to the arm with a screw in ball joint, so once the tablet is mounted in the cradle you get a good range of movement, much like a monitor arm for a PC screen. The Tablet can be rotated as well as adjusted up and down within the ball joint.

 

The cradle itself will happily take the Hudl, and the Hudl case folds up behind the screen without issue. Once you've set it up once, you can remove the Hudl from the cradle with a level behind it. The lever just allows the bottom of the cradle arms to extend.

 

Not a bad price either (just under £21 delivered when I wrote this). I'm pretty happy with it, happy enough to tell others about it :) I've not tried it, but I would guess it would attach to something like a desk as well assuming it was flat.

 

The product seems to be well made, it's light and a little bit smaller than I expected which isn't a bad thing I don't think. I've honestly got no negative points I can think of.

 

Anyway, just thought I'd share in case anyone else was looking for one.

 

*Note I'm not the seller, nor do I know the seller. So far I've bought two of these at different times for myself and a friend a few weeks back and we are both happy with our purchase. Items arrived in a jiffy bag style envelope, bubble wrapped and both came within a couple of days of ordering.

 

 

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

Nice find :)

[Guest Frederick_99]

Yes, nice find.....quick question though.....does the GPS still work whilst still in the case.

 

Ive not tried mine whilst still in a  case but read that the "magnetic" clasps interfere with the GPS reception.

 

Would be interested to hear your feedback .

[Guest CashMoney]

Yes, nice find.....quick question though.....does the GPS still work whilst still in the case.

 

Ive not tried mine whilst still in a  case but read that the "magnetic" clasps interfere with the GPS reception.

 

Would be interested to hear your feedback .

 

It's interesting actually. I've previously posted about the case interfering with the GPS but either  because it's now vertical or I've not given it enough time and I'm wrong, since using the mount I've found the Hudl seems to lock on faster than before.

[Guest Frederick_99]

maybe it i something to do with the orientation..... when you say vertical does it seem faster to lock in one vertical position or the other ( ie front facing camera to the right or left ) as this may be influenced by where the GPS antenna is located within the huddle ( I dont know !)

 

 

or , I believe that  once a GPS device has located the satellites, it somehow remembers where it was , and so  if you use again roughly where you last used it it finds things quicker....... this probably explains that when first using the GPS it takes a long time to work out where it is .......if that makes sense !

 

i've just got a case so will try out in the next few days as well

[Guest CashMoney]

Yes, GPS will lock faster if used recently. By vertical I mean with the camera at the top, USB to the bottom. It had been a while since I'd used the sat nav but maybe not long enough. I may try it up the other way and see what happens.

[Guest Frederick_99]

i just did a quick test

 

with the hudl in the case  picked up about 4 satellites , but with case removed found upto 9 in exactly the same location with accuracy of about 20ft.