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Proclip Adjustable iPhone Cradle Date 16th June 2009

Review by Darren Griffin

 

ProClip 91529With the long awaited arrival of Satnav on the iPhone there is now more demand than ever for a good in-car cradle solution.

 

We've used a few and by far the biggest bug bear of all of them has been the need to remove any case or wrap you use to protect your iPhone before they can be accommodated in a cradle.

 

Having to do so every time you get in and out of the car soon renders the cradle unused.

 

ThumbScrewsHowever, times are a changing. Thanks to suppliers ProClipUSA and the wizards at Brodit, we now have a solution that resolves this thorny issue.

 

Brodit have engineered a simple but effective solution with a cradle that is adjustable.

 

Using four small thumbscrews on the rear of the unit you can easily alter its width and thus adjust it to firmly grip your iPhone whilst it remains in its case.

 

Perfect! I tested the cradle with a selection of iPhone cases and once the cradle width was adjusted to suit, all fitted perfectly. A deep vertical groove in the side 'arms' of the cradle is sufficient to hold the iPhone securely and a rear mounted swivel allows it to be used in both portrait and landscape orientations.

 

Adjustable SidesAnother great feature which is equally important for car use is the sync connector. Brodit have chosen to fit a pass-thru connector that allows any standard iPhone sync cable to be connected to the bottom of the cradle itself, a neat solution that allows 100% compatibility with any charge or sync cables you already have.

 

Using this solution I was able to hook my iPhone 3G up to the cable that is provided with my Alpine iDA-X100 iPod head-unit. This allowed me to keep the iPhone charged, play iTunes music through the head-unit and switch to SatNav/GPS.

 

Pass-ThruTo install in a car you will need a ProClip. These are vehicle specific brackets that mount with no holes to your dashboard. They offer a secure mount for the cradle which is screwed to the ProClip and can be removed without any damage when you change cars.

 

The adjustability makes this solution suitable for 1st Gen iPhone, 3G, 3G S and Touch. If you upgrade your device you can buy another cradle and attach it to the existing ProClip, or upgrade your car and buy a new ProClip, brilliant.

 

I have no hesitation in recommending this cradle, now all I need is the SatNav app to run on my iPhone!

 

Our review unit was provided by ProClipUSA

 

Proclip USA

References
Suppliers Web site http://www.proclipusa.com/
Pocket GPS Contributor

Darren Griffin
   

 

 

Comments
Posted by hardison1 on Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:12 pm Reply with quote

So does the charge/sync cable lock into place or do you plug in the cable then insert phone?

  
Posted by Darren on Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:26 pm Reply with quote

The cradle has a pass-thru connector built in. On the top is the sync plug that mates with the iPhone, underneath is a sync socket into which you plug your standard iPhone sync cable or iPhone Charge cable.

Works really well, here is the bottom of the cradle showing the female pass-thru socket:

Darren Griffin

  
Posted by hardison1 on Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:49 pm Reply with quote

Got it... when you said "pass thru" in the review I thought maybe you were speaking in terms of an opening that you feed the cable through.

I'll be placing my order soon... Finding something that would connect and rotate, all while remaining in the case has been quite an effort. I was even on ProClip's web page and didn't find it. I later saw your review of this product which led me back to them... so they should thank you as I do.

  
Posted by Darren on Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:53 pm Reply with quote

I've mated mine to a gooseneck windscreen mount and it is easily rotated from landscape to portrait as required.

For me it was the support for cases that sealed it. There are many good cradles but I quickly tired of having to remove mine from its case every time. This works perfectly.

Darren Griffin

  
Posted by gyre on Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:41 pm Reply with quote

Darren, what gooseneck windscreen mount did you use that works with the holder?

Thanks!

-- gyre --

  
Posted by Darren on Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:12 pm Reply with quote

That was one I happened to have lying around from a Carcomm kit but EasyDevices sell one that is identical here.

Darren Griffin

  
Posted by gyre on Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:51 pm Reply with quote

Thanks Darren.

-- gyre --

  
Posted by nashmills on Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:04 pm Reply with quote

Will this swivel to horizontal for sat nav use? Also could you please post a link to it on the ProClip site as they seem to sell several similar models?

  
Posted by Darren on Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:51 pm Reply with quote

If you visit DSLDevelopments and enter 915290 into the search field you will find the holder.

The same cradle fits both 2G and 3G/3GS. It will accommodate a naked iPhone or one in any case which allows unrestricted sync port access. I've always used Griffin cases which fit perfectly but have also used others which worked fine.

DSLDevelopments are UK Brodit Agents and I can vouch for them, superb service as many others here will attest.

Darren Griffin

  
Posted by nashmills on Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:12 pm Reply with quote

That's great. Thanks Darren. Will it rotate to horizontal for sat nav use? None of the pics show it that way.

  
Posted by Darren on Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:26 pm Reply with quote

nashmills Wrote:
That's great. Thanks Darren. Will it rotate to horizontal for sat nav use? None of the pics show it that way.

Oops meant to answer that! Yes it will, the swivel mount will rotate 360 degrees and is only restricted by the cable (if attached).

I use mine in both landscape and portrait modes and swivel between them depending on app and preference, no issue at all.

Darren Griffin

  
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