Is the Seidio G2500 any good?

pumical · 02-26-05, 01:31 AM

Is anyone using the Seidio G2500 car mount and could give me some feedback? The price is quite steep but it seems to have some nice features (speaker, power supply build in, kind of stylish). Any information is appreciated.

NiwRoC · 02-26-05, 01:38 AM

I've owned two.
One for my X30H and X50v.

I've had no complaints and love em..

Speakers sound nice for voice commands for GPS. Not great for music.
Very stylish and good customer service.

pumical · 02-26-05, 01:57 AM

Very good, the speaker would be the most important feature for me since the x30 has pretty poor build-in speakers. How does it actually mount on the windshield? Does it hold securely on the windshield? Can you also mount it on the dash board without drilling wholes?

dlweston · 02-26-05, 02:31 AM

Originally Posted by pumical

Is anyone using the Seidio G2500 car mount and could give me some feedback? The price is quite steep but it seems to have some nice features (speaker, power supply build in, kind of stylish). Any information is appreciated.

I got one, but I did not like the windshield mount and the vent mount would not work. I went to: http://www.proclipusa.com and bought the vehicle mount for my Ford E-150 Conversion Van. It just snaps into the dash. Only one mounting choice for the van, but a guy at work has a Chevy Yukon. He had 4 or 5 five different vehicle mounts he could pick from which put the PDA in a different places on the dash.

The ProClip mount comes with pre-drilled holes. I had to go to the hardware store, because neither the Seidio G2500 or the ProClip vehicle mount came with screws. There is then a piece that comes with the G2500 you can screw into the pre-drilled holes.

I put the G2500 on the swivel mount that came with it. The swivel mount and the G2500 will then slide on the piece I screwed onto the ProClip mount. I plugged the included cigarette lighter power cable into the the DC in on the G2500. I plugged the included headphone cable between the audio in and the headphone jack on my X50v. I also bought the GPS charging cable for my Earthmate BlueLogger GPS (it uses the same cable as the Dell BlueTooth GPS). You plug it into the DC out on the G2500 and connect it to the GPS unit. If you have a serial GPS, you can get a cable to connect it to the PDA.

I love it! It is nice to be able to adjust the volume with the thumbwheel instead of having to get to it when you are in navigation mode in OCN. The speaker does improve the sound quality, but OCN's prompts are so good you really do not need the extra quality. The X50v slides into the G2500 nice, smooth and securely. The ProClip vehicle mount puts it about the only place on my van that it is easy to see and not in the way. The included swivel is nice, because I can tilt it enough to the right for the passenger to see the screen.

As far as price, the Proclip mount was $29.95 plus shipping. They make a holder for the X50v for an additional $34.99, but it does not supply power or have the speaker. I got the G2500 from: http://www.semsons.com , because it was $69.90 there as opposed to the $79.95 from Seidio. The GPS charging cable was $5.99 instead of $9.95. I found a 5% off coupon (demano5) that saved me $3.80 and then of course there was shipping.

The only thing I think Seidio could do to improve the G2500 is to include some screws since that little piece has screw holes for the ProClip vehicle mount (Dave with Seidio let us know about this option) or to screw it right to the dash. It would also be nice if they included two of those little pieces, because you have to have it to use the windshield mount. I am thinking of using the windshield mount if we take my wife's car instead of the van. I guess I will have to contact Seidio to get another one.

venkman781 · 02-26-05, 03:45 AM

I have a G2500 for my X30 and really love it. I think it looks pretty sleek, the sound is loud enough from the speaker and it's been stuck on my windshield with no problem for a few weeks now. I live in Texas at the moment, so I was concerned that the heat would be an issue for the unit, but the nice part is you can remove the charger portion and leave the neck part in the car. Does a great job charging my X30 on the road, and it's nice to have the extra DC out if I need it. I drive an SUV so the ride can get pretty bumpy, my only minor complaint would be that it bounces a little...but that's more due to the fact that it's in an SUV and not a car, coupled with the way I drive. Got mine from Semsons, as well.

NiwRoC · 02-26-05, 04:51 AM

To answer you question on mounts, I've used the winshield mount and had not issues. It held nicely. I installed the vent mount with x50v. I had issues installing but my wife had to show me I was doing it all wrong. Once she fixed it I loved the vent mount!

02-26-05, 07:54 AM

I just got it the other day and like it. The only problem is I may have gotten a defective unit, as the audio input jack on the G2500 is causing the audio to break up. If I adjust the plug just right it works fine, but just move it slighly and it either doesn't work at all of it goes intermitent. I am going to call Seidio to see what I should do, as I don't want to send the whole kit back as the vent mount took forever to get attached to my Jeep.

I also would recomend investigation of the ProClip specific mounting options for you vehicle. I already have a ProClip mount installed in my Celica GT for my iPOD. It is rock solid and very high quality (not cheap though). I did not know that the Seidio adapter piece was already made to mount to the proclip mount, but I was thinking of modifying it to do so. I used the window mount for the X50v in my Celica, but it snowed that last two days, so I have been driving my Jeep. The vent connector in the Seidio kit does not connect to my Jeep vents too solidly. It works, but not real good. Proclip makes and extender, where I could mount the iPod and the X50v side by side, but I don't think there would be enough clearance to allow the X50v to rotate to landscape orientation. The X50v would also stick out into the passenger side too far and probably get knocked into by the knees of my passenger.

JakeRich · 02-26-05, 11:39 AM

I've had three of them, and they all worked well. One is mentioned in a report I did last June posted here. I also have two for the X50, one with just BT, the other with serial GPS connectivity. I reviewed them here at Aximsite in the reviews section.

For mounting, I used the standard goosneck suction cup. You can see it in the pictures in both the review and articles. The trick is to mount the Suction cup low on the windshield and to rest the mount on the dashboard to reduce vibrations. That way the rig is out of your line of sight, stable and has the minimum chance of anything dislodging it. Mine stayed in place for months. I removed it once to have the window glass cleaned, then put it right back in the same place.

dlweston · 02-26-05, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by cherokee180c

I did not know that the Seidio adapter piece was already made to mount to the proclip mount, but I was thinking of modifying it to do so.

David with Seidio let us know about this option a month or so ago in another thread on the forum. The little plastic piece that goes on the windshield mount and let the G2500 slide on is what I am talking about. If you turn it sideways, there are four screw holes that will lineup with the predrilled holes on the ProClip. I was a little worried putting it sideways, but it is very secure. ProClip makes an adapter to mount two devices to. I would have loved to do that in my van for the cellphone, but there is just not enough room.

02-26-05, 08:13 PM

Definitely a good product. I have one for my X30H / X3i. My only complaint is the speaker. I believe I have the 1st generation where the volume is either loud or soft. The volume dial was not sensitive to the speaker. Overall I still like it, i use the suction cup for mounting and it works out very well.

02-26-05, 08:25 PM

I just recently purchased the G2500 for my Axim X5. It works pretty well. However, I wish the windshield mount gooseneck was a little longer so I could get my Axim closer (the small screen makes it difficult to read unless it's relatively close or you have eagle eyes).

Customer support, while responsive, was not good at keeping the customer in the loop. They sent me the mount for the X50 in error. Sending several emails for a RMA went unanswered. I called phone support twice. The reps were very considerate and helpful but didn't keep me in the loop on the RMA status. Little did I know, they had fedex'd the X5 cradle to me. I found out through one of the support reps who monitors these forums.

So while I like the product, if you run into any problems you'll need an extra helping of patience to get it rectified.

HLewis · 02-26-05, 08:37 PM

I have recently purchased the Seido G2500. I have been impressed with the quality of the unit. I also like the versatility of the mounts. We went from vehicle to vehicle looking at all the possibilities for mounting. My x50v fits securly into the mount. I like the tilt mount with its wide range of viewing angles. (It works great in landscape for watching movies, talk about a great drive in)

I only ran into one small problem. The audio patch cord from the x50v to the mount has a larger connector on the x50v side. It would not fit into the unit with my Pharos i360 Cf GPS unit. I was able to modify (cut some of the rubber off the plug and the CF GPS) to get it to fit. The speaker makes a real difference over street noise. Its volumn adjusts well.

I would give the unit a real :approve: ..... personally I think its worth the cost.

maddmatt · 02-26-05, 09:07 PM

I bought this one . Only cost $49.95 and does the same thing.

dlweston · 02-27-05, 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by maddmatt

I bought this one . Only cost $49.95 and does the same thing.

I looked at that one, but some people have complained about in not locking in like the G2500 does, so I was worried a big bump might put my X50v on the floor. You also have to use the charging adapter Dell sent you with it or buy another one. I use it at home with my AC power supply and sync wirelessly. I only bring my cradle home when I am going to install a program. At work, I USB charge with the cradle or borry a coworkers charger if the battery gets to low, so I do not want to give up the adapter.

maddmatt · 02-27-05, 01:19 AM

The website says the charging cable comes with it. I guess I can use my travel adapter if it doesn't. I will let you know when I get it. It should be here next week since I ordered it FedEx 2nd day shipping.