arkon powered pda mount

twe · 07-25-04, 04:53 AM

Just letting you guys know that the review on this site does not give you enough information about the CM597 powered pda holder.....

Bad points that should be added are:

The Dell Axim X5 does not seat properly when you have the power cable plugged into it... this is due to the left support leg coming in the way.. and yes i have tried to move it to the 2nd position but that makes it worse.... So I have to either seat the pda at an angle or as much to the right as possible....

Next point is that the mount itself looks and feels cheap and nasty.... Wasn't too sure if the side grips would last that long since the plastic can bend..... Yes the speaker is nice and loud, and yes the mount can be used with other PDA's.... But if you were a business man then you wouldn't want that in your car.... I might spray it to make it look better..... For the money we pay for it they should have made it better... they need to fire their designer.....

The design of the arm is very good, and looks like its in a different league to the mount.... In the review it says something about not to hold the plastic ends when trying to bend the arm, DON'T THINK THAT IS A JOKE...... It's true, if you think that you can easily move the mount from one car to another and take another 20 minutes to set it up then it will be ok.... the 20 minutes will be needed to bend the arm, since it is quite difficult, the way you need it......
A good point about the arm is the suction.... very strong... I didn't clean the windscreen [not specifically for it but have cleaned the windscreen when cleaning the car] and the mount was not resting on the dashboard, but slightly above it.... Again due to the arm being tough to move about I just left it.....

If i could have seen the mount in a store instead of buying it from the internet then i would have probably left it alone and look at the Seidio version.... Oh well....

Anyone made any mods to their mount?

tomp · 07-25-04, 11:06 PM

I agree about the power cable. I called and was able to purchase a USB to serial connector to solve that problem. I also found that you can purchase additional adhesive pads.

nicor · 07-26-04, 12:07 AM

Guys. The Axim DOES fit on the mount with the power cable on.
There are at least two pictures in the review that prove that.
Now it will fit A LITTLE tight. and you have to rotate it about 1° to the left, but IT WILL FIT.
I too have the serial cable anyway, I will add that to the review.

I found the quality much better than the Seidio and the look is not so ugly as you say.

But most of all that's what PICTURES are for.
I can't say that a product is ugly in a review. I have to present how it is and then you guys can giudge from the pictures. Personally I like it. It's a nice upgrade from my previous non powered arkon mount.

I should add that it takes about 1 minute to remove ANY pedestral if you know how to do it. For the suction cup of course you are not supposed to pull like crazy. Just unlock the cup and then detach it using a nail.

Nico