[General Accessories] vectron:
This is a review of Arkon Mobile Grip 2 Universal Smartphone car mount. http://www.arkon.com/mobile-grip/

Smartphone car mount plays a very important role in my every day commute since I use my Note 2 as Nav. That is why I pay a very close attention to the build quality, ability to hold my phone with a rugged case, easy accessibility to a charging port and power/volume buttons, and making sure the mount will not fall off or release the phone going over rough terrain. From a list of all my reviews, you probably seen that I tested most of the popular car mounts, and I still keep coming back to Arkon Mega Grip and Slim Grip Ultra. I have been using them for years, in extreme hot and cold weather, and it never failed me. Plus I know I can count on their 2 year warranty. They are also very reasonably priced in comparison to other brand name mounts, which is also not too far away from other cheap junk on ebay. But one mount I was always curious to test from Arkon was Mobile Grip, in the past available only for smaller phone models. Finally, Arkon released Mobile Grip 2 and made it compatible even with larger display phones. This new Mobile Grip 2 will fit any phone or phablet with a case in width of 2.4"-3.6". So let's take a closer look to see my impression after testing this new car mount.

Although it arrived in a basic plastic bag packaging, in no way its a reflection of the product quality. I often make a comment about packaging where it could give an impression of a premium product or set the mood of what to expect, but in this case a reputation of a company which has been in business for 25 years speaks louder than a basic no frills packaging. In the package you will find a mobile grip 2 holder, a mounting pedestal with adjustment ring, and 80mm adhesive disk along with an alcohol cleaning pad. Mounting pedestal is designed with a multi-surface sticky suction base and an adjustable mounting arm with an universal 17mm ball joint connection. The specific model I received for my review was MG279 with a deluxe enhanced suction base which I found to be the strongest I ever tested. As you can see, I demonstrated using it on different smooth and textured surfaces, in vertical and horizontal and upside down positions. It was amazing how it got attached to any surface like a cement, and after a number of tests when I felt the sticky base was not as strong anymore - I just rinsed it under a warm water to rejuvenate it's sticky force. As a matter of fact, Arkon even included a warning with their detailed instructions to use provided sticky disk if you have a soft vinyl or fine leather dashboard surface so you don't damage it or leave a permanent imprint. Of course, sticking it to a windshield is another option, or if you visit Arkon webpage you find a dozen of other mounting options with everything from a drink cup to a seat rail or headrest and bike handle mounts.

The mounting arm has a multi-angle adjustment which is locked in place by easy grip thumb screw, and the universal ball joint connection allows 360deg rotation and compatibility with other accessories using the same joint. Of course, the star of this car mount is the new Mobile Grip 2 holder. I can tell you with certainly, it's probably one of the most minimalistic and slimmest low profile mounts I have tested. The spring loaded mechanism allows single hand operation by inserting the phone angled and pushing to extend it. The side grips are made out of rubbery material that will not scratch your phone/case, and they have flexible tips with ridges for a more secure hold. On the back where you have a connection to universal ball joint and a thread for adjustment ring, I was very pleased to see a permanently attached rubber insert. One of the problems with ball joint mount is that friction of plastic on plastic can loosen up the connection, especially under a weight of the attached phone. Here, by adding a rubber insert Arkon enhanced the grip to make it extra secure once you tighten the adjustment ring.

You can clearly see they paid attention to every single detail, and design feels very solid. One detail you simply can't miss is a little rubber stopper on the side of the mount. Once you remove it, you realize right away that you are dealing with universal 1/4" camera mount screw opening for use with most of the camera tripods. Even so I used my own for testing, you can find Arkon offering a similar design in their catalog. The screw hole is all metal, no worries about stripping a plastic thread. It worked quite well and considering very slim design of MG2 the rear camera on my phone was not obstructed and ready to be used for picture or video taking. Btw, this is also an advantage if you want to use your phone as a dashcam mounted on your dashboard.

Overall, I was VERY impressed with Arkon Mobile Grip 2, and for the price of under $20 it's one great value especially if you choose MG279 model with deluxe sticky suction mount. The versatility of its slim minimalistic design, the quality of the build, the easy of one hand operation, the ability of keep your rear camera unobstructed, and flexibility to route power cable and having all the power/volume buttons in the open puts it on my list of high recommendation. As a matter of fact, I find this Mobile Grip 2 to be equally acceptable for use in the car and at home on any surface and any room.

Here are the pictures.

Unboxing and details.

Attached to different surfaces

Hand grip

Attached to a tripod

Mounted in the car and at home