[Tilt, TyTN II, MDA Vario III Accessories] KruseLudsMobile:
Reported experience after extensive use (as promised) - daily for 2 1/2 weeks

As promised here is my experience after extensive use. Promise to try to keep the rambling to a minimum.

Sections below -

A. Four warnings - all on safety

B. Stylus Access/Battery Usage

C. GPS/Battery Usage

D. Position of the Mount

E. Gap on the Mount

F. Sliding in and out of the holder

G. Mount closer or further away from the driver; more dangerous? More convenient? -

H. Mount Location legality?

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A. Three warnings - all on safety:

1. The extra cabling and transformer that I had just stuffed up behind other wires near the fusebox near the foot pedals - fell out and was hanging down - not very safe - but fortunately it did not happen while I was driving. Good note to people installing anything in their car - be sure everything mounted anywhere near where your hands and feet go while driving - is very securely mounted!

2. DO NOT USE the screen for anything but GPS display - even if you are using voice recognition software (as you need to then look at the screen) unless using only to make phone calls.

3. Note "B." below. I advise AGAINST trying to use a stylus while you are driving. VERY EASY to get into an accident.

4. NEVER, EVER, EVER leave the unit in the cradle - or even anywhere in the car - when you are out of the car for any length of time at all. Some people say even having their cars broken into because a thief saw the mount and thought the unit may be in the glove compartment.

B. Stylus Access/Battery Usage - I have seen only one holder (not this one) that includes a separate slot for an extra stylus to use while the Kaiser is in the car mount. This one does not include that - BUT - you can STILL pull out the stylus easily even when the unit is in the mount - handy. BTW, GPS programs really do such the life out of these batteries, don't they? At least with this mount it is charging it with enough juice to overcome the GPS drain (I have seen older (non-Kaiser) PDAs that drain juice faster than they get charged when in a indoor powered cradle nonetheless!). I don't know if that ability to charge even when a lot of power is being consumed by the unit is due to the charger or the version of the PDA itself. Anyone want to run some tests with different mount/cradle/PDA/software combinations?

C. GPS/Battery Usage - I won't get into a heavy discussion about GPS software in this thread because I don't want it to go off on a tangent. Suffice it to say the unit is often off track by about 25-50 feet at the max (usually about 25 feet) when I have a signal - but the GPS sure does use alot of juice, doesn't it? It seems like if you get into the car with a unit that has a somewhat low battery charge and use the GPS in the holder (while charging if the ignition is on of course - that's the way you should wire it) the PDA battery still does get recharged - but much more slowly. Funny thing is, that is not even an issue because I usually would not use the GPS unless I am driving longer distances anyway. If the battery is really low and I don't need the GPS (most trips) I will just set the unit to sleep or even turn the unit off altogether (phone included) and put it into the mount when I get in the car - for even a very short drive the battery really charges very quickly with this mount (yeah :-) ). How about a car mount with a slot in the back for an extra battery? That would be nice...

D. Position of the Mount -I could have possibly used another angled block. I find myself sometimes trying to tilt the mount ever so slightly more than it can go (so the screen is more vertical). However, that is a very minor isue and at this point not work making any modifications. (I may change my mind later, however - if so, I will supply more photos or update the original sticky post here.)

E. Gap on the Mount - Gap that people have been talking about behind the unit (between the back of the unit and the mount) - that does not bother me so much as the fat connector at the bottom of the unit - which is somewhat unsightly and larger than it needs to be. It does block my headlight switches - but I never need to look at those switches anyway.

F. Sliding in and out of the holder - this is an issue but a very minor one. I find that about 10-15% of the time when I slide it into place it is not mounted correctly and I have to pull it out and try to slide it in again. I suppose if there was no gap as specified in "E." above then it would slide into place 100% of the time with no problem. Although I believe it is meant to allow people with extended (larger) batteries to also use the unit - since it is always powered while I am driving the car - I rarely need to charge my batteries anyway. I was going to get an extended battery - but I really have no need to - most of the time I am at the office, at home, or in the car. In each of those three places I have a charger. I also keep a charger in my briefcase so when I go from office to office for meetings etc. I always have a charger nearby anyway...

G. Mount closer or further away from the driver; more dangerous? More convenient? - wouldn't drivers be more tempted to check email, etc. if it was really close to the driver?

H. Mount Location legality? - Isn't it a rule in the US that the windshield cannot be blocked at all (in my case it isn't) - even though the rule may be loosely or rarely enforced - isn't that what the suction cups on windshields do? Anybody get a ticket because of that? Or is the rule about partial blockage? Is this a state or nationwide regulation, what are the rules for that in Europe? ( I am in the US in NJ...)