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Posts: 2,869 | Thanked: 1,784 times | Joined on Feb 2007 @ Po' Bo'. PA
#1
The other day while cruising through BestBuy I found a suitable windshield mount for my N900.

It's called the Rocketfish™ Mobile - Windshield Mount for Select Portable GPS Receivers, Model: RF-WSMNT. It is priced at a reasonable $19.99 USD.


After purchasing the thing I took it out to my hoopty that was parked in the lot to try it out. If it didn't work out I would bring it right back in for a refund, not wanting to make a return trip. (I hate this store because I rarely leave with out a major purchase that I didn't know I needed until I saw it in that dang place )

After opening the box I was immediately impressed with the soft neoprene ears used to grip the device. It uses a ratchet mechanism to lock in the sides after you pinch the device between the ears. There is a button you depress to release the ratchet for removal. These ears also open lateraly and have an opening to accommodate the N900 USB charging cable. This eared cradle snaps into the stalk with a solid click. It does not appear as if it was designed to be removed from the stalk once it is in place. (It can be done but the hard plastic cradle and stalk mount use plastic levers that molded in place and are so easy to snap off making the whole thing useless.

The suction end of the stalk uses a distortion lever which is pretty much standard with windshield mounts. What it does have, that many others don't though, is a release button that makes removal from the glass windshield much easier.

Once mounted, the cradled device can be swiveled back and forth, up and down, and even rotated to portrait orientation if so desired.


At the bottom of the cradle are two "feet" that swivel out to rest the device on. I don't use them as I found that once the N900 is "pinched" in place, it doesn't want to move. To test this theory I put it in a company owned, Ford Super Duty work truck and bounced around for about 150 miles in the past 2 days. The N900 did not budge.




The stalk itself is apparently a wire covered in about 3/4 of inch of neoprene. You can twist this any which way you want and it is quite useful for mounting near a rear view mirror and getting out of the way of a cars drop down sun shade.

I did notice that at a certain speed while driving the truck the N900 vibrated at an annoying frequency. This went away when I changed my speed 5 MPH in either direction. It did not vibrate in the hoopty or the wife's Scion xb so it may be more of an indication that the trucks needs a wheel alignment...
All in all, for 20 bucks, not bad.

BTW, this mount also works with the N810. The N800 however, is a tad too wide.

PROS:

- Price
- Allows access to all buttons and ports.
- Can be used with many other devices.
- Sold through Nation wide "brick and mortar" retail chain. Can be replaced easily.
- Stealth
(Because of the N900's size vs. the relatively larger cradle, when the N900 is powered off and left in the cradle; it appears from the outside of the vehicle as if the cradle isn't holding a device.)
- Did I say "Price".

Cons:

- Hard plastic bits could become brittle and snap off
- Possible vibration at certain vehicle speeds
- Ears cover speaker holes
- No opening for 5 meg camera.
(These last two items can be accessed if the cradle is turned 90 degrees so that the ears pinch the N900 at the top and bottom. It looks goofy though, ymmv.)
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Last edited by YoDude; 2009-12-19 at 14:11.
 

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#2
thanks just bought it on fleebay 15.95 free shipping
 
Posts: 37 | Thanked: 4 times | Joined on Sep 2009
#3
what car charger is that?
 
YoDude's Avatar
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#4
Originally Posted by cheeze[it] View Post
what car charger is that?
That's an old Nokia "small" plug charger through the adapter that comes with the phone.
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#5
 
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#6
Yeah, US didn't get that adapter. Do you know if I can order it through them or should I just get one from ebay? And then get a older "nokia" car charger and I should be good?

has anyone tried the brodit car holder? if they have one yet...
 

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#7
Originally Posted by cheeze[it] View Post
Yeah, US didn't get that adapter. Do you know if I can order it through them or should I just get one from ebay? And then get a older "nokia" car charger and I should be good?

has anyone tried the brodit car holder? if they have one yet...
I didn't know it wasn't sold with the US model... Google search the part number in amorek13's link and you will find them a lot cheaper... like 3 bucks for OEM Nokia.

Maybe that was the reason for the shipping delay. Some body was taking them out of all the US boxes.
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#8
 
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#9
My god that mount is awful. If that were mounted in my small car i doubt it would leave any room for me to see out :O
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#10
There are at least two better mounts. The Brodit (both passive and active) and there is a cheap custom mount seen on ebay. See the Car Mounts and kit thread for more details in fact can a mod merge this please
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