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Phone mount (Android Auto and Apple CarPlay friendly)
One of the problems with wired Android Auto, which I use all the time, is that I don't really know where to put my phone once I plug it into the USB port. I can rest it in the cup holder or drop it out of sight in the deep well under the front console, but the end result is that I often need the cupholders for, well, cups, or I end up forgetting my phone in the well when I exit the car. Out of sight, out of mind. The wireless tray is another storage option, but there is that wire running along the entire console, and my wife often charges her iPhone there. And again, I can't see my phone when I exit the car.
Nobody has come up with a one-stop solution for the new Defender thus far, so I piecemealed a kit together from two separate suppliers.
The car mount is great. It's just a piece of plastic that snaps in place either to the left or to the right of the monitor and feels very sturdy once properly mounted. There is a small adhesive strip on the top edge of the mount to keep it from moving, but other than that it installs in 10 seconds flat without any modifications whatsoever. Very clever design.
The ProClip holder is fully adjustable and will take all but the most gigantic phones (mine is a Samsung Note 10+, pretty much as big as they get), with a slim case and a USB-C receptacle on the bottom center. Expensive but very well made.
Problem (of course there is always one) is that the pre-drilled holes on the A-Tach mount plate and the ones on the ProClip holder mount don't quite line up. No biggie though, with a little 3/32" drill bit I quickly drilled 4 new holes on the plastic mount exactly where I wanted them - toward the bottom, since my phone is so big and tall - using the ProClip base as template. Then it was just a matter of screwing phone holder on car mount and snapping the assembled mount on the left side of the monitor (so my phone sits right above the stop/start button and I should not forget it in the car anymore...), far enough from the monitor so as not to obscure part of it when driving with the phone on the holder, but close enough to still see the majority of the phone screen just to the right of the steering wheel.
The ProClip kit comes with a cig lighter adapter, but you can just toss that and plug the supplied USB cord to the port for Android Auto to work. So, now I just slide the phone on the mount, it charges and connects to Android Auto without getting in the way or disappearing. No more unsightly cables running all over the front console. If you would rather install it on the RH side of the monitor instead, the ProClip mount swivels enough for the phone to face the driver just fine. The assembled mount, even with my big phone connected, is very sturdy and doesn't wobble or shake at all on the dash while driving. I like it.
Some quick shots (sorry, no phone. I was using it to take the photos, lol):
One of the problems with wired Android Auto, which I use all the time, is that I don't really know where to put my phone once I plug it into the USB port. I can rest it in the cup holder or drop it out of sight in the deep well under the front console, but the end result is that I often need the cupholders for, well, cups, or I end up forgetting my phone in the well when I exit the car. Out of sight, out of mind. The wireless tray is another storage option, but there is that wire running along the entire console, and my wife often charges her iPhone there. And again, I can't see my phone when I exit the car.
Nobody has come up with a one-stop solution for the new Defender thus far, so I piecemealed a kit together from two separate suppliers.
The car mount is great. It's just a piece of plastic that snaps in place either to the left or to the right of the monitor and feels very sturdy once properly mounted. There is a small adhesive strip on the top edge of the mount to keep it from moving, but other than that it installs in 10 seconds flat without any modifications whatsoever. Very clever design.
The ProClip holder is fully adjustable and will take all but the most gigantic phones (mine is a Samsung Note 10+, pretty much as big as they get), with a slim case and a USB-C receptacle on the bottom center. Expensive but very well made.
Problem (of course there is always one) is that the pre-drilled holes on the A-Tach mount plate and the ones on the ProClip holder mount don't quite line up. No biggie though, with a little 3/32" drill bit I quickly drilled 4 new holes on the plastic mount exactly where I wanted them - toward the bottom, since my phone is so big and tall - using the ProClip base as template. Then it was just a matter of screwing phone holder on car mount and snapping the assembled mount on the left side of the monitor (so my phone sits right above the stop/start button and I should not forget it in the car anymore...), far enough from the monitor so as not to obscure part of it when driving with the phone on the holder, but close enough to still see the majority of the phone screen just to the right of the steering wheel.
The ProClip kit comes with a cig lighter adapter, but you can just toss that and plug the supplied USB cord to the port for Android Auto to work. So, now I just slide the phone on the mount, it charges and connects to Android Auto without getting in the way or disappearing. No more unsightly cables running all over the front console. If you would rather install it on the RH side of the monitor instead, the ProClip mount swivels enough for the phone to face the driver just fine. The assembled mount, even with my big phone connected, is very sturdy and doesn't wobble or shake at all on the dash while driving. I like it.
Some quick shots (sorry, no phone. I was using it to take the photos, lol):
good finds on the mounts. I just don’t find having a big phone holder with exposed wire to be something I could stomach. Way too cheap looking
Thanks for sharing guys! Been trying to design my own mount, but why re-invent the wheel when someone else has already got a couple solutions out there.
Hi crewcabrob: a bit of topic: I'm also using wireless carplay2air. I experience a "delay" while conducting phone calls. It is like calling long-long distance oversees, where the person on the other side of the line only hears me a second or more after I started speaking... Do you experience the same? (just to check whether I have maybe a faulty carplay2air-adapter). Thanks for your reply.
And these wireless dongles only work with Apple CarPlay, right? There is nothing out there supporting Android Auto, as far as I know. I realize recent version of Android support wireless Android Auto, but I suspect that, unless Land Rover also supports that feature in Pivi Pro with a future software release, we may be stuck with the current wired interface forever.
Phone mount (Android Auto and Apple CarPlay friendly)
