iOttie Easy One Touch 4 Phone car mount review

As long as there have been mobile phones, I’ve struggled with figuring out a place to mount them in a car. I’ve had iOttie car holders before, but I had a chance to try out some of the newest in the Easy One Touch lineup.

I recently purchased the Apple iPhone X, which finally features wireless Qi charging. Now I have a chance to try out the iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless Fast Charging Dash & Windshield mount.

In the box, you get the cradle assembly and a USB adapter with plug (micro USB).

Somehow, iOttie managed to cram in a Qi charging coil around the holder trigger button.

iOttie uses this sticky, gummy suction cup that’ll attach to darn near anything. If you have a curved or uneven surface, they’ve included an adhesive disk to help with adhesion.  The dark red circle is a peel-off backing.

The back of the holder is a ball and socket joint.  A wingnut-style ring adds tension, keeping things in place. Note the ventilation holes on the back of the cradle for the charging electronics.

There are so many adjustments on the iOttie wireless fast charging cradle.  You can extend the holder…

…or adjust the angle…

…and even change the resting height of the phone itself.  I found that with the iPhone X, this bottom “claw” could remain at the smallest position.

The included micro USB plug goes in the back of the cradle as shown.

In this mounting example, I have the mount attached to the center of my windshield.  Always obey local laws when mounting your iOttie cradle. You can see the green charging LED in the upper-left corner of the cradle holder, next to the volume down button on the phone.

It’s a little hard to describe how the holder works, so take a look at the video.

When the “arms” are open, simply drop your phone in and the button/trigger on the backplate activates the spring-loaded grip. If your phone is Qi-compatible, charging begins. To release, simply squeeze the two release tabs.

I found the iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless Fast Charging Dash & Windshield Mount to be sturdy, adjustable, and incredibly handy if you want to charge your Qi-compatible phone without the hassle of plugs.

The folks at iOttie also sent me two other phone holders.  One was the Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount.

This is another style of phone mount that uses the CD slot in your car audio system. I haven’t used a CD in a very long time, so it made sense to use a part of the car that was not being used.

There’s not a whole lot to the package. There was a tiny black spacer which I didn’t use.

Like most of iOttie’s phone holders, the CD Slot Mount also uses a ball and socket mount, but a very peculiar “paddle” that goes into your CD slot.

Here, I’m inserting the “paddle” into my unused CD slot.

Once in place, you flip the locking tab in the up position.  This spreads the “paddle” inside the CD slot, giving the whole thing grip.

Here’s the holder in place…

..And the holder plus iPhone X.  I thought the iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount was a pretty clever system, but it obstructed the view of my radio display. Of course, your results may vary, but this wasn’t quite for me.

Finally, I tried out the iOttie Easy Touch 4 Air Vent Mount.

This mount is even more straightforward: It consists of just the spring-loaded mount and a duckbill-shaped vent grip on a ball mount.

The “duckbill” opens up just a little with a firm squeeze of the button. It’s pretty tight.

In my car, I found out that the mount causes my vents to sag down a bit. I had to play around with slot selection to get something that worked.

The results look great, however.  In my car, this position doesn’t block my view of the road or my car stereo display. The iOttie Easy One Touch 4 Air Vent Mount is a little more dependent on how sturdy your air vents are. In my car, they’re pretty wobbly.

Positives

• The One Touch mechanism really works
• Suction cup, CD slot, air vent… there’s probably a mounting solution that works for you
• Qi charger lines up every time (Wireless Fast Charging model only)

Negatives

• CD slot model may block displays or controls on your dash (CD Slot Model)
• If your air vents are loose, you may get a wobbly fit (Air Vent Model)

Final thoughts

Not all of the iOttie car mounts worked perfectly, but I’d say the Easy One Touch Wireless Fast Charging Dash & Windshield Mount is my runaway favorite, but only because my CD slot location isn’t optimal, and my vents are a bit on the wobbly end.

Price: $54.95 (Easy one Touch Wireless Fast Charging Dash & Windshield Mount), $24.95 (Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount or Easy One Touch 4 Air Vent Mount)
Where to buy: www.iottie.com and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by www.iottie.com.