REVIEW – In 2020, 20 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. Mighty Mount makes an automatic grip phone mount that connects to a vent or adhesive dash stand and includes a built-in fast wireless car charger. Read on to see what I think!
What is it?
The Mighty Mount is a device that is designed to hold a mobile phone in a car so that the screen can be seen while driving so it may be used as a navigation device. The Mighty Mount is designed with motorized clamping arms that secure your phone on to the mount automatically. A button behind the mount is pressed in order to release the phone. The power cable for the mount not only powers the automatic phone clamp but also a built-in Qi compliant wireless charging device so that phones capable of inductive charging may be powered while docked in the holder.
What’s in the box?
- Charging phone mount
- Fastening cap
- Vent clip
- Dash mount
- QC 3.0 compliant car adapter
- USB cable
Hardware specs
- 2 mounting options included.
- 10W Fast Wireless Charging pad
- Compatible with all Qi enabled phones
- Quick Charge 3.0 compatible
- Includes protection against overheating, overcurrent, over-voltage, and foreign objects
Design and features
Unboxing
The Mighty Mount comes in a white cardboard display box with photographic images and silver-tone text and graphics. The image of the Mighty Mount on the front is a glossy offset image pictured with some type of iPhone 10. The rest of the box displays many of the features of the mount but doesn’t actually show any actual installations.
Inside of the box are two more boxes. One which contains the mount and the other which contains the remainder of the packaged items.
Setup
Setup of the Mighty Mount Automatic Grip Fast Wireless Car Charger involves preparing the car mount to be used with the phone and also mounting the holder in the car so that it is viewable and accessible while driving.
To set up the phone holder, the feet of the holder must be extended and rotated into place. Next, using the supplied type C cable, plug the mount into a charger, or do this in the car using the supplied charge adapter. Plugging in the unit should power it on so that you can see a glowing blue circle indicating the center of the charging coil. In order to center the charging coil with the phone’s coil, adjust the position of the phone mount coil using the sliding switch in the back of the unit.
This is a unique feature of the Mighty Mount. Misaligned inductive charging can cause longer exposure to higher temperatures in the vicinity of the coil than correct alignment. This is due to the charging system increasing the transmitter power under misalignment in order to maintain target input power to the device. Since coils are generally next to the battery and higher battery temperatures can lower overall battery lifespan, a cooler-running charging system has many benefits.
After aligning the phone try out the holding mechanism and check the alignment. The clamp is opened by pressing the area below the Mighty Mount logo with a conductive object or the phone. If the clamp does not open automatically then it may be opened using a function button on the lower right of the unit.
The function button is the main method for removing the phone so being able to completely reach to the far side of the mount is an important consideration when determining where to place the unit. Holding the function button for three seconds will also turn the charging feature on and off. When the charging feature is off the clamp does not automatically close around the phone when it is placed in the holder – the function button must be momentarily pressed in order to close the clamp. If the phone is left in the holder and there is no power to the unit it may be removed by gently twisting the phone so that one side advances beyond the clamp. The front lip of the clamp is a rubber material and bends easily. One observation is that the front face is a bit of a fingerprint magnet but it is obviously transparent so that the adjustable height of the coil can be seen.
The best part about this holder is that it works with virtually any phone case that also permits wireless charing. No magnets, steel plates, or other changes to the phone are required to use this holder.
Setting up the phone in the car can be done in a variety of ways but will either use the vent mount or the dash mount. The vent mount is a clamp that tightens by advancing a butterfly nut against a centrally mounted post. The camp ends are coated in soft rubber to provide extra grip.
They are one inch wide and the clamp extends a bit more than 3/4″ into the vent. They should be useful on a majority of car vents, but will not work on vents that do not have at least one inch of a straight louver, a louver that is not somewhat flat at the face, or a louver that is not a consistent size across the front. The Mazda Miata MX-5 vents are good examples of vents that are not compatible.
If your car is compatible and you would like to see if vent mounting is for you then I recommend attaching the vent clip lever to the phone mount, mounting the phone into the holder and manually positioning it at the location you plan to attach it to. Check the location to see that the release button is accessible and that the screen is viewable. Based on your car’s design there may be limitations to the use of the vent.
If the car vent is not an option then the Might Mount comes with an adhesive mount that may be used to support the holder.
The mount is designed to adhere to a horizontal surface that is flat for at least 1 1/4″ but ideally 1 1/2″. In order to use the adhesive apply it and wait at least a day before mounting the holder. The adhesive holder has a variable height adjustment for a perfect fit. Of course, vent mounting has the advantage that the whole set-up is somewhat portable and also doesn’t obstruct the view through the windshield. Not mounting a device to a windshield is an important consideration since itis illegal in many states.
The mount comes with a four-foot long type C cable and a quick charge 3.0 compatible car adapter. The four-foot cable has a built-in rubber cable management tie for gathering excess cable. The four-foot length may be enough for getting to the closest adapter port, but may not be long enough to go to a more discrete location, such as in an armrest or to a backseat port. Fortunately, a USB 2.0 extension cord may be used to lengthen the cord as much as needed.
The car adapter has a blue LED halo that surrounds the USB port. It is a useful feature if the USB cord to the adapter is going to be plugged and unplugged but may not be ideal for an adapter that most likely will have a USB cord that stays plugged in indefinitely. Instead, it may be an unintended distraction.
Performance
The QC 3.0 adapter that comes with the Mighty Mount Automatic Grip Fast Wireless Car Charger has a maximum capacity of 10W. So, although it can negotiate the supplied voltage with the device being charged, it will not be able to perform at the maximum delivery. However, when wirelessly charging the LG G7, I can verify that the phone is fast‑charging wirelessly. Specifically, the holder can charge the iPhone at 5W and the LG G7 at 10W. For comparison sake, the Belkin Boost↑Up wireless charger is able to charge the LG G7 at fast charging speeds of approximately 10W.
The holder adequately supports the phone on to the dash, without sagging or losing position while the phone is installed or removed. However, if the front of the vent is not a consistent depth across the face then the holder will wobble a bit when installed. You may be able to see in the picture below that the center vent has a metal detail that sticks out beyond the other two louvers. Because of this metal accent this mount still wiggles a bit when installed.
When operating the holder clamp the gearing within the unit does whine a bit but it’s not more noise than is to be expected.
What I like
- No change to phone case is required
- secure mounting
What I’d change
- Make coil light illumination an option.
Final thoughts
Roughly, nine people are killed and more than 1,000 are injured daily in accidents in which at least one driver was distracted. The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration suggests the following to limit distracted driving: 1) Locate the mobile phone so it is operable by the driver while restrained by properly adjusted safety belts. 2) Utilize an earpiece or the speakerphone function. 3) Use voice-activated or one-button touch features to initiate, answer, or terminate a call. Using the Mighty Mount Automatic Grip Fast Wireless Car Charger will prevent having to reach for a phone or plugging the phone in to charge while driving. This holder is effective at keeping your phone in place and keeping it charged while driving.
Price: $79.99
Where to buy: Mighty Mount and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Mighty Mount.
