Last year I reviewed the Kenu Airframe+ cell phone car mount. It made my list of my top gadgets for 2014. It was the ultimate combination of portability, price, functionality, style, and performance for any car mount I have ever used. So simple in design, and yet so awesome. This year, Kenu came out with the new Airframe+. How could they possibly improve it? What witchcraft could they possible conjure to exceed the goodness that is the Airframe+? Let’s find out!
First things first, the specs. They are the same as last year’s model:
Dimensions: W 2.7″ × D 1.9″ × H 1″
Weight: 1 oz.
Materials: Stainless steel, brass, ABS, TPE, and leather
Yes, you heard me right. Leather. Now, when you buy a car that has leather car seats, you have to pay extra. Leather jackets cost more than regular jackets. And the Airframe+ is no different. You’ll pay a premium for the Airframe+ Leather Edition. Last year’s edition was $29.95 and the leather edition will set you back $39.95. In my book, it is still worth the price.
As far as the features and performance, nothing has changed. And that’s a good thing because last year’s version was awesome. The Airframe+ is designed for those big phablet phones with screens up to 6 inches. The front opening of the Airframe+ where the phone sits expands to 3.4 inches wide and it holds my Galaxy S6 Edge+ phablet just fine, as you can see below. I can insert and remove the Edge+ with one hand using the Airframe+, and the leather covering does just as good a job of cushioning the sides of my phone in luxurious comfort as last year’s edition. Ok, that’s a little over the top, but the point is that the Airframe+’s leather covering is soft, so there’s no worry about harming your phone in any way.
It is so small it can fit in any pocket, even jeans. In fact, it may be easy to lose since it is so small, but I haven’t lost mine yet. The fingers of the grip on the back that attaches to your car’s vents are just as soft and provide you 2 orientations to fit any size car vent slats. You can see that in the picture below. The fingers on the back of the Airframe+ rotate so you can change the orientation of your phone from landscape to portrait easily. You can also see below a comparison of last year’s Airframe+ (top) and this year’s leather edition (bottom). NOTE: the top Airframe+ looks like it is smaller because it is farther up on the car vent, which is curving upwards and away from the camera. They are both actually the same size.
The only downside I can think of is that when the Airframe+ is in place it partially blocks the air vent. So on those 100 degree days, you may decide to not block the vent. Same thing with during the winter. The heat coming out of the vent will not only be blocked by the Airframe+, the Airframe+ will get hot, which isn’t good. That’s really the only downside I can find.
Bottom line
If you are looking for a car mount for your phone, stop looking. Go get the Airframe+. You’ll thank me. In fact, Christmas is coming up so go get an Airframe+ as a stocking stuffer for every person in your family. Then they’ll thank me. You’re welcome.
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Kenu. Please visit their site for more information and Amazon to order one.
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An iPhone will display a message that it is too hot and needs to shut down. This can happen if it is being used for navigation which takes up a lot of processor power.
Now add heat being blown at the device in the Airframe.
I’m not too sure this is a good idea.
Flip to AC if this happens and problem solved 🙂
@Sandee I can understand how this might be an issue. All I can tell you is I’ve been using my Airframe for over a year I suppose and now every one of my family members has one. I haven’t had anyone tell me about that problem thus far. I still highly recommend this product.
The normal operating temperatures for the iPhone are -4F and 113F. The likely hood of your heater bringing the phone past this is small. We have to consider the reason you are running the heater is because the ambient temperature in the vehicle is much lower. You are more likely to cook your phone by a long freeway drive during August in California, where the heat radiating through your car windshield can exceed 150F. If the iPhone’s navigation is overheating something is wrong a Nav should not be using that much CPU considering the previous generation units operated in the 10mhz to 33mhz ranges. Even with enhanced graphics and wireless radios you should not be taxing a 1.8Ghz Dual core CPU. And if for some reason it is, that is some pisspoor programming.
Been using the Kenu standard plastic mount for about a year now and no issues at all. When I want heat in Winter I just make sure I have that particular vent shut. In summer I open it and it keeps my phone nice and cool. I thoroughly recommend these holders for their tiny footprint. I will now purchase the deluxe verison. Thanks for the heads up!
Yeah. Stupid me for posting negativity
Pish Posh, I think it was a valid post, it’s something you should consider when deciding on products. I personally would not worry about it myself, but other people need to take that into consideration when choosing a product for themselves. I think all posts are valid and useful with the exception of mean troll posts.
Definately not negative but a good heads up for anyone concerned about heat. Sometimes you get the best responses by being negative. Example, I wanted to know about something on my car. Rather than just ask “can my car do this?” to which you usually receive a “yes” I posted “I bet these cars can’t do this…” to which I received a stream of replies all stating how it could be done and done well and that I should also consider this or that etc. As this post shows, the replies state how to overcome a possible reason not to buy for anyone considering purchasing one. Cheers!
I purchased the Kenu mount after Steve’s first review. I have not had any problems with the mount in several vehicles. I do turn off the vent it is mounted to as I live in Alaska and the vents tend to get pretty warm on wicked cold days.
This is a horribly late response but people needing a car mount should check out the ProClip car mounts – http://www.proclipusa.com/. They make custom mounts for almost every car – even those where it is difficult to find a mount to fit. I even found one that fit in my new Mazda Miata.