Keep your eyes on the road with an iGrip windshield mount for the BlackBerry Bold 9900

If you drive a car, you’ve probably given in to the urges at some point. You've grabbed your BlackBerry smartphone and then proceeded to make a phone call or send off a BBM. The thing that most don’t realize is, for the second it took for you to start that phone call, you had your eyes off the road and could have caused an accident. Now, I’m not saying I haven’t done this; I’m pretty bad too. What I’m saying is that there are products that can help us use our mobile devices a little safer in the car.

A little ways back I took a look at the iGrip windshield mount for the BlackBerry PlayBook, and the mount was effective at allowing minimal safe usage while in the car. Today I’m taking a look at iGrip’s windshield mount for the BlackBerry Bold 9900. Continue reading to see just how the mount will make driving safer.

Installation and setup

Setup and installation of the iGrip windshield mount for the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is quite straightforward. First you’ll want to find a subtitle mounting location on your windshield. Now, if you don’t have a convenient location on your windshield, the manufacturer has included a plastic disk with an adhesive on the back. This will allow you to put the mount anywhere you have a flat surface. Once you’ve found a good location, you’ll want to supply power to the dock via a microUSB car charger (sold separately). While at this stage you may think that the setup is done, you are incorrect -- but for a good reason. The iGrip mount works with RIM’s new ‘Smart Accessories’ software found in BlackBerry 7. The software will allow you to program what happens when you place the phone in the dock. You have the option to do things like turn on Bluetooth, turn off the cellular connection, start an application and more. The video above will go over setting up your Bold to work with the iGrip car mount.

Mounting Arm

The iGrip system comes down to two pieces -- the mounting clip and the mount itself. With the iGrip system for the BlackBerry PlayBook I found that the option to extend the length of the mount was amazing. In a car like mine the dash is fairly substantial, meaning that the mount would sit out of reach if it didn’t give me the option to extend. The mount that they’ve provided for the BlackBerry Bold 9900 sadly doesn’t give the extentable option, which kind of sucks. My recommendation is that if you have a PlayBook as well as a Bold 9900 and need a mount for both, use the mounting arm from the iGrip for the PlayBook for the 9900 as well.

Phone clip

The actual part that will hold your BlackBerry has been designed quite well. iGrip has placed the microUSB on the left side which will allow you to simply slip in your BlackBerry and you’ll be connected to power. As well, once your phone is in the clip it will initiate the Smart Accessory profile. One complaint I have about the clip is that the mechanism that hold your BlackBerry in place is a little finicky and I didn’t feel that it is the best design for someone who needs to take their phone in and out of the car mount often.

The Good

Easy to set up
Offers less distractions during driving (by using smart accessory profiles)
Smart Accessory profile enabled
Various mounting options

The Bad

Short non-extendable mounting arm
Clip mechanism seems to be designed for those that leave the phone in the mount for extended periods

The Bottom Line

The iGrip products are as a whole quite good. They follow a simple design that allows them to remain low profile, but also provide the best mounting solution on the market (excluding options where mounts are installed into your car). While I did have a few complaints about the reach on the mounting arm iGrip offers and issues with mounting clip itself. As a whole, the iGrip mount for the BlackBerry Bold 9900 allows you to customize profiles for when the phone is in the mount, helps you keep your eyes on the road and is astonishingly easy to setup. I’ll have to put this accessory onto my “Must Have” list, its undeniably worth it.

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Other BlackBerry Car Mounts
CIGARETTE LIGHTER MOUNTED	MULTI USE	SLIM LOW PROFILE

iGrip Universal Fit Cigarette Lighter Mount "This combination of a cigarette lighter mount with flexible neck and holder, that looks and functions great, provides road warriors a hands-free option that can easily be removed and stored when not in use."	Clingo Universal Hands-Free Mount "The Clingo Universal Hands-Free Mount allows you to keep your phone where you can glance at it if you need to without taking your attention from the road."	Arkon Slim-Grip Travelmount "Arkon's Slim-Grip smartphone mount is a low profile, versatile car mount that works with almost any smartphone, even with a case."

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