Nicely made but one quibble - still gets 5 stars though!
lens review i Trek ME USDM Universal Dashboard Magellan
(GPS unit mounted on Windshield) California traffic law permits a GPS unit mounted on windshield either at the lowest 7-inch corner on the passenger side, or at the lowest 5-inch corner on the driver side. If we mount the GPS unit elsewhere (e.g., as I mounted on the center area below the rear view mirror), we may be fined $108 for offending "V C Section 26708 Material Obstructing or Reducing Driver's View". These two permitted corner areas are not practical. And they might be too far for the cord. I had been driving with my GPS unit mounted near the rear view mirror, despite the fear that I will be ticketed one day.
(Dashboard Alternatives) After the suction cup of my GPS unit stopped working, I looked into the bean-bag option versus this i-Trek design. I found people sometimes complained about unstable situations with bean-bag option. So I decided to give this product a try. I am very happy with my choice. My GPS unit fits in perfectly, and sits right on the center of gravity. Its weight provides enough friction to keep the GPS unit steady on the dashboard, both on surface streets and on freeways, even at sudden stops. I did not use the optional glue sticker since it is really unnecessary.
My GPS unit is a TomTom 720 (4.3 inch screen, with overall dimension of 3.2 x 0.9 x 4.7 inches). It fits in perfectly. Because of the flexible clamp design, it should fit a range of different sized GPS units. I recommend it.
Category Article silver heels
I love this GPS holder! I hated the idea of a suction cup on my windshield and this is a great option. It is weighted, so it doesn't move around on my dashboard, the angle is perfect and it holds my 5" GPS!!! Love it!
I was most pleasantly surprised when I opened the package and saw the construction of the ME-USDM. I travel a lot out of state which requires lots of rental cars. I have my own Garmin GPS system which has my contacts and pre-programmed addresses so I prefer to pack it rather than renting a GPS (even if its included with the rental car). The ME-USDM is very sturdy and offers both a padded and adhesive bottom. I don't often give five stars but I highly recommend this product and give it five stars without hesitation.
Length:: 3:12 Mins
This is video is a quick review of the gps mount.
I fixed the sound! The first video I made had some major sound issues! Oops!
The unit looks well made, the "adhesive" pad is really just a supersticky silicone pad (not a permanent pad). The clamp works well on my HTC Thunderbolt Android phone, older HP standalone GPS, and a 5" Samsung Galaxy media player. The 5" player looks to be the maximum size for the jaw - certainly a 7" tablet won't fit in there.
I was able to drive with the 5" Samsung unit clamped in the jaw in normal surface street traffic and the unit didn't move at all. You might have to have your device offset to one side so the "jaws" of the clamp don't hold down a button.
Normally you don't want to leave an item like this out (it would attract thieves) and so the silicon pad won't leave a permanent mark on the dash. It does fit into my glovebox but it's a little bulky. I kept the plastic covering the pad so I can stick it back on there and keep the silicone clean.
The only quibble I have is that the bottom of the unit won't stay flat - it looks like it's sort of puffed up, so the edges of the unit don't sit flat on the dash.
Still, I plan to buy another for our second car, it's one of the better solutions for those who hate using suction-cup beanbag mounts, it's more compact than one of those (and no suction cup to pop loose unexpectedly from the beanbag...).
I have a 5 inch TomTom GPS and could never get it to stay attached to the windshield. No matter what I did, the suction mount would always loosen from the windshield, then it would fall on the dashboard with a big clunk, bounce and hit the radio and the storage pocket and continue on the way down to the hitting the floor or even my knee. This dashboard mount was the answer to my problem. It does the job and I do not even use the sticky mount on the bottom of the unit. It is heavy enough to stay in place on my dashboard. Highly recommend it.
(GPS unit mounted on Windshield) California traffic law permits a GPS unit mounted on windshield either at the lowest 7-inch corner on the passenger side, or at the lowest 5-inch corner on the driver side. If we mount the GPS unit elsewhere (e.g., as I mounted on the center area below the rear view mirror), we may be fined $108 for offending "V C Section 26708 Material Obstructing or Reducing Driver's View". These two permitted corner areas are not practical. And they might be too far for the cord. I had been driving with my GPS unit mounted near the rear view mirror, despite the fear that I will be ticketed one day.
(Dashboard Alternatives) After the suction cup of my GPS unit stopped working, I looked into the bean-bag option versus this i-Trek design. I found people sometimes complained about unstable situations with bean-bag option. So I decided to give this product a try. I am very happy with my choice. My GPS unit fits in perfectly, and sits right on the center of gravity. Its weight provides enough friction to keep the GPS unit steady on the dashboard, both on surface streets and on freeways, even at sudden stops. I did not use the optional glue sticker since it is really unnecessary.
My GPS unit is a TomTom 720 (4.3 inch screen, with overall dimension of 3.2 x 0.9 x 4.7 inches). It fits in perfectly. Because of the flexible clamp design, it should fit a range of different sized GPS units. I recommend it.
I love this GPS holder. It is easy to attach your GPS and sits on the dash easily. It stays where you put it. It has a sticky patch that is not permanent for additional hold. I am so glad to get rid of the suction cups that let loose whenever they felt like it!
Have used this product on a couple of trips with no problems. Spring is strong so inserting GPS (TT XXL) is a tad awkward but practice gets it done. One advantage to this holder is now you can insert a folded sheet of card stock between the GPS and the top lid to serve as a shade. I found that the dash mount (or others) where the sun hits the screen makes it difficult to see what's on it (why GPS vendors have ignored this is a puzzlement). By adding the shade, it makes it easier to view the screen contents. The other suction mounts or dash holders have nothing similar to allow mounting a shade. For the money, this unit works well.