Customer Reviews

RAM Mounting Systems RAP-SB-178-300U Flex Stick On Base with Magnetic Holder for Cell Phones

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I decided to try out this mount after reading a few good reviews, and I had very high hopes. My Honda Element makes it a little tricky for me to mount my phone; given that previous reviewers noted that the adhesive on this mount worked well, I thought I'd give it a shot.

The construction is solid, although it's a bit difficult to put together. Make sure you have a set of needle-nose pliers and a solid screwdriver before ordering. Once put together, however, the mount is quite sturdy. Furthermore, the magnets are, indeed, incredibly powerful, so you probably should not worry about your phone slipping its moorings.

The downside for me was attempting to install it in my Element. For those unaware, this car doesn't really have many "smooth" surfaces. Everything is textured in one way or another, which makes car adhesives go apoplectic. Thus, I didn't think it unusual that the adhesive on this mount didn't stick. What surprised me is that the super-tacky double-sided tape I have didn't work any better. Granted, the 1,000 degree August heat in Texas was likely a factor, but it's held in other applications.

Ultimately, I just couldn't use the mount. However, I decided to give it three stars because of its construction -- and because other users may find this the perfect addition to their cars. If you have a smooth, flat surface, you may just love it.

I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised by this little (and inexpensive) device. It does what it says it does! The magnet is plenty strong enough to hold my Blackberry Curve 8330 without any slippage or concern even under hard acceleration and braking. If you have a large battery in your device, or a magnetic casing, it may stick directly to the mount without the aid of the included metal plate, of which the kit contains two. One large, flexible rectangle, and one small circle. Both of which attract a surprising amount of magnetic force. The circle is all I needed to affix my blackberry curve to the mount, and I placed the circle on the back of my blackberry UNDERNEATH my plastic Seidio Super Slim Hard Case for BlackBerry 8300/8310/8320 Curve (Rubberized) case and it still held fast. As far as affixing the actual mount to the dashboard, again, I found the included double sided adhesive to do the trick. The ball joint provides a nice amount of articulation as well. One more thing to note. It is hard to tell in the picture, but the surface that you actually place your device on (the magnetic area) is actually a HARD RUBBER, NOT PLASTIC, which I found to be very nice, because you do not have to worry about scratching your device. Similarly, as the title of the mount suggests, the base (which you will stick to your dash, etc) is FLEXIBLE, so it is not a problem to stick it to a rounded surface. For the price amazon has it on, I wouldn't hesitate to pick this up again... One in every vehicle, one for every device.

This mount is perfect for my Motorola Droid. There are data ports and buttons around the edge of the phone, making any "clip in" type of mount cumbersome at best to get to them. This mount went on in seconds in my Dodge Magnum with the supplied adhesive tape.

To describe the mounting system a little better, you have to mount a metal plate on the back of your phone in order for it to stick to the base. You can't just stick your phone to it unless it has a metal case. My Droid is nice and flat, so that was not an issue. The larger rectangle plate supplied with the mount adds about a couple of ounces to the weight of the phone, but that was not an issue to me. If your phone is curved like the iPhone, you may have to use the smaller round metal plate that comes with it. That should not be an issue because with the larger plate, before I mounted it in my car, I could hold the base of the mount with my phone attached and shake it violently without the phone coming off. There is a two-piece portion of the mount's base, and you can separate the flat mounting portion from it and use screws to mount the base instead of double sided tape if you have something more rugged in mind like your metal dash on an old Jeep while Rock Climbing or something. The top mount surface is nice soft rubberized plastic, and will not scratch your phone.

With the Motorola Droid, when you put the phone onto the mount, the phone recognizes that you have done so, and switches it to multimedia mode, displaying a large clock, and gives you buttons for music and such. I connect my stereo's USB port to this, and it charges, as well as finds my music that's on my droid when I have Auto Mount app enabled. When using the navigation or phone with the touch screen, the phone does not slide around in the mount.

I am very happy with this mount.

Hands down this is the best way to mount a cell phone in a car. I agree with the other poster, that additional metal plates should be included...different sizes as well. I have gone through 3 cell phones, each time I remove the metal plate and use new double-sided tape to attach the plate to my newer phone. The plate is all beat up, but it still works great. The plate does not go well with the beautiful phones being produced, but when a product works this well, I do not care about what the plate looks like. I screwed my base to a hard plastic area in my headliner. It has never come off, and it looks cool having the phone just above head height, and over the center console.

I'm giving it a 4 because for the price RAM should include more metal plates of different sizes/thickness.

I needed a thinner one than the actual shipped with this product. But after I reduced it's size this baby works fine with my HTC Touch Pro.

I'll find a thinner plate anyway because the battery cover fits too tight.

The magnet is really strong, so it holds the cellphone very well once attached.

Only a movement extremely strong will take the device out of position and maybe let it fall down. This holder isn't meant for off-road use. That's for sure.

Other than that, this is a great idea to place your phone in the dashboard.

Actually the main holder is compatible with most RAM frames, so it also works with the "twist lock" suction cup holder I use for my Garmin 276c GPS (I have this RAP-B-104-224U but this other also works RAM-B-166U). I prefer that way because don't like the idea of sticking something permanently on the dashboard.

The cellphone looks handy in the windshield with the suction cup, and i can remove the holder at any time ;)

The product was not what I ordered, but seller was helpful with the return process. I am still however without the gift I wanted. There was no magnetic holder when I received the product. This made it useless and when I contacted the seller, was told that there were no more magnetic parts and he did not have the full product anymore even though it was still advertised for sale.

I ordered the RAM Mounting System model RAP-SB-178-300U which is a flex stick on base with magnetic holder. What I received was everything except the magnetic holder. The part number on the package was RAP-SB-178. I called customer service for GizmosForLife and they checked their inventory and they do not carry the RAP-SB-178-300U so they are issuing an RMA and making it right. They will take the product back and refund my credit card along with the shipping charges for the return. They get an A+ for customer service as everything was resolved in a matter of hours. They get an A+ for prompt shipping. They get a D for advertising the wrong product. They have since taken the product off their website so no one else should encounter this problem. Would I buy from them again...yes.