Dave Cortright: October 2009 Archives

I recently upgrade my car to support my iPhone-centered mobile life. I upgraded my speakers and got a new head unit with an iPod jack. I needed to get a dashboard mount for my phone as well, to make it easier to use it for music and navigation. After doing all the research, ProClip came out on top.

ProClip is not cheap. Mine cost about $70. But the extra money is worth it for a hold that was designed to exactly fit both your car and your mobile device.

They do this with a modular system. You buy two pieces: one for your car (make, model, and year), and another for your phone. This also enables you to upgrade your mount if you get a new car or new phone.

I looked at generic dashboard mounts that used sandbags, suction cups, and the like. The reviews were always mixed, the devices were all big and clunky, and more often than not, they obscured some part of the windshield.

I love my ProClip. It is practically invisible, and is mounted over a vent placing it in a perfect location just to the right of the steering wheel at the top of the dash.

Get a ProClip mobile phone holder

I recently outgrew my old external hard drive and needed to get a bigger one. While there are plenty of deals out there on external hard drives—including ones that cost $100 or less—I opted for a higher quality option.

ConsumerSearch.com gave La Cie's d2 Quadra the nod. It's highly rated by both reviewers and owners. But more importantly, it has fewer negative reviews than most. The company has a good history of reliability, the drives quiet (no fan!), and they have USB, eSATA, and FireWire connectors.

I went for the 1TB capacity (which I think is the best value right now), but they come in ½TB, 1½TB and 2TB capacities as well.

Get a La Cie d2 Quadra1TB  from Amazon

It was a toss-up between Microsoft's Zune HD and Apple's iPod Touch. And for a pure, stand-alone music/media player, I would probably go with the Zune. But why settle for that when you can get a really nice media player in the iPod Touch, that also doubles as a portable computer? You can check your email, browse the web, play games, and even stream music from services like Pandora and Last.FM. Granted, you have to be connected to wifi to do many of these things, but wifi is widely available.

Or, get a Novatel MiFi modem, and for a monthly service fee, you can have internet access anywhere cell phone service is available.

Get an iPod Touch from Amazon