Garmin Automotive Mount for Nuvi 660 (010-10823-02) by Garmin
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Digital camera reviews of Garmin Automotive Mount for Nuvi 660 (010-10823-02)
Digital camera Review: Decent mounting option for the Garmin 660
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been very happy with the stock windshield mount that came with my Garmin 660, paired with a Navgear ME201133 Universal Dashboard Mount for Portable GPS Units. However, I recently returned from a trip with the Garmin in my backpack and realized that I'd lost the connector that mounts onto the ball joint and holds the Garmin unit and its power supply. Some frustrating hours searching online revealed that the part I'd lost was the only part that could not be replaced separately, without purchasing another complete mount :(
This was the cheapest complete mount I could find, so getting it was a no-brainer. Though I had originally intended to just use the missing part, I ended up switching to this mount completely and no longer use the friction mount.
Pros:
1. Has both a permanent and a temporary adhesive pad. I'm using the 'temporary' pad though I've never moved the mount since I first set it up. Garmin's dire warning about the permanent pad being 'truly' permanent was sufficiently discouraging even for my 14-yr-old car.
2. Small overall form factor for a dash option, compared to using a friction base.
3. The ball-joint allows tilting and the mount base allows 360-deg rotation. That gives sufficient positions for most purposes. The rotation can also be locked, which is a neat feature.
4. Easy to remove just the GPS unit leaving the power cord attached to the mount (like any other Garmin mount). I love this about Garmin mounts, compared to other devices where you need to both remove the unit from the mount as well as unplug the power supply from the unit.
5. Most of the mount can be easily unlatched leaving just a small oval plastic base on the dash. This is cool, though there's no reason you'd want to do this since the ball joint arm is non-standard and useless without this plastic base.
Cons:
1. My biggest gripe is the inclusion of only one temporary adhesive pad, and the lack of options to get more pads if you need them. The mount is practically useless without the pad, so if your pad loses its adhesion (which wont take too long if you move the mount around), you're on your own. I imagine that you should be able to use 3M command strips, but its not going to be very pretty.
2. The plastic oval base that sticks to the dash using the adhesive pad is very rigid. Unless you have a perfectly flat dash, which is rather unlikely, only a part of the base is going to be sticking to the dash. Recommend ensuring proper adhesion at least at the rear part of the disk rather than the front, given the highly forward center of gravity for the mount-and-gps combination.
3. The mount tends to lean forward with the gps unit on it, if you don't attach the base firmly enough to the dash at the rear of the base. This could have been easily countered by either making the base heavier or by shaping the ball-joint arm to curve backwards before coming forward and thus bring the overall center of gravity closer to the center of gravity of the base.
4. The ball joint is a very tight fit for the receiver that latches onto the ball, significantly tighter than the one that came with my windshield mount. If anything, it should be smoother so that lesser strain is placed on the mount base from tilting the unit around the ball or removing the receiver from the ball. The tilting angles are also narrower than they could have been.
5. My initial preference was to attach the mount on a vertical face of my dash rather than on top of it (less conspicuous). But I soon realized this wouldn't work. No rotation or tilting orientation of the mount would have the unit viewable to the driver with the mount attached to a vertical plane in the car. I thought mounts were supposed to allow every imaginable orientation.
6. The rotation locking mechanism in the base uses a thin plastic lever that doesn't look very resilient. I use it very carefully (if at all) for fear of snapping it and ending up with a freely rotating mount arm.
7. Even in the locked position, the arm on my mount has about 2mm of free play, which can get very annoying when you're entering addresses into the unit.
Overall, though, its a decent dash mounting option for your primary vehicle, provided you stick it (very) firmly to the dash. My friction base has flown off my dash on occasion when cornering at higher speeds; this mount hasn't done that yet, and takes up much lesser dash real-estate.
Digital camera Review: Didn't stick
Summary: 2 Stars
I brought this to use my Nuvi in a second car. The mounting comes with two types of sticky pad. The first did not hold the mount firmly on the dash at all, it just flopped over after a few yards of driving. The second one comes with so many "health warnings" about it being non-removable (eg even when you see the car) that I dare not use try it. Pretty disappointing.Digital camera Review: Doesn't stick
Summary: 1 Stars
Both the temporary and the permanent adhesive failed to stick to the dash. I didn't want to use the permanent adhesive. But the temporary failed so miserably, I decided to use try the permanent. The good part - the dash does not have a mark or stain or any noticeable trace of adhesive.Digital camera Review: Easy to Use Mounting Device, Enhances Use
Summary: 5 Stars
This mount and the bean bag accessory is much easier to use than the windshield suction device that comes with the Nuvi. This was the prefered mounting system that came with former Garmin models. So I am glad that it is available for purchase,but I would have prefered to have that choice upon orginal purchase of the Nuvi.Digital camera Review: Excellent Item
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a permanent solution to fix your navigator in your car. This is good till the life of your car. I have tried all different kinds of mounts but it all failed. This one can be fixed temporarily or permanently on your dashboard. Infact purchased a second one for my other car. Great item. Must buy!