AAAARGH!!! Integrated GPS + Speaker Mounts...

[FactionOne]

First of all, Hi everyone! I'm a refugee from a few motoring boards scattered around teh intarweb who's been reading the reviews and forums on the site for a while now (it's always been a fantastic resource - good work folks!)...

I'm a bit stuck at the moment; I need your help! Some background...

I've been using a HTC BlueAngel variant (Orange M2000) for my navigation needs for a while now (it's been retired from all use except for Sat Nav); and I'm running TomTom Navigator 5; with my New Road Angel as the GPS receiver.

In performance terms, I've found this setup to be more than good enough to meet my needs; but it's always been a bit sloppy to have in the car. I've had two different (both regretably cheap though) powered-speaker mounts for the PDA; and cablesets to allow each mount to be hooked-up to the New RA. The first was by Silver Shield and the latter a HC-300 from GPSForLess. Neither of them were perticularly good for the job.

I want to sort the setup out 'once and for all' now; I'm open to suggestion for everything after the PDA and TomTom. I'm probably not going to have a Road Angel type unit with NMEA-out for much longer either.

I've been looking into powered speaker mounts with integrated GPS as these seem to be the cleanest and simplest solution. I've mainly looked into the three reviewed on this site (GlobalSat, Holux and ThinkNavi). I'm not sure if there are any more which are suitable for my PDA I should be considering (Haicom or similar perhaps?).

I want the mount to be pretty well put together (I've learned my lesson about the cheaply-built ones now); and tidiness is a big consideration too.

I suppose the two tidiest-looking mounts are the Holux and ThinkNavi units, with the GlobalSat looking a bit more clumsy IMHO. I do like the ext. antenna port on the GlobalSat unit though; but it's not a particular requirement for me.

The decision gets a bit more tricky at the next stage though; as mounting the cradle looks to be a bit of a minefield...

I'd quite like to be able to mount the cradle on a Brodit ProClip, preferably with a Tilt & Swivel mount near the vents at the top of my centre console (pretty much as in the ThinkNavi review HERE) - obviously that's pretty easy to do for the ThinkNavi mount (with the help of about £20-£30); and I believe it's possible to 'bodge' something to attach the Holux CR-100 to a ProClip too (I've even found a couple of continental suppliers offering off-the-peg adapter plates).

I'd also like to view the PDA in Landscape-orientation, not only because I prefer TomTom this way, but also because I often have a passenger who's kept quiet by movies onn the PDA (sound in this case is transferred to the car stereo though; the speaker on the mount only needs to be good and loud for TomTom instructions!).

Obiviously the Holux cradle is the king for Landscape-orientation, but would you guys say that the ThinkNavi cradle is totally unsuitable for navigation in Landscape?

And my next question is; lets assume I could get all the cradles to the same stage in terms of having a ProClip fitted... Could a Tilt & Swivel of some type rotate around far enough (ie. a full 90 degrees) to facilitate Landscape-orientation, and if not, is there perhaps another way I could 'Landscape with ProClip'? (Are the four screw-holes on the plates equally-spaced? if so perhaps I could just attach the mount to the clip at 90 degrees and have permanent-Landcape?).

Also, might this wish for Landscape and ProClip bring the GlobalSat back into the running somehow?

I am of course open to other hardware suggestions that would:

1) Power/Charge the PDA (and maybe any additional GPS receiver)
2) Provide an Amplified Speaker of reasonable volume and quality (doesn't have to play music/movies though!)
3) Be landscape-mountable, preferably on a ProClip.
4) Be generally tidy/well built.

...But for the sheer simplicity of them, I'd prefer to use an 'all-in-one' mount as above if possible.

Any theories, suggestions and advice are gratefully received!

Thanks sincerely in advance and regards,

Rob.

[northerngent]

I am awaiting delivery of a thinknavi cradle (hopefully very soon) and will let you know what i think of it.
Going by my research(fairly limited) the Thinknavi LOOKS the neatest, but I suppose the acid test is when it arrives.

Will keep you in touch.

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