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MOBILE EXTRAS
INTRO
Here’s some more interesting and unusual accessories,
add-ons and gadgets for mobile phone users
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Hama MobilSafe Dashboard Holder, £40
You may recall that we looked at Hama’s
MobilSafe talk and charge power adaptor back in the October issue. We said at
the time that it was a good idea, and we liked the mounting bracket, but at
£120 we felt it was a touch expensive. Now however, you can get the mounting
bracket on its own, for only £40
The bracket comes in two parts, a holder that
slips around the phone, and the actual mounting bracket. The bracket bolts to
the car’s dashboard, it comes supplied with a fixing kit and mounting
instructions. When not in use the phone clips on to a pair of moulded hooks on
the bracket, and locks into place. The phone can only be released by pressing a
button on the side, which is a useful security feature, and prevents it from
being snatched.
As we noted in the earlier review, the
release button is on the right side of the bracket. It has clearly been
designed for left-hand drive cars, which makes it a little awkward to use in
this country, at least until you get used to it. Hama tell us they’ve asked
their German factory to design a right-hand drive version but so far without
success. It’s sturdily built, easy to fit and a whole lot safer than leaving
your phone on the dashboard or seat. If you want to use it with a car cord -- they
cost around £30 -- you could actually save yourself a few bob.
THE FACTS
Typical price: £40
Features: car cradle with quick release
handset lock
To fit: Nokia 2110, Motorola 8200, Flare
6200, Ericsson EH337, Sony CMD200 and CMDX1000.
Telephone: Hama UK (01256) 708110
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 85%
ORA Coloured Cases
Ora have added a welcome dash of colour to
their extensive range of cellphone cases. Three colours are available, green,
tan brown and blue (as well as original black) and they’re all made from a soft,
supple leather. The sides are elasticated, to accommodate phones fitted with
larger, high capacity battery packs. On the front there’s a clear see-through
panel for the display and on the back there’s a spring steel belt clip and
detachable wrist strap. The current range covers the most popular phones, with
more to follow. The samples we’ve seen are a good, snug fit, holes and openings
for buttons, sockets and earpieces are all in the right places. The quality of
manufacture and finish are both very good, no loose ends or wonky seams, but
best of all is the price. Until now coloured cases have cost significantly more
than plain black ones, Ora have pitched theirs at the budget end of the market and
should be selling for between £15 to £20.
THE FACTS
Typical price: £15 to £20
Features: coloured leather case, elasticated
sides, Velcro fastening, spring-steel belt hook, detachable wrist strap
Colours available: green, blue and brown
To fit: Nokia 2110/2140, Ericsson EH237/GH337/PH337,
Motorola Micro Tac series, Orange MR1/ Mercury One-2-One M300/M301
Telephone
(01296) 415445
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 95%
Dashmount Carphone Bracket, £20 or less
Having a carphone or hands-free kit fitted to
your car usually involves drilling several holes in the dashboard or
centre-console for the mounting bracket. That’s not a problem, until you sell
or exchange the car. When the phone mount is removed the mounting holes will be
exposed. Apart from spoiling the look of the fascia it could have a detrimental
effect on the car’s resale value.
The Dashmount Carphone bracket is designed to
overcome that problem, by using the car’s existing dashboard or console fixings.
Dashmount was developed in Norway, where it is also manufactured. To date the
company have designed over 300 different types of bracket, to fit most popular
makes of car, van and truck. Each bracket comes with specific mounting
instructions, which take into account important safety considerations, such as
the location of wiring and airbags, moreover the brackets conform to the strict
Scandinavian safety regulations, which amongst other things states that the
phone must be located within the drivers field of vision.
The brackets are manufactured from spring
steel and are pre-drilled, to fit most types of cradle and holder. As an added
bonus the bracket is often quicker and easier to fit than conventional bolt-on
mounts, though this will vary according to the make of vehicle involved. Definitely
worth considering if you’re having a phone fitted to your car, particularly if
you’re concerned about its appearance and resale value.
THE FACTS
Typical price: £20 or less
Features: ‘no-hole’ carphone/hands-free kit
mounting bracket
To fit: over 300 different cars, vans and
trucks
Telephone Connoisseur Products, 0181 948 0067
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 90%
Autopult Mobile Desk, £44
The concept of a mobile office is all very
well, but if the office happens to be inside your car, then you will be only
too aware that desk-space is somewhat limited, not to say non-existent in most
models. The Autopult Mobile Desk might be one solution. It hangs on to the top
of the steering wheel and folds out to form a flat and reasonably stable
platform, approximately 230 x 250mm. That’s large enough for a laptop computer,
your dinner or anything else you care to put on it. It has been quite well
thought out; there’s a gripper for papers
and documents on the back board, and moulded indents on the ‘desk’ for pens and
a beverage cup. It is made from grey-coloured heavy-duty ABS plastic and it
feels pretty strong, it certainly had no trouble with the heavy notebook PC we plonked
on it.
Unfortunately the position of the shelf is
not adjustable and on some cars this could mean the keyboard sits at an
uncomfortable height or angle; taller (and fatter) people might find the desk
sticks into their stomach, it has clearly been designed for a notional average
vehicle and user. The manufacturer also seems to think their customers are
incredibly stupid, there’s no less than three warning notices moulded into the
plastic, pointing out that the desk should not be used when driving... It’s a
good idea but a bit pricely for what it is. Make sure you try it first though,
firstly to make sure it fits securely on the wheel of your car, and if you do
use it with a PC, that it’s at a comfortable height and angle.
THE FACTS
Typical price: £44
Features: folds flat for easy storage, document
holder, recesses for pens and a drinks cup
Weight: 1.1kg
Telephone: SIS UK, (01793) 480808
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 68%
Magellan GPS 2000, £200
It’s probably not something most people
living in this country need to think about very often, but sometimes it can be
very useful to know precisely where you are, where you’ve been, and how to get
to where you’re going. For some people that kind of information is vital, it
could even be a matter of life or death for hill-walkers, mountaineers, boating
enthusiasts, in fact anyone involved in a wide range of outdoor activities.
An experienced map-reader with a compass and
an Ordinance Survey map could probably plot their position to with a few metres,
but it would take time, and ultimately depend on visible landmarks. But what
happens when it gets dark, or visibility is poor, or you’re not in the UK and
you don’t have a map? A few years ago the US Department of Defense (DoD) sought
to address this very problem. They developed a military navigation system
called GPS or the Global Positioning System, that uses a series of satellites into
a low Earth orbit. Each satellite transmits encrypted timing signals which,
when picked up on a specially designed receivers, are used to give a precise 3D
fix showing both position and elevation. The satellites actually broadcast two
sets of signals: PPS codes that are intended for the military, and the SPS
(standard positioning service) codes, which are for civilian use.
That brings us to the Magellan GPS 2000, a
small hand-held GPS receiver, no larger than a typical mobile phone. It can
tell you where you are on or above the planet, day or night, to within 25
metres or less. In fact accuracy could be a lot better but the DoD deliberately
introduce errors into the SPS codes, to maintain the military advantage. Civilian
GPS receivers have been around for a few years, but what makes the GPS 2000 special
is the price, and compact size. Military spec receivers cost several thousand
dollars apiece (not that you could buy one); the GPS 2000 sells for less than
£200. Okay, so it’s not as accurate, but then most people won’t be using it for
directing artillery shells or bomb aiming, and what’s a few metres here or
there when you’re really lost?
The GPS 2000 does a lot more than just show
you where you are, though. Every ten minutes it automatically stores the
current position in its memory, fixes or ‘landmarks’ can also be stored manually,
building up a record of the route followed. This can be displayed visually, as
data, or as a series of plots. It gets better. If you want to return to a
specified landmark the GPS2000 will show you the bearing and direction you need
to take, along with a Course Deviation Indicator (CDI) that graphically shows how
far you are deviating from the ideal route. It also shows the time, true or
magnetic north, even the position and status of the GPS satellites.
By now you’re probably wondering what possible
relevance this device could have to cellphone users? Many people engaged in
outdoor activities take their mobile phones along with them, in the belief that
if they get lost, they can easily summon help. Unfortunately, the places you’re
most likely to get lost in are the least densely populated and liable to have very
poor cellular coverage, if at all. In such a situation a cellphone will do you no
good, whereas the GPS2000 will be able to show you the way home, wherever you happen
to be.
THE FACTS
Typical price: £200
Features: Global Positioning Service
receiver, showing precise longitude, latitude, elevation and time, 100-landmark
memory, route display, backtrack, satellite position, course deviation
indicator, position plotter display
Telephone: Next Destination Ltd., (01722)
410800
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 90%
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Ó R. Maybury 1995 1511
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