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Like many car drivers, I prefer to listen to my favourite music when travelling along on my various trips whether or the short or more lengthy variety.  As the output from my car radio rarely features those artists I like to listen to and switching CDs can be tricky at times especially when heavy traffic is around, I really needed some other method of providing the music to accompany my driving.  My chosen solution is to make use of the music I have stored on a smartphone that is only used for this music playing purpose as it does not even have its own SIM card.  The music is streamed via Bluetooth to my in-car speakers.

With the problem solved of proving the appropriate music sorted, I needed some method of making sure that the smartphone was secure and to make sure it did not become detached during a journey.  It was also important that whatever method was chosen to secure the phone, it allowed me to easily detach the smartphone when leaving the car to avoid its presence tempting somebody to break into the car.  PNY has come up with a possible solution of how to secure a smartphone with its Magnet Car Vent Mount offering which is rated at being capable of holding a smartphone at up to 300g.

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As the product’s title might indicate, this piece of kit makes use of the car’s ventilation system and features a magnet element.  The kit actually consists of the plastic holder element and stick-on magnetic pads that are meant to come together as a means of securing the smartphone.

Lets deal with the magnetic element first.  Included in the pack are two sticky pads.  One of the pads is circular in shape with a diameter of 4cm while the second pad is a rectangular shape with rounded corners.  This rectangular pad has dimensions of 6.5 x 4.5cm.  In both cases the magnetic elements are paper thin and have an adhesive surface on one side of the pad.  Which ever of these two magnet elements you select, depending upon the size and the available space on the rear of the smartphone, you can attach it to the smartphone handset.

With the smartphone handset prepared for use, the next stage involves the setting of the holder element.  This is a piece of plastic that is 7.5cm in length.  It consists of a clamp, two screw type adjusters and a circular plate onto which the magnet on the smartphone can attach itself.

Setting up this piece of kit starts as you slide the pairs of arms making up the clamp into one of the interior car vent openings.  When the clam is in position, you can adjust the gap between its arms, using a propeller style screw mechanism so that it is securely fix to the vent.  The second screw is of the wheel type and this controls the ball and socket feature with which the front part of the holder is attached to the rear segment.  Setting up the holder element was a little on the fiddly side.

Using this wheel screw you can adjust the angle at which the circular plate, with its rubberised jacket, sits so that the smartphone’s screen is clearly visible.  In this position the smartphone can be viewed and used without any need of any hands on intervention.

While the smartphone is held securely in position with the car in motion, it was a straightforward process to remove the smartphone from its mounting when exiting the car.  It was also a simple matter to transfer the kit to another car if the need ever arose.  Supplied with a 2-year warranty, PNY has priced the magnet car vent mount at £9.99, making this product almost an impulse or possibly a stocking filling Christmas present.

http://pny.eu/consumer/explore-all-products/mobile-accessories/618-magnet-car-vent-mount