Bunjees seen in the wild at Gadget Show Live 2011

According to the Bunjee website, there were over 1 million claims on mobile phone insurance over the past year, only 11% of which were due to theft.  Accidentally damage is a much larger reason for claim, at a whacking great 60%, and most of the circumstances of damage are avoidable.

Here are the top reasons for claims:

1. It fell out of my pocket
2. I dropped it on the floor
3. I dropped it down the loo
4. I left it in a bar/ restaurant/ taxi

They’re certainly pretty familiar to me; I’ve been guilty of numbers 1, 2 and 4 at various points of my life, although thankfully not to disastrous effect! At least… not yet (gulp).

Side-note: If you’re the type of person who suffers from number 3, you might want to grab a packet or two of the Dry-All Wet Mobile Phone Repair Kit.

The Bunjee is a handy accessory that fits around your phone and then clips onto your person with a boingy lead.  It can be clipped wherever – jacket, trouser pocket or bag – and if your phone falls out or is dropped at any point, the Bunjee will stop it from getting lost or hitting the ground at speed.  It’s basically like those mittens-on-strings that you get for children, but much cooler, and with a built-in shock absorber.

You can watch their video below:

It looks like a great idea for accident-prone kids and adults alike, and comes in a range of cool colours to appeal to different markets.

No word yet on whether a similar type of Bunjee providing iPad 2 protection is on its way; if that’s the sort of thing you want then you might be better off with the iBalls Shock Absorbing Harness, which is available now over on the iPad 2 accessories category of our main website.

The TomTom Car Kit is still one of our best selling iPhone Car Holders even though it doesn’t fit the iPhone 4 very well. We’re constantly being asked when an updated version would be out for iPhone 4, and until now we’ve been kept in the dark.

Free TomTom Car Kit Adapter for iPhone 4

Thankfully though, TomTom have announced that as of last Friday, anyone who purchased the TomTom Car Kit that has now upgraded their phone to an iPhone 4, can now get a free adapter that will allow you to use your shiny new iPhone with your existing kit.

All you need to do is find the serial number that’s printed on the back of your car kit (under the barcode), complete a short form on the TomTom website and then sit and wait patiently for it to be delivered!

When iPhone 4 came out, we were all looking forward to using Sat Nav on it – mainly because of the faster processor and the ability to leave your Sat Nav running in the background while you take calls or read a text message. You can imagine our disappointment when we realised that the TomTom holder doesn’t work with iPhone 4.

When I say it doesn’t work, that’s not strictly true, it will work, but it doesn’t fit the holder very well and it’s likely to fall out. If you’re willing to pay that much for an in car solution, you’re going to want one that holds your phone securely.

It’s probably only a matter of time until an updated version comes out that supports iPhone 4 and the upcoming 4th generation iPod touch, but until then there are a number of alternatives that you should consider.

I’ve already covered Sat Nav Apps & iPhone Car Docks for iPhone 3G/3GS, but thought I’d take another look at what’s available and review the options to the TomTom kit. I’ve tried a number of different set ups to try and find ones that match the features of the TomTom kit as closely as possible. The results turned out to be very similar to those for the 3GS, but some of the pricing and features have changed.

Just as a reminder, the main features of the TomTom Car Cradle are:

• Charges your iPhone
• Ability to play your music through your car stereo using 3.5mm line in
• Built in speaker for handsfree calling
• GPS Enhancer
• Volume controls
• Price for Software & Cradle £149.99

In most cases, every feature could be matched, with the exception of the added GPS support, but having said that, the antenna has been improved on iPhone 4 and I’m not convinced that it’s all that necessary.

I’m also basing this on the next version of the iOS software – version 4.1 as it has full support for AVRCP, the bluetooth profile that allows you to control your music using a third party device, such as headsets, speakers and car kits.

Option 1 – Jabra Cruiser

• CoPilot Live UK & Ireland £19.99
• Jabra Cruiser £69.95
• iPhone 4 Car Pack £18.47
• Total Cost £108.41

It’s not all in one like the TomTom, but this set up will save you over £40! CoPilot Live is a great alternative to TomTom. The software has been updated for iPhone 4 and now supports the Retina Display and Multitasking. Extras like Traffic and Text-To-Speech are available via in app purchase.

The iPhone 4 Car Pack includes a secure, rotating windscreen holder for your iPhone 4 and a car charger. If you’ve already tried using GPS on the iPhone in your car, you’ll know necessary a  car charger is. Having the screen on permanently and locking on to a GPS signal drains the battery quite quickly.

The Jabra Cruiser is one of the best portable car kits available. It has a built in FM transmitter that can stream music, calls and directions from your iPhone 4 through to your car stereo using Bluetooth. It has music controls that allow you to play/pause/track skip without having to touch your phone.

Use the Car Pack and Jabra Cruiser to get the most out of CoPilot Live

Option 2 – Venturi Mini

• Navigon MobileNavigator British Isles £19.99 (iTunes Link)
• Venturi Mini £56.47
• iPhone 4 Car Pack £18.47
• Total Cost £94.93

Navigon was the first Sat Nav app for the iPhone, and has recently had a number of new features added and a price cut. The iPhone Car Pack includes a robust, adjustable holder that can hold your iPhone in almost any position as well as a car charger to keep your phone fully charged.

The Venturi Mini is a Bluetooth car kit that is designed to fit in your cigarette lighter permanently. You can charge your iPhone 4 by plugging your USB cable in to the USB port on the side of the Venturi. The Venturi works in a similar way to the Jabra Cruiser.  It connects to your phone using Bluetooth and will then stream your music, calls and sat nav directions through to your car stereo using its built in FM transmitter. If your car stereo has a line in/aux in connection, you can connect the Venturi to it using a 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable (the same as the TomTom Cradle). This will give  a more reliable connection to your stereo, but means you’ll have wires trailing across your dashboard.

Unlike the Cruiser, the Venturi doesn’t have track skip buttons, so you’ll only be able to play/pause your music.

Navigon on iPhone 4 with the Venturi Mini

Option 3 – Parrot MKi9000 Fitted Car Kit

• CoPilot Live UK & Ireland £19.99 (iTunes Link)
• Brodit Holder with Dock Connector £49.99
• Parrot MKi9000 Bluetooth Car Kit £99.95
• Total Cost £169.93

This set up isn’t so much about saving money compared to the TomTom kit, more a case of showing you how much more you could get for the same sort of price. Without doubt, you’ll always get better audio quality using a fully fitted car kit than you would with a portable one. The Parrot MKi range of car kits have been designed with iPods and iPhones in mind and they work almost seamlessly.

The MKi9000 kit is fitted behind your dashboard and is completely out of sight.  There is a multi connector cable that has a USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack and an Apple Dock connector. This cable connects your iPhone to the car kit and will route call audio, music and directions through your car stereo at the same time as charging it. The Brodit holder that I’ve suggested here has a dock connector on the bottom too, so you can connect this cable to it, then whenever you slide your phone into the holder it will connect to the car kit without you needing to mess around with cables or plug anything in.

Co-Pilot works extremely well with the Parrot Mki9000

If you’d rather not use cables, then you can use the kit over a bluetooth connection and get the same functionality from it. A small remote can be attached to your dashboard or steering wheel and can be used to answer/end calls as well as play/pause/track skip and activate voice dialling.

On the subject of voice dialling, it’s actually a feature of the MKi9000 rather than the phone and will work with all models of iPhone. The only downside is that there isn’t a way to activate voice commands on iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS. The prices shown here don’t include installation and vehicles without an ISO stereo may need additional cables.

Summary

All three of these solutions work great with iPhone 4 and any of the available Sat Nav applications available for the iPhone. To give you a clear idea on the differences between the TomTom Kit and the other options mentioned here, I’ve put a chart together to show the main differences.

Personally I’d opt for either the Jabra Cruiser or the Parrot MKi9000.

Features	TomTom Cradle	Jabra Cruiser	Venturi Mini	Parrot MKi
Charges iPhone
Plays Music through Stereo
Hands Free Calling
GPS Enhancer
Volume Controls
Music Control – Track Skip
Holds phone in Landscape
Music Controls
External Microphone	Optional

All Prices correct as of 20/08/2010 and are subject to change.

Thankfully though there is now another option – the BioLogic Bike Mount for iPhone and iPod touch. The BioLogic Bike Mount for iPhone lets you attach your device to your the handlebars of your bike so you can track your GPS position, your speed, or distance travelled, while you ride using any one of a number of apps available in the App Store.

Dahon BioLogic Bike Mount for iPhone

The BioLogic Bike Mount is a weatherproof case with a built in,  touch sensitive membrane that protects your iPhone or iPod touch from the weather and lets you continue to use your phone. For added shock resistance, the inside of the case is lined with silicon.

One of the great things about the Bike Mount pivots so you can use your iPhone or iPod Touch in portrait or landscape mode. The camera lens has a protective membrane over the opening so you can continue to take video or pictures while you ride.

The BioLogic Bike Mount is available to Pre-order now. For more information, take a look at the video below and head over to the BioLogic Bike Mount for iPhone product page.

iPhone 3G Car Pack

The Car Pack is made up of 3 items – a suction mount, a cradle for your iPhone and a car charger and putting it together takes just a few seconds.

Mouting it on your windscreen is quick and easy too. The suction mount is solid and unlike some cheap suction holders, doesn’t need to be moistened to stick to the windscreen and once it’s attached the only way to remove it is to release the clamp. The clamp itself is a lot easier to use than you’d expect too.  Normally, suction mounts have a small plastic lever that doesn’t seem to move very much and as a result it doesn’t create much suction to hold the cradle in place – that’s not the case with the Car Pack though, the level moves a considerable amount, which provides plenty of suction to keep your holder in place.

Once it’s attached to the windscreen, you’ll need to adjust the angle of the holder to suit your driving position. This is done easily enough as the cradle can be adjusted in 3 ways. Depending on which way up you’ve attached it to the windscreen, you can adjust it up/down, left/right and the cradle can rotate through 360°. While it’s easy enough to adjust, it’s not really something that you can do once you’ve started driving, so I’d make sure that you’re happy with the position before you set off – the reason I say that is the up/down and left/right joints are locked in place and to adjust them you need to press a button and then rotate it – something that really needs two hands.

The Cradle that you slide your phone does a great job too.  You slide your phone in from the top, and once inserted, a spring loaded clip moves into place to prevent the phone from falling out – (more useful for when the phone is being used in landscape mode).

Overall it’s a great holder. I’ve tried many different car holders over the years, but can happily say the iPhone Car Pack is one of the most solid I’ve ever used.  The locking arm means that once set, it’s not going to keep moving around or start to drop every time you go over a bump in the road.

My rating: 9/10

Now, don’t get me wrong, TomTom do make great Sat Nav systems, but I’m really not convinced that their iPhone offering is really worth the £160 that they’re asking for it. The car cradle is a clever bit of kit, but there are other devices out there that will do the same thing. The main features of the TomTom Car Cradle are:

• Charges your iPhone
• Ability to play your music through your car stereo
• Built in speaker for handsfree calling
• GPS Enhancer
• Volume controls

I’ve spent a bit of time this week searching out the best alternatives to the pricey TomTom set up and here’s what I found:

Option 1 – Jabra SP700

• CoPilot Live UK & Ireland £25.99 (iTunes Link)
• Jabra SP700 £38.53
• Sat Nav Starter Pack £14.95
• Total Cost £79.47

It’s not all in one like the TomTom, but this set up is less than half the price! CoPilot Live is a great alternative to TomTom. The software has been around for years on Windows Mobile devices and is the pre-installed mapping application on most T-Mobile and O2 smartphones. Feature wise it does everything that TomTom does, but for a lot less money. It’s currently rated as a 4 star app on the iTunes App store, compared to 3 stars for the TomTom app.  The Sat Nav starter pack for iPhone includes a compact, rotating windscreen holder for your iPhone and a car charger. If you’ve already tried using GPS on the iPhone in your car, you’ll know necessary a  car charger is. Having the screen on permanently and locking on to a GPS signal drains the battery quite quickly. The Jabra SP700 is much more than just a standard Bluetooth speaker phone. It has a built in FM transmitter that can stream music, calls and directions from your iPhone through to your car stereo using Bluetooth.

Use the Sat Nav Starter Pack and Jabra SP700 to get the most out of CoPilot Live

Option 2 – Venturi Mini

• Navigon MobileNavigator British Isles £37.99 -£54.99 (iTunes Link)
• Venturi Mini £54.95
• iPhone Car Pack £17.95
• Total Cost £110.89 – £127.89

Navigon was the first Sat Nav app for the iPhone, and its relatively low price made it incredibly popular. On iTunes it’s currently rated as a 3 and a half star app, so better than TomTom, but not quite as high as CoPilot Live. The iPhone Car Pack includes a robust, adjustable holder that can hold your iPhone in almost any position as well as a car charger to keep your phone fully charged. The Venturi Mini is a Bluetooth car kit that is designed to fit in your cigarette lighter permanently. To charge your iPhone, you just need to connect your existing iPhone USB cable to the USB port on the side of the Venturi. The Venturi works in a similar way to the Jabra SP700.  It connects to your phone using Bluetooth and will then stream your music, calls and sat nav directions through to your car stereo using its built in FM transmitter. If your car stereo has a line in/aux in connection, you can connect the Venturi to it using a 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable (the same as the TomTom Cradle).

Venturi Mini & iPhone Car Pack

Option 3 – Parrot MKi9000 Fully Fitted Kit

• CoPilot Live UK & Ireland £25.99 (iTunes Link)
• Brodit Holder with Dock Connector £39.99
• Parrot MKi9000 Bluetooth Car Kit £89.95
• Total Cost £155.93

This set up isn’t so much about saving money compared to the TomTom kit, more a case of showing you how much more you could get for the same sort of price. Without doubt, you’ll always get better audio quality using a fully fitted car kit than you would with a portable one. The Parrot MKi range of car kits have been designed with iPods and iPhones in mind and they work almost seamlessly. The MKi9000 kit is fitted behind your dashboard and is completely out of sight.  There is a multi connector cable that has a USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack and an Apple Dock connector. This cable connects your iPhone to the car kit and will route call audio, music and directions through your car stereo at the same time as charging it. The Brodit holder that I’ve suggested here has a dock connector on the bottom too, so you can connect this cable to it, then whenever you slide your phone into the holder it will connect to the car kit without having to mess around with cables. If you’d rather not use cables, then you can use the kit over a bluetooth connection and get the same functionality from it. A small remote can be attached to your dashboard or steering wheel and can be used to answer/end calls as well as play/ pause music and activate voice dialling (Voice dialling is feature of the MKi9000 and will work with all models of iPhone). The prices shown here don’t include installation and vehicles without an ISO stereo may need additional cables.

Co-Pilot works well with the Parrot Mki9000

All three of these solutions work great with the iPhone and any of the available Sat Nav applications available for the iPhone, including the TomTom App.  You’ll find more information on each of the Sat Nav Apps on the App Store within iTunes or on your iPhone. To give you a clear idea on the differences between the TomTom Kit and the other options mentioned here, I’ve put a chart together to show the main differences.

Features	TomTom Cradle	Jabra SP700	Venturi Mini	Parrot MKi
Charges iPhone
Plays Music through Stereo
Hands Free Calling
GPS Enhancer
Volume Controls
Holds phone in Landscape
Music Controls
External Microphone	Optional

All Prices correct as of 30/09/09 and are subject to change.

More information is slowly starting to emerge on it’s features too.  The most surprising news is that the Car Kit can be used with any Sat Nav Apps. The Car Kit can be used for handsfree calling, music playback, turn-by-turn instructions and charging, although the GPS signal enhancements will only be available when you’re using the TomTom App.

If you don’t want to shell out the rumoured £115 for the car kit, there are a number of other options to consider. The best value is the iPhone Sat Nav starter pack which gives you a holder and charger for the iPhone, and the Jabra SP700 is a great bluetooth car kit that clips to your sun visor and can handle your calls and music playback and route them through your car stereo speakers in the same way as the TomTom Car Kit.  The price?  Less than £55 for both – that’s less than half of the rumoured cost of the TomTom kit for all the same features  - and best of all you won’t have to wait upto 8 weeks for them as they’re available to order now!

For more information on the different ways to use Sat Nav on your iPhone in the car take a look at my post on Using Sat Nav on the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

Quite a few bloggers are reviewing the new software and posting video’s of it being used – which is great, after all £60 is a lot to spend on a software download if it’s no good, but I really think some people need to plan ahead when it comes to creating a video review.

This morning I stumbled on this iPhone TomTom video review on YouTube which shows off how easy the software is to use.  They then take it for a spin in the car and demonstrate brilliantly how not to mount your iPhone in the car.

There are some things that sellotape shouldn't be used for!

Sellotaping your iPhone to the dash might be a quick fix, but just think of the mess that’s going to be left on his phone and dashboard when he’s done. Silly really, when for less than £15 he could have got himself an iPhone Sat Nav Pack that includes a rotating windscreen holder and car charger.

On the subject of iPhone holders, I’ve noticed that people seem to think that you have to use sat nav on the iPhone in landscape mode. As most phone holders for the iPhone 3G and 3GS are portrait, I’m guessing this is why people are resorting to sellotaping their phones to the dashboard, but what you may not realise is that Sat Nav works perfectly well in portrait mode too – in fact I prefer it. It means you don’t have to keep rotating the phone if a call or text message comes through and I find that you get a clearer view of what’s coming up on the road ahead. Admittedly, there’s not much in it, but do you really need to see all the side roads that you’re not going to be driving down?

CoPilot 8 on the iPhone: Landscape Vs Portrait

Easiest option of course is to just get yourself a rotating holder so that you can use your phone which ever way you want. The following iPhone car holders can all rotate for use in landscape or portrait mode:

• Griffin Window Seat for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS
• Brodit Passive holder with Tilt / Swivel
• Brodit Passive Holder With Dock Connector & Tilt / Swivel
• iPhone 3G & iPhone 3GS Sat Nav Starter Pack
• iPhone 3G & 3GS Deluxe Carry Holster

Have you seen any other crazy ways of holding an iPhone in the car?  Share them with us using the comments form below!

Windscreen holders aren’t the only option though.  You can also get a range of fixed mobile phone holders that can be securely attached to your car, without causing any damage to your dashboard.  To give you an idea on what car holders work the best with the iPhone and iPhone 3G, I’ve been through our most popular car holders to see how they measure up.

iPhone Car Holder by Brodit

If you need something a little more heavy duty, or a semi permanent solution, then a Brodit Holder will be your best option. Brodit produce a range of holders, each made from a tough ABS plastic and then coated with a soft touch fabric to prevent your iPhone from getting scratched. There are 3 different types of Brodit Holder available:

• Brodit Passive iPhone 3G Holder
• Brodit Active iPhone 3G Holder
• Brodit Passive iPhone 3G Holder with Dock Connector

All 3 do a great job of holding your iPhone securely in the car, the only difference between them is how they can charge your phone. Brodit Passive Holders only hold your phone, if you wanted to charge your phone, you’d need to buy a separate car charger. Brodit Active Holders have a car charger wired into them, so as soon as you slide your phone in, it starts charging. The Brodit Holder with Pass through is slightly different, it doesn’t have a car charger attached, but it does have a Dock Connection on the bottom. This allows you to connect a car charger, FM Transmitter, Parrot MKi Car Kit or any other accessory that uses the Dock Connector to the phone while it’s in the holder and means you won’t have to fiddle around plugging them in each time you get in the car.

Brodit iPhone Holders - Passive, Active & Pass Through

All three are on a ‘Tilt Swivel’ base that allows you to rotate the phone through 360 degrees, as well as angle it away from sunlight or reflections and should ideally be screwed to a flat surface in your car. If you don’t want to screw into your dashboard (and I know I certainly wouldn’t) then a ProClip from Brodit is your answer. Brodit ProClips are strong plastic mounts that clip onto your dashboard without causing any damage and provide a great base for attaching car holders onto. Proclips are vehicle specific and are normally available for different parts of your dashboard.

Brodit Passive Holder for iPhone 3GS Mounted on ProClip

Griffin WindowSeat

Griffin are well known for making iPod and iPhone accessories. The Griffin WindowSeat for iPhone 3G has a high-grip silicone suction pad that easily and quickly attaches to your windscreen or other smooth surface and stays put. It leaves your charging port and headphone socket accessible, and comes with an audio cable so you can connect your phone to your car stereo (As long as your stereo has a 3.5mm aux-in port). If you use Sat Nav on your iPhone, you can rotate the holder through 360 degrees without having to remove your phone.

Griffin WindowSeat for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS

Drive Safe

The DriveSafe Pack for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS include a car charger as well as a holder for your iPhone.  The holder has an adjustable arm that can be bent into shape and rotated to suit your needs.  The car charger will ensure that you don’t run out of power on your journey.  If you already have a car charger, the iPhone 3G Car Holder can be purchased separately.

DriveSafe Car Pack for iPhone 3G

iPhone 3G Cradle with Changeable Mounts

This is the most customisable type of iPhone Car Holder.  First you pick a cradle, then you choose a mount.  As all of the mounting ports use the same clip system, you can choose a mount that will best suit your vehicle. The iPhone cradles all do the same thing, the main difference between them is that the PDA Cradle for iPhone 3G has a longer support on one side to keep your phone more stable when being used in landscape mode.  Some of the available mounts available are listed below, or you can take a look at all of the different Mounting Ports.

• Air Vent
• Windscreen Mount (Fixed)
• Suction Mount (Rotating)
• Cigarette Socket
• Bicycle Mount

From experience though, I’ve always found Air Vent holders a little loose, especially on heavier handsets like the iPhone, so I’d opt for a Rotating Windscreen Holder as it’s a lot more secure. The Rotating Holder has a solid arm that can be rotated in three directions to help you get the best viewing angle and allows you to turn your phone into landscape mode without having to remove it from the holder.

Mounting Port Cradles

Deluxe Holster

The Deluxe Holster for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS is really a two in one holder.  It’s made up of  two parts, the first is a polycarbonate case that protects the back of your phone and can be attached to a belt, the other is a suction mount that attaches to your windscreen and can hold your phone without you having to remove it from the case.  The Deluxe Holster also comes with a car charger.

Deluxe iPhone 3G Holder

If you’ve seen a different holder that works well with your iPhone then let us know using the comments form below.