The HD2 Car Upgrade Kit has got to be one of the most eagerly awaited accessories of 2010 so far and I managed to get my hands on one when they arrived into stock this morning. I had to be quick though as they sold out in record time. So, is it worth the hype? Read on to find out.
HTC HD2 Car Upgrade Kit CU-S400
A HD2 Car Holder is a must have item – especially if you use your HD2 for Sat Nav. I’ve already covered some of the best ways to use the HD2 in your car in my post on Using your HTC HD2 in the car, but considering how long these took to arrive I couldn’t resist trying one out.
Features
There aren’t really that many features that you can build in to a car holder, but HTC have managed to squeeze in a couple of nice touches. The first is that the holder incorporates a detachable charging cable. This isn’t anything new, as there are a number of holders for phones that accomodate charging cables, but what’s special with this one is that you plug the charger into the base of the holder, rather than the phone. The charge is then carried through to a charging port built into the base of the cradle.
Charging is built into the holder
This is a welcome addition as it means you can rotate the holder without worrying about whether there’s enough spare cable to turn the phone fully or it constantly falling out of your phone.
Another unique feature of the Cu-S400 is that when you dock your phone in the cradle it automatically switches the phone to the Navipanel – a shortcut screen that’s designed to give you quick access to all the apps you’re likely to need when driving, and hiding those that you won’t, or that could be a distraction – My only slight issue here is that Navipanel is only in landscape mode, so you can’t use the phone in portrait mode unless you exit the Navipanel App.
Holder is designed for landscape use
Design
As with others that I’ve tested, there’s not that much to say about the CU-S400, after all a car holder is a car holder, but this is one of the most stylish I’ve seen. Unlike others, there is no bulky flexible arm or loose plastic cradle, It’s solid, sturdy and relatively easy to attach to your windscreen as it has a twist-to-lock base. The metal arm of the CU S400 adds a bit of style to an accessory that is traditionally pretty dull.
Metal arm enhances appearance
Removing your phone looks like it would be quite tricky, but it’s not – just pull the phone forwards and it will come out of the holder. You don’t need to worry about damaging the charging connector on as it’s on a flexible base that moves with the phone. The charger that’s included is the standard HTC CC C200 Car Charger, and is in two parts, a USB charger and Micro USB charging cable. Oddly, the cable has it’s own suction holder attached to it and I’ve not managed to figure out what it’s for.
In The Box
No surprises here really, included with the Car Upgrade Kit is the CU-S400 Holder, CC C200 Car Charger and a self adhesive disk for those of you who want to attach it to your dashboard rather than your windscreen.
Why Buy
The CU-S400 is by far the smartest looking car holder available for the HTC HD2, It’s a compact design that holds the oversized HD2 well and the fact that you don’t have to fiddle around connecting the charger every time you dock your phone makes it even better.
We Like: Perfect fit to the phone and it looks great
We Don’t like: Hefty price tag may put people off
My Rating: 8/10
Stock of the CU S400 sold out within minutes of me writing this review and we already have a large number of back orders against our next delivery. To ensure you get one you’ll need to place your order now and we’ll ship it as soon as they arrive. The next delivery is due in 10-14 days from the date of this post.
No, the arm’s not extendible and is about 2 inches long at the most. I tried it in a 1 series and it was fine, but the windscreen is quite close. MPV’s might struggle with this unless you can mount it on a side window?
Is the arm telescopic? It looks extremely short and I would say it will not allow to comfortably mount HD2 on the windshield of most cars. At least my Citroen C4 Picasso requires an about thrice longer arm.