DIY iPhone holder - check it out

Wow. I never would of thought of that. Looks great!

 

Pretty amazing solution. You are quite talented. I could never do that myself. In my case, I want to keep my iphone next to the steering wheel slightly off to the left. One of the issues I found with using my iPhone for navigation on my previous car, a 1999 Lexus RX 300, was that no matter where I put it, when the sun shine in, even if it was not hot outside, the iPhone would begin to heat up and what it does to cool itself off (before it shuts down) is to turn off the backlit display rendering everything pretty much unreadible. I thought it was my iPhone so I exchanged it at the Apple store and the replacement did the same thing.

What I found, like with any computer system back to the beginning, is the need to keep it cool with a fan. I first looked for a case with a fan (perhaps even a solar cell to run the fan), but never found one. Plus, I was very happy with my case, an Otterbox which while water resistant, was a self-enclosing plastic case which further exacerbated the heating problem.

I had to either get cool air to blow on the unit by finding so something to redirect the air to the back of the unit or put it in front of an air vent. I chose the later using a commercial holder.

My solution which works in both my Lexus and my Prius is to use a couple of parts from a company called "Ram-Mount". I want to position the phone slightly to the left of the steering wheel right above the left a/c vent. This way I can quickly look at the display and even touch the display without taking my hand off the steering wheel. Since I am a small businessman and use a 'square' credit card scanner for my iPhone, I had a couple of inexpensive styluses I have customers sign with. These work perfectly in letting me interact with the iPhone without touching it.

Now to position the phone, I start with a suction cup arm/mount, then a pivot and a small arm to extend it and then a pivot and a long arm to get it to position next to the steering wheel. The suction cup sticks securely on that little window in front of the driver window. There are two choices for a holder - the one specific for the iPhone but that won't work when the iPhone is in an otterbox. So I use the generic holder which opens and closes width wise and that holds it secure and even has a slot below it for an incoming connector and wire. For power, I purchased on ebay a two USB, cigarette lightly adapter to install in the plug below the gear shift (so my wife can also charge her phone), and a 6 ft iphone connector that goes just above the steering wheel to the holder.

All the above ram-mounts, adapters and plugs cost something like $50 +/- can't remember the exact prices since I purchased the various parts over the years for use with my previous Garmins and merely bought new holders.

P.S. - I have never had a heating problem with the iPhone and this apparatus can be disassembled quickly and put in a suitcase, so I can take it with me on trips after I park the Prius and use it rental cars.

I own a Prius with Navigation and never use it because of the mothering effect that turns everything off over 10 mph (& don't choose to get the after market thing that can fool it). Even if the navigation unit worked fully, I still find my Garmin apps (I own both apps but prefer the one which loads the maps into the iPhone) easier to use and much more functional and intuitive. I gave both my standalone Garmin Nuvis (one low end and one high end) to my daughter/son-in-law for their cars.

Joel

 

The heating issue only really occurs if you keep the phone on or above the dash level. Where you have the phone pictured you will not see a heating issue. You probably know what the heat feels like yourself during the summer in the car with the sun shining on the dash even if the temps outside are in the 60s or 70s (and here in Texas that happens right now! LOL).

If you look to the left of your steering wheel - that area back to the little window gets very little sunlight (at least for me it does) relative to the rest of the car from the dash up.

As far as the stylus, if you look at the driver door handle, there is a little holder in it. That is where I keep the stylus when not in use. A lot of times, I will merely drive with both hands on the steering wheel with the stylus between two fingers in my left hand (sort of how people who smoke hold a cigarette).

Joel

 

Good work, I liked it when you painted it matte black. Looks oem.

 

excellent, well done!

 

Excellent hack! A+

 

Creative
Put a picture of the shift pattern on your homescreen

 

lol good one

 

another great job mmb, well done. that looks very nice!

 

nice!

 

That's pretty cool!!

 

nice

 

I have a MDL II, and I wonder why you use the audio cable connector and not just the USB into the dedicated USB for the iPod/iPhone input? I like the idea what you have there.

 

Not for me, I'd never get rid of my Golf Ball!

 

Isn't that dangerous? What would happen if you accidentally bump the shifter?

I went with a PanaVise mount, which is nearby the shifter and very sturdy. You could do the same and continue using your nice wooden cradle. I got the mount under $30 shipped. Toyota Prius 2010-2011 Custom Mount | TSS-Radio