A lot of people that were waiting for the newly announced TomTom iPhone cradle have been very disappointed with the price point at £99.95. So I was looking around and found a good set of cradles that would do almost as much as the TomTom mount but a lot less.
Mobile Fun have put together a good selection of mounts on their website and said “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
Below is a good selection of mounts available…
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
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
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
| Features | Venturi Mini | Parrot MKi | ||
| Charges iPhone |
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| Plays Music through Stereo |
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| Hands Free Calling |
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| GPS Enhancer |
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| Volume Controls | |
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| Holds phone in Landscape | |
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| Music Controls | |
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| External Microphone |
Optional
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All Prices correct as of 30/09/09 and are subject to change
Source: Mobile Fun.
How are these GPS cradle alternatives? None support GPS apart from the Tom Tom cradle.
I’m looking for a GPS enhancer which also has a way to connect into the CD Changer input on the back of my stereo (no Aux socket)
By: PB on January 19, 2011
at 12:57 am
@PB: I’m looking for exact the same solution as you. Have you found any alternative to tomtom?
By: Kim on February 20, 2011
at 10:55 am
These are the best I’ve found so far (sorry for the uk link):
http://www.satnaveasy.co.uk/mio-iphone-gps-car-kit-i33738.html
This is a satnav enhancer which also supports charging and music playback, although if you have no aux socket on your stereo you’ll need to find another way in!
If you aren’t so fussed about the satnav part, another option could be the Brodit cradle with the passthrough connection, combined with one of the cables you can get online which connect the iPhone to your stereo CD input (if your model is available – mine isn’t!).
I’m probably going to go for the MIO one.
By: PB on March 3, 2011
at 9:31 pm