Anker Universal Cell Phone Car Mount Review ( Model A7117011 )

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received an Anker universal cell phone car mount for a product review.  Normally I don't comment about the packaging that much, but I wanted to point out two things I noticed about the packaging:

Product box ( Left ) and the two main parts of the mount

1) Inside the box is a simple card with "Happy?" on one side and "Not happy?" on the other.  If you are not happy, they provide you contact information for their support.  If you are happy, it suggests that you enjoy living a slightly smarter smart life, share your experience on Amazon as a review and connect with Anker at their website, Facebook and Twitter.  I think this is a very simple yet creative piece of marketing and customer support.

2) The outside cover of the cardboard box slides off which is normal, but it has a blue "tear to open" band on it and the instruction is actually on the inside of the box.  This is a creative way to provide the user with instructions, and as it says on the box an eco friendly approach.

Left : Happy / Not Happy card (I was happy)
Right: Outside of box with directions on the inside

Unfortunately for me, I like to keep the original packaging so I didn't tear the blue line but I could still read inside without any problems.

To test the car mount, I first tried to mount my phone.  It worked fine on the Moto X, however if I let it rest of the bottom part of the holder the side grip would press the volume down button.  Frankly I don't consider this an issue, I am used to adjusting my phone for universal holders.  The bottom "rest" can't be removed or folded in, but considering you can turn the mount upside down if you want you shouldn't have a problem finding a position that works.

I tried another Moto X with a case and the case seemed to give it enough clearance to avoid any issue with the buttons, I also tried my wife's Galaxy S5 (with a case) and fully opened it had enough space to handle it without a problem.

The next test was to actually mount it in my car.  I didn't do the traditional window mount, any suction cup mount can handle that.  I actually tried to mount it to my dash, and to the bottom part of my cup holder - both surfaces that were somewhat flat but not perfectly smooth.  In both cases, the mount worked perfectly.  The mount has a sticky material on it which helps give a good grip, but didn't seem to leave any residue behind.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Ease to Use: The directions clearly explain how to put it together and mount it, nothing complicated about this mount - I think I spent more time trying to determine exactly where I would mount it than I did setting it up.

Flexibility: The mount was able to handle various smartphones with no problem, and although I didn't test it should be able to handle other devices such as GPS units and music players.  The mount itself can be turned to any position, so you can put your phone in landscape mode if you prefer.

Design: The part where you mount your device has a little lip at the bottom to rest your device, and there is a split in the middle that should accommodate power cord.  Overall, once you suction the mount in place it seems sturdy and it actually looks nice compared to other universal mounts that only focus on function and not looks.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a quality mount for your device, this option is definitely worth considering.  If your device has buttons on the side you may have to adjust the position up or down a bit to avoid the grips touching the buttons but that is likely a factor with any universal mount.

Anker Product Page: www.ianker.com/product/A7117011
Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B00PAJN32S