The first of which is AboveTEK. In our previous article on Tablet and Cell Phone Desktop Stands we brought up how amazing AboveTEK is with a few caveats. AboveTEK also has a Tablet/Phone Mount model TS-136B that we will be reviewing today. Within this list, AboveTEK is the only one offering an actual tablet mount, and this is what it is best for within the list. It is supposed to be able to hold up to 11 lbs of weight. The device itself weighs 12.5 oz, and is by far the heaviest of the group, the others weigh less than half as much. The mount is for 4-11 inch phones and tablets. It has a large 4 inch in diameter plastic suction cup base with a plastic handle that allows you to screw or unscrew to activate suction. The base is attached to a 360 degree rotating metal joint in the horizontal axis, which is connected to a metal arm that gives 180 degree pivot in the vertical axis. This arm is 6.8 inches in length including a housing for the ball joint that attaches to the plastic mounting bracket. This bracket has a plastic wing nut that locks the ball joint in allowing you to unscrew, remove, and replace the bracket if desired with a larger bracket. The mounting bracket is 4.5 inches in length by 2.5 inches in width. The mounting bracket is lined with a soft rubber to protect your phone or tablet, and the jaws of the bracket are expandable to 7.5 inches.

There are extenders that come off the back of the bracket allowing for your fingers to grip the jaws and pull them apart. The jaws are held closed by spring tension. The ball joint utilizes a plastic knob wing nut to tighten or loosen the joint controlling the resting angle of the mounting bracket for your viewing pleasure. It has a slot within the joint to allow for achieving a locked 90 degree angle. Due to the combination of length of the arm and the diameter of the suction cup, it really only gives a few options for placement. If the arm was telescoping then the AboveTEK mount would be a better mount because then you could place it further away to interact with it and get various angles you would like to achieve. Because of how big the diameter of the mount is, it really limits the placement of the holder on your dashboard since you need to have a relatively flat surface to place it on to allow the suction to hold. So this lends itself typically to center mounting on your dashboard above your entertainment center. With the short arm, it will be hard to reach the touchscreen interface. The suction cup combined with the size of the mounting bracket and whatever phone or tablet you are using, you really don't want to place this mount on your windshield because it is blocking too much landscape.

Getting to the biggest issue of the AboveTEK tablet/phone mount is that the 360 degree rotational axis can only be tightened or loosen using an allen key. In order to do so you have to remove the suction base from your dashboard to get to the underside of the base and make this adjustment. Guesstimating about how hard you would like the axis to retain its location while still being able to be positioned. With the g-forces you create while driving, the arm is going to rotate around on this axis unless it is tight enough. This is a huge fatal flaw because again this holder is best for a tablet, which is the heavier item. So it will generate more rotational force just due to the heaviness of the item. The AboveTEK TS-136B is a great idea but it has room for improvement in execution!

The next offering is by Torras. It is a magnetic car mount that utilizes a rectangular magnet strip that sticks to the back of your phone to hold your phone in place to the mount. The device itself weighs 6.1 oz. There are two magnetic strips that come with the Torras. The mount has a suction cup at its base that is activated by a flip mechanism on top of the base. The base is made out of plastic. This is a low profile dashboard mount due to the limited range of motion of the vertical axis of the mount. It's supposed to be rated to hold up to 7 lbs. There isn't a horizontal axis of rotation so however you place it is the direction it will stay in. This is fine, due to the quick release mechanism for attaching the suction cup base.

The unit is pretty much all plastic. The arm has a knob at the joint connected to the base to adjust tension for vertical placement of the arm. The arm is longer than AboveTEK's offering at 7 inches including the mounting bracket. The arm has a concave curve to it that will flow downward with your dashboard, keeping your phone from blocking your view too much while still being able to see it. The second joint has another knob for adjustment, extending off of this joint is a ball joint which screws into the back of the mounting bracket. This tightens down allowing the joint to lock in to place at the desired angle. Of the offerings reviewed, Torras has hands down the strongest magnetic power. Once you stick the magnetic plate to the back of your device, you will be able to drive off road without worrying about the phone going anywhere! This is due to the 6 strong magnets they use in the mounting bracket. It will actually take some effort to pull the phone off the holder. The issue with the Torras offering is that its axis of movement is limited since you can't rotate it horizontally and vertically its axis of movement is very limited, but its design is the best for a slim out of the way profile that won't be displeasing to the feng shui of your automobile.

Next up is Miracase's offering which is basically exactly the same as the Torras offering above, except for the mounting bracket itself and the knob that tightens on the ball joint. This knob is larger but feels like a cheaper flimsier plastic. The mounting bracket also feels cheaper and flimsier in the type of plastic it is made out of, but this mounting bracket is designed for poppet holders. If you have a poppet on the back of your phone, this is the holder for you! The poppet holding device is extendable/retractable, so normally the face is flat with the magnetic surface. There is an outer ring cutout that can be pulled out for the poppet to rest in and retracted when not in use. Due to this outer ring the mounting bracket face doesn't have a lot of surface area for the magnetic surface yet it still produces a strong magnetic force that will hold your device securely in place. Miracase comes with two round magnetic plates for sticking to your device, which is a poor choice because the rectangular plates offer greater magnetic retention. The device itself weighs 6.0 oz.

The final offering is by Vanmass. This is also a magnetic mounting system but otherwise it is much different from the previous offerings. It is a plastic and aluminum mount so it is super lightweight. It has a quick release suction cup base attached to a vertical rotating pivot joint that has a plastic knob for tightening. There is a telescoping arm that extends from there to the ball joint which mounts into the back of the magnetic bracket with a plastic tightening knob to get your range of angles. The mounting bracket is just a round magnetic pate encased in plastic. The standout feature is the telescoping ability of the mount arm. The arm can extend from 4.9 inches to 7.7 inches to allow you to get that perfect distance you are looking for. If you would prefer to have a window mounted device that will allow you to keep your eyes on the road at all times while engaging with the device instead of perhaps only your peripheral vision. This is the device for you! It weighs the least of the group at only 3.9 oz

It uses 6 strong magnets in its mounting bracket, despite this it has the weakest magnetic force among the group but it is still strong enough that you shouldn't be concerned about device jostling loose over bumpy terrain especially if using the rectangular plates. It comes with the most variety of attachment magnetic plates, 2 rounds, and 2 rectangular plates. With the telescoping feature, it not only has the longest reach, but also the shortest. Overall this is the most versatile of the mounts. An addition we would like to see is a locking mechanism on the telescoping feature to lock it securely at the length that you want. It currently just uses friction and angle to keep your device from moving.