I have reviewed quite a few car mounts over the years, and a few years ago, the Easy One Touch Connect ($69.95) that iOttie sent me to try would have been the best ever. It does things no other car mount I've tried does, namely integrate the Alexa voice assistant. This is a luxury that I now consider a necessity. I love being able to request navigation or music or weather without pushing a button or swiping a screen and taking my eyes off the road.
The iOttie device has its own app that connects to Amazon's Alexa app, and from then on, the device leverages your iPhone's data plan over a Bluetooth connection. In short, it just works. One concern I had was that I had to deliberately change my car radio to Bluetooth to hear what Alexa was saying. Your car radio may work differently, but for my Nissan Rogue, it automatically switches to the iPhone via Bluetooth when I answer a phone call, but not with this third-party offering.
The car mount itself is built well, with a rock solid and adjustable phone grip. I like that I don't need a special case with metal and magnets. It just works with any phone, large or small, in a case or not. It is designed to mount to the windshield via suction cup, or an adhesive disc you attach to your dash. I have used a number of iOttie mounts over the years, including vent mounts, and I prefer the CD slot mount. After all, I never listen to CDs anymore and that option is quite secure. I also tried this mount in my cup holder and that worked nicely as well.
They also include a car charging adapter. with a built-in microUSB cable and a second USB slot to charge your phone. That's important because this mount does not offer Qi wireless charging. Many competing mounts do, including others from iOttie. In a perfect world, this mount would also charge your phone wirelessly, but maybe that's left for a future version. Also, there are many folks who don't take advantage of wireless charging, because they use wallet cases, Pop Sockets, and other items attached to the back of their phone; so for those users, it's not a big deal.
Pros
- Alexa works well on the road
- Leverages Bluetooth to use cellphone data plan
- Rock solid phone grip
- Assorted mounting options and includes car charging adapter
- Easy quick release
Cons
- Does not include Qi wireless charging
- May need to switch to Bluetooth audio in your car
- Uses microUSB not USB-C or Lightning
Final Verdict
The folks at iOttie have added Alexa to the car and I'll never go back. I only wish it also had wireless charging.
* This article was originally published here
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