Types of Smartphone Holders: Choosing Holder that Suits You Best

Some of you may think that a holder is utterly useless for a smartphone and a total waste of money. That’s because a lot of customers don’t know how to choose a holder and therefore doubt whether it’s worth buying at all. In order to clear up these doubts, we’ll explain why you actually need to have at least one holder in reserve and what features you should focus on before buying.

• Where Holders are Used
• Main Holder Features
• Types of Holder Grips
• Types of Smartphone Mounts

Where Holders are Used

The word holder speaks for itself – it’s an accessory that has a lock (clip, magnet) used to fix and hold a smartphone or tablet.

99% of holders are used in automobiles. It’s often the case that there’s no room in a car to store a phone reliably. If put on a panel or shelf, it can easily slip and break when the car is moving. Herein lies the initial idea of holder developers – to protect the phone from falling. With the advent of fragile and expensive smartphones, this issue has become even more relevant.

Thanks to modern software applications and reliable Internet connection, smartphones have taken on the role of navigators, dashcams and TV sets in cars and bicycles. At this point, there emerged the need for smartphone holders again, but with different grips.

After some time, there was a breakthrough in camera elaboration in the smartphone world. As a result, people started using smartphone cameras to take photos / record videos instead of using regular cameras. These smartphone cameras needed to be stabilized, and the holders helped to solve this problem (a well-known example is a selfie stick).

Some holders can be also used as desktop stands for phones. Today they are especially popular with homemakers: a smartphone is fixed in the holder on the table, so it's convenient to watch a movie, read a new recipe or talk on the phone in the kitchen. In this case, hands remain free, and the phone won’t fall into the boiling water.

Main Holder Features

To make a proper choice when buying a holder, you must clearly determine where it will be located.

There are different holders depending on the type of a holder grip:

• Vent Mounted Holders. This type has a special cross-shaped grip that fits snugly onto any vent (deflector) in the car. Vent mounted holders are universal and suitable for all car brands.

• Suction Cup Holders. The holder is mounted with a vacuum suction cup to the windscreen or dashboard. Suction cup holders are used not only in cars, but also for ordinary tables at home or in the office.

• Sticky Phone Holders. This type uses a double-sided adhesive tape, most often 3M adhesive. These holders are universal and can be easily attached to any surface where the Scotch tape can be applied.

• CD Slot Holders.Today many cars are equipped with a CD slot. However, almost everyone uses flash drives and SD memory cards now. So holder developers came up with a pretty cool and practical application for an unnecessary CD slot. They made a special mount, which is inserted exactly into this slot. It’s quite convenient – if you place the phone there, it won’t get in the way or distract you from the dashboard. If you still want to listen to your favorite disc, you can easily remove the holder.

• Seat Headrest Holders. A must-have holder for parents who often drive with children in a car or for those who travel a lot. You can easily mount it on the seat headrest and turn your smartphone into a handy mini TV.

• Car Rearview Mirror Holders. A special grip allows you to fix the smartphone under the rearview mirror. This position is quite convenient, since the phone is just in front of you. The flip side of the coin, however, is that this can distract the driver from the road, which is quite dangerous. If you have such a holder, it's better for a passenger to use it.

• Car Sun Visor Holders. This holder is meant more for passengers than for drivers. It would be both uncomfortable and dangerous for a driver to look at the visor during the ride. Passengers can easily use such a holder, but if they want to lower down the visor, they need to remove the smartphone. Another weakness of such holders is their weight. Some sun visors may not support the total weight of a phone and a holder and will thus constantly lower down, especially when driving on a bad road.

• Steering Wheel Holders. A rather specific holder with its pros and cons. Among advantages: a smartphone is right in front of you, and it is convenient to talk on the phone through the speakerphone when the phone is in this holder (the smartphone is located quite close to the driver, so you can hear the person very well). Among disadvantages: the driver constantly rotates the steering wheel, and the holder rotates with it, so you won’t be able to charge the phone that is constantly moving – you just won’t be able to connect the charging cable! Even if you connect the cable to the phone, you’re bound to tear it out of the socket. The holder also partially closes the dashboard, and you are likely to look over the indicator signaling the car emergency condition.

• Cigarette Lighter Car Mount. A rather interesting type of a holder. It has both a holder and a socket for the car cigarette lighter. If you use your smartphone as a navigator, this holder won’t do – it will just be uncomfortable. However, using it just to prevent the phone from lying around in the car is a pretty good option. The phone is within easy reach, it doesn’t distract the driver from the road; moreover, such holders often have a USB connector where you can connect a cable to charge the device.

• Cup Holder Phone Mount. The holder consists of a base with an arm that has a clip or magnet. To make the base fit into any cup holder, it is adjusted with spacing clamps. When choosing this holder, please note that your cup holder will always be occupied, and if you have just one cup holder, you will be left without it. However, there are special models that have additional mounts acting as a cup holder.

• Finger Ring Phone Holders (PopSocket). A holder that is put on the finger. Yeah, you heard right, on the finger. They are mainly used to make it convenient to take a selfie. In addition, the holder ring can be used as a stand.

Another important factor in choosing a holder is the mounting method. The holder size depends on the mount type as well. If there isn’t enough room in the car or if you have a small table, it's better to use a magnetic holder. If space permits and if you want a beautiful holder, mechanical or automatic will suit you.

By mounting methods, all smartphone holders fall into:

• Magnetic Holders. This is the most common way to attach a smartphone to the holder. One magnet is built into the holder itself, and the second comes in the package and gets stuck to a smartphone or case. Magnets are attracted to each other, and the phone is securely attached to the holder. Most drivers prefer this mounting method, since it’s the most convenient one – the phone is simply placed on the holder and removed from it. There is no need to adjust anything.

• Automatic Locking Holders. Many people believe it’s the most reliable way to mount the phone. Press the phone against the lower clamp and two side clamps will automatically secure it on the sides. Your device is securely fixed; however, initially it seems strange and awkward to pull the phone off this clamp – you need to apply force to it. Yet there are models with a special button for pulling off the phone. Press it and the clamps will automatically open.

• Auto Lock Electromechanical Holders. This auto lock holder has a built-in motion sensor. It opens holder clamps when you bring the phone close to the holder and then automatically closes clamps when the phone is in the holder. These holders often support wireless charging. Please note that an auto lock electromechanical holder will require electric power to operate, so you should mount it on the car cigarette lighter.

• Scotch Mounting Tape. They generally use this mounting method in PopSockets. One side of double-sided tape is attached to the holder, and the other – to the phone or case.

Choosing a phone holder is a rather personal procedure and the decision always remains with the user. In this article, we have described all popular holder options in detail and told you where and how they are used. Now you can choose a holder that suits you best. The Holders section of ALL SPARES website offers many interesting options of this simple device that can actually become your indispensable helper. Protect your smartphones – buy holders!