REVIEW: Brodit HTC Touch Pro Holder with 3-in-1 Adapter

Introduction Whilst I'm not adverse to using a suction type windscreen mount to cradle my device for use in-car, there's nothing quite like the quality offered by installing a dedicated holder to do the job for you. For many, Brodit are considered to be the Rolls-Royce of the cradle world; I can state personally that I have had a Brodit mount for every device I have owned since at least my O2 XDA Exec, and maybe before that. When I got my latest car, which sported a USB socket that allowed me to use the in-car-entertainment sysem to play music from my O2 XDA Serra, I started looking for a cradle that could provide that level of integration. I contacted David at DSL Developments and he suggested the HTC Touch Pro Cradle with 3-in-1 adapter; I should have know that Brodit would have something up their sleeve.

For your delectation some photographs are thumbnails which may be clicked on to load a larger image.
Thanks go out to David Soppelsa at DSL Developments for providing us with the review sample.
For more information on the Brodit HTC Touch Pro Holder with 3-in-1 Adapter, click here to visit the product page at the DSLDevelopments.com website.

Fast Facts
Mini USB socket for charging
3.5mm Audio socket for sound out
HTC Ext USB socket for original headset
40cm adapter cable

The External Package The package arrived by post, and as usual I had to fight my urge to rip the packaging to pieces to get at the goodies inside whilst I take some photos. DSL postal delivery is quick & efficient, and has been every time I have ordered a Brodit mount from them. The packaging is a standard white Jiffy bag, nothing special, but it doesn't need to be!! .

The Brodit Package After shredding the external packaging, I was met with the product package itself, nothing special here at all really, the standard Brodit fare of the mount in a clear see-through plastic bag, with the colourful Brodit cardboard top keeping it together... The game was afoot!!!

Aesthetics What can one say, it's a device cradle, it's made out of plastic, but there is more to say than just that! The cradle is incredibly well constructed and the quality is what I have come to expect from a Brodit mount, there are no rough edges or any manafacturing defects that I can see. The crade hugs my O2 XDA Serra snugly and it requires no effort to push the device onto the connector plug, indicating that the position of the mini-USB plug is spot on.

Now this particular mount isn't your bog standard Brodit mount, oh no... Those ingenious people at Brodit have raised the bar and included a 3-in-1 adapter to extend the fucntionality past just being able to recharge your device in car. The 3-in-1 adapter adds enhanced functionality by providing three extra ports. Taking the picture left to right, we have a HTC extended USB socket capable of taking the original HTC headset supplied with the Serra, next up is a 3.5mm Audio Socket, perfect for those cars that provide a line in capability to integrate with the in-car entertainment unit and finally there is a Mini USB Socket for charging the device.

Fitting As with previous Brodit mounts that I have used, fitting the new Touch Pro mount in my car was a snip; well, it was made a lot easier by the fact that I already had a Brodit Proclip installed in my car on which the original Brodit Touch Pro mount sat. Stage one involved un-screwing the current Brodit mount from it's base, leaving the base itself attached to the Proclip....

The next step was to attach the new Touch Pro 3-in-1 mount. This was achieved by first removing its existing base, and then simply screwing it in place, utilising the original base from the previous mount. One thing I have noted is that the base appears to be universal across all the Brodit tilt & swivel mounts that I have owned, which is extremely good for fast swap-outs as devices change!

Connectivity With the cradle secured firmly in place, it was time to complete the connectivity requirements, wel, OK, I'll admit it, it was time to connect the cable up, pretty straightforward in fact! .

It was just a matter of finding a suitable USB cable, plugging one end into the USB port in the car's centre console, and then connecting the Mini-USB port at the other end to the Brodit 3-in-1 adapter's extUSB socket and that, was basically that. The proof would be in the pudding, would it all work when I selected USB input on the stereo head-unit.

Installed & Ready The end-game in sight, the O2 XDA Serra sitting snugly & comfortably in its new home in the car... Brodit Mounts are such good quality that it always looks to me as if the phone was made to be there. The Proclip innovation in that you don't have to physically damage your car in anyway to install the mount is just awesome. I remember the days of the old Dashmount vehicle mounts that you used to actually drill & screw to your cars interior, not something that I ever relished!! Another interesting fact to note is that when I plugged the Serra into the cradle, it detected that it had been connected to a USB port and offered me the selection screen for choosing between ActiveSync & Disk Drive mode!

The crunch point, time to test! With a little trepidation I selected the USB input function on the stereo head-unit in the car and nothing happened, luckily I realised this was my own mistake and that I should have selected Disk Drive mode on insertion, which would then allow the ICE to see the Serra as an external disk. I quickly popped the Serra out and back in the cradle & was once more presented with the Activesync/Disk Drive mode selection screen. I quickly selected disk drive and we were away. The Serra integrates incredibly well, giving me the ability to select music by list, album, artist, track or random. Not to mention that each track title is also displayed as the music plays, now that is what I call cool!! N.B. Please note that if you have set Outlook Mobile to store attachments on the storage card and then select disk drive mode, this could result in a device crash

Pros&Cons

Good Solid Construction	I can't actually think of one
Fits the XDA Serra like a glove
Charges device
Easy fiting with Proclip system
Excellent integraton whether your car supports USB or Line In

Overall Conclusion

There's no doubt about it, as far as I can tell, Brodit are the kings of the mount makers. Every Brodit mount that I have purchased for my various devices has been absolutely superb. The Brodit Proclip system does make mounting your Windows Mobile device incredibly easy. The ability to just unscrew one existing mount and replace it with another makes swapping devices a cinch, which is handy if you happen to be like me and have more than one device!! The Brodit quality is matched by the service at DSLDevelopments, fast & friendly, nothing is too much trouble. I got a tip on the 3-in-1 mount by sending Dave at DSL a quick email question on whether my existing Serra mount had all pins wired or just power, as I was originally looking to carry out a quick DIY job on the cable to try and get to where I am now, so top marks & many thanks to DSL!!