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Vehicle Mounts and Dell DJ Holder from ProClip USA

 ProClip Vehicle Mounts and Dell DJ Holder
   June 6, 2004
   Review By: Jordan M. Wigley, Administrator

Manufacturer/Vendor:  ProClip USA
Product Webpage:  Click Here
Suggested Prices:	Dell DJ Holder - US $34.95
	Jeep Cherokee Mount - US $29.95
	VW Jetta Mount - US $29.95

Introduction

     A common topic that has risen among Dell DJ owners has been the use of the DJ in the owner's vehicle.  There have been several solutions that owners are currently using, with most of them being a cupholder mount, modified cell phone mount, or just simply stuffing the DJ between the seats.  While all of these items get the job done, they all tend to have that sort of "unprofessional" appearance whenever someone gets in your vehicle.  This review will cover one of the best-looking solutions I've come across for mounting the DJ in your vehicle, made by Proclip USA.  Their company offers a multitude of mounts for just about every make/model vehicle on the road, with many vehicles having several mounts available for various locations on your dashboard or console.  Once you have decided on the particular mount that you want for your vehicle, they offer holders for various devices (audio players, PDAs, phones, etc) that will attach to the vehicle mount.  Because of the multple mounting locations available for many vehicles, you could choose to have mounts/holders in your car for every electronic device you carry around with you.  This particular review will cover the Dell DJ Holder installed on both the angled Jeep Cherokee mount and also the center Volkswagen Jetta mount.

Product Features / What's In The Box?

     Each mount and holder comes professionally packaged individually, with installation instructions included in each package.  The instructions were surpisingly detailed, including step-by-step installation photos of the vehicle-specific mount.  This alone was enough to sell me on ProClip's products, as there are very few manufacturers out there who would take the time and effort to shoot vehicle-specific photos/instructions of the hundreds of different vehicles for which mounts are available.  The thing that I like most about the ProClip mounts is their OEM-like appearance.  Each of their mounts is custom made for every vehicle, assuring that it will provide the look and fit for the best functionality in your vehicle.  The Dell DJ holder itself is also well constructed, with a ball and socket design that allows it to tilt/swivel in order to give you the best viewing angle of your DJ's screen.  As a side note, ProClip is supposed to soon be releasing a non-swivel version of their Dell DJ mount for those of you who do not need this feature.  The DJ holder can be easily attached to any of ProClip's vehicle mounts.

Cherokee Mount (Left) and Dell DJ Holder (Right)

Installation

     Another problem that usually comes up with an integrated-appearance car mount is the fact that it will usually require cutting/drilling/etc of your vehicle's interior.  ProClip has designed their vehicle mounts in such a way that they do not require any modifications to the interior of your vehicle, therefore you will do no damage to your interior.  Because each mount is custom made for a specific vehicle, ProClip has been able to make installation quick, simple, and harmless.  They designed each vehicle mount to snap or hook into key locations that already exist on your vehicle's dash or console.  I will offer a quick tip, which is that you should follow the instructions exactly in order.  I originally tried to simplify things by installing the DJ holder's mounting plate onto the Cherokee mount before installing the mount in my vehicle.  Because the mounting plate was already screwed onto the Cherokee mount, it was not able to flex enough to fit onto the mounting locations in my Jeep.  Once I removed the mounting plate, the Cherokee mount was able to easily flex and easily snapped into place on my dashboard.  This proved to me that the instructions were ordered this way for a reason, so I then follwed every step exactly for both vehicles.

     The installation of the Cherokee mount could not have been easier.  One side of the mount hooked onto the edge of my air vent panel, and then the other side simply snapped into place between the glovebox and dash.  To ease the sliding in of the mount, ProClip includes a plastic spacer that can be temporarily inserted between the dash and glovebox to widen the gap.  Next, I screwed the DJ holder's mounting plate onto the vehicle mount using the two provided screws.  Finally, I screwed the DJ holder onto the mounting plate.  Keep in mind when screwing the DJ holder that the tighter you screw it on, the tighter the tilt/swivel of the mount will be.  I personally positioned the holder at my preferred angle, and tightened the screw as tight as possible to make sure that it doesn't easily get bumped out of position.  The entire installation from beginning to finish took only 5 minutes, which also included the time spent taking tons of photographs during the installation.  I was originally worried about the durability of the mount so i tugged and hit on it pretty hard, yet the mount still didn't budge at all.  It is definitely the best quality, not to mention professional looking, mount that I have ever installed in a vehicle.

DJ Holder and Mount Installed in Jeep Cherokee

     My girlfriend was slightly hesitant at first about my wanting to touch the interior of her Volkswagen Jetta to install the ProClip mount.  However, after many promises that I wouldn't hurt her car, I walked outside to install the mount.  Just like the Cherokee mount, the Jetta installation could not have been any easier.  This mount simply clipped into the top and bottom paneling around the center air vent.  Some of you might say, "Well aren't their vent mounts available for a much cheaper price?"  Yes, there are, but they generally just slide onto the blades of the air vent and are prone to falling off while driving.  Since the ProClip mount actually hooks onto the paneling on the dashboard, it will not move unless you decide to uninstall it yourself.  Once the mount was in place, I attached the DJ holder's mounting plate and then finally screwed on the DJ holder itself.  Again remember to tighten the holder onto the mount more depending on how loose you prefer the tilting and swiveling of the holder.  Just as with the Jeep installation, the VW Jetta installation took only a few minutes and was also very secure regardless of my pulling and hitting the mount to test its durability.

DJ Holder and Mount Installed in Volkswagen Jetta

Conclusion

     As I've mentioned several times already, the ProClip mounts are the best in-vehicle mounting options I've seen from any company without paying for a fully custom installation at a high-priced auto customization shop.  The attention to detail that ProClip USA put into the design and quality of each of these mounts, as well as the Dell DJ holder, is unlike that of any other DJ-compatible mounts on the market.  The only thing that might hold anyone back from purchasing one of these mounts is the fact that you have to buy both the $35 Dell DJ holder and the $30 vehicle mount.  Some people will likely not want to invest $65 in a mount for a digital audio player that they just paid around $200 for.  However, for anyone who truly uses their Dell DJ in their vehicle a lot, the $65 is the best money you'll ever spend for your DJ.  Before I installed this mount, I just used my DJ in my Jeep around once a week at most.  Since I installed the ProClip mount about a month ago, the DJ has not even left my car except to charge it and to transfer new albums to it.  I recommend ProClip's mounting solutions to anyone who desires something more professional-looking than the other mounts on the market.

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