Recently I installed my iPad into my Taxi and since doing so I have been asked on numerous occasions where I got the mount from and what type of mount it is so I thought that I would write a blog post giving people all the information that they need to install their own iPad in their Taxi.
There are a few mounts now on the market for the iPad so I did a lot of research into what in my personal opinion was the best mount to use and also where to purchase the mount. Unfortunately the one that I consider to be the best by far is also the most expensive but as they say you get what you pay for in this life.
The mount I eventually purchased is made by a company called Ram Mount www.ram-mount.co.uk, there was 2 main reasons for choosing this particular mount the first being that I have experience of using Ram Mounts as I use one in my Off Road vehicle to mount a Samsung Q1 Ultra Tablet PC in the vehicle for using Memory Map and it has proved to be very tough, sturdy and reliable. The second being that Ram Mount offer the most flexible mounting brackets of any company within the market place of which each component can be purchased separately as the system is modular.
Ram Mount offer 2 different types of cradle, one which you slide the iPad into similar to their iPhone mount and another which is a sprung loaded mount which can be used to mount the iPad whilst it is still in a protective case, by calling the vodafone customer care number.
(All of the prices shown are exclusive of VAT or postage charges)
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| Cradle that can be used without a case RAM-HOL-AP8 £36.99 |
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| Cradle that can be used whilst the iPad is in a case RAM-HOL-TAB3 £34.90 |
Above you can see the 2 different types of cradle that Ram Mount currently offer, these are just the cradles that hold the iPad but you also need to purchase the bracket to hold the cradle in place, the bracket comes in 3 separate pieces which need to be ordered individually. You can see the bracket components below.
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| RAM-B-238 £7.09 One of these is bolted through the side of the dashboard |
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| RAM-B-201-C £21.40 The arm connects the 2 ball joints together and allows the adjustment of the whole assembly.Tightening the large wing-nut gives the whole assembly its rigidity. |
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| RAM-B-238 £7.09 One of these is bolted to the cradle (RAM-HOL-TAB3 Only) |
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| RAM-B-202 £8.12 One of these is bolted to the cradle (RAM-HOL-AP8 Only) |
The bracket that holds the cradle is the same as that used by ComCab to mount their terminals. The balls have a rubber coating on them which stops the arm from unwanted swivelling. Please note that the 2 cradles use different ball joint mounts and please make sure that you order the correct one for your cradle.
You bolt one of the ball joints through the side of the dashboard in exactly the same position as ComCab and then bolt the other ball joint to your cradle of choice, you then use the arm to connect the 2 balljoints together and adjust the whole assembly to your desired position before tightening the large wing-nut on the arm. Once installed the whole thing remains very sturdy and does not move at all, so far in 2 weeks I have not had to re-adjust my installation at all in my Taxi as it has not moved.
I will try to get some better pictures of the cradle mounted in my cab tomorrow and some of it broken down into its component parts, if anyone would like more information or advice then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Please note I have no connection with Ram Mount nor do I earn any commission from their products, I just think that they offer a very good product, as I have said earlier in this post these brackets are not cheap and the minimum cost including VAT would be £84.16 plus postage but they are in my personal opinion the best on the market at present.