'special space in dash' for blue&me tomtom

[bu22er]

hi i'm getting a 2011 punto evo on thursday, can't wait!
i don't use a sat nav enough to justify the 300 pounds. but i wondered, is there anything on the market so i could plug my htc into the useful slot? it would be really nice to aviod wires and be able to use my phone for sat nav on the odd time i need it.

i can't find find anything? any advice or suggestions?

 

[T14086]

They were on offer plus look on ebay or secondhand. They work very well.

 

[bu22er]

yer, i'm going to keep my eyes peeled, would be a dam sight cheaper if i could find one to fit my phone though! already got sat nav on it, 235 is the cheapest i've found so far.

 

[EvoStevo]

That's about what I found in my local dealers.

Although before shelling that much out I would be insisting on a demo.

 

[sludgeguts]

Slightly off the B&M topic but I've often wondered why manufacturers don't seem to make much use of the shedloads of space available under/behind the dash?
I often see people driving along with a satnav mounted on the windscreen right in their line of sight or at some other awkward point on the screen. Then you get those telltale rings left behind from the crusty drool where people have licked the suction cup. And often these things never hold firmly.
So I wondered why they don't simply utilise the area to the outside of the instrument cluster to put in a cubby with a lift up lid? This cubby could have a powerpoint such as 2 cig lighters and 3 USB socket so that a satnav could be safely used and stored and even a phone could be mounted.
Of course, fixed inside the cubby, the screens would be easier to see & not cluttering up the windscreen.

 

[Juggers2k]

Slightly off the B&M topic but I've often wondered why manufacturers don't seem to make much use of the shedloads of space available under/behind the dash?
I often see people driving along with a satnav mounted on the windscreen right in their line of sight or at some other awkward point on the screen. Then you get those telltale rings left behind from the crusty drool where people have licked the suction cup. And often these things never hold firmly.
So I wondered why they don't simply utilise the area to the outside of the instrument cluster to put in a cubby with a lift up lid? This cubby could have a powerpoint such as 2 cig lighters and 3 USB socket so that a satnav could be safely used and stored and even a phone could be mounted.
Of course, fixed inside the cubby, the screens would be easier to see & not cluttering up the windscreen.

One of the reasons could be airbags - the more stuff you have on top of the dash, the more chance of the passenger airbag shoving something hard and pointy in your face in a crash.

That said, on my GP there's a shiny round plastic disc fixed to the dash to the left of the instruments. No idea if it's standard fit, a factory option or even an aftermarket thing glued onto the dash, but it's perfect for my satnav sucker, and makes it much easier to reach than it would be on the screen, which is miles way on the GP!

 

[sludgeguts]

One of the reasons could be airbags - the more stuff you have on top of the dash, the more chance of the passenger airbag shoving something hard and pointy in your face in a crash.
!

Something more effective than an airbag would be to have something large and pointy fixed to the middle of the steering wheel - might just slow a few of them down :devil:
However, we live in a world where it's always someone else's fault - you scald yourself with hot tea - it's someone else's fault because they didn't warn you it'd be hot!

Anyway. The area of the dash I was talking about wouldn't contain an airbag on any car that I know of as the drivers' airbag is generally in the centre of the steering wheel & I'm talking about the acres of dash between the screen & the front edge. Best one I've come across was a bus conversion based on the ducatto. In the middle of the top of the dash was a handy gadget which opened up in a 'z' shape. Lifted at the screen, it had a clip on the top edge to hold paperwork (route, schedule etc) and lifted at the rear it opened a lid to a small cubby above the radio - large enough to store A4 paperwork. Strange thing was, some official decided we weren't to use the clip to dsiplay our schedule so they fixed it down with silicone sealant - yeah, like that stopped me :devil:.
When I was called in about it, someone had decided that having the flap up so we could see our schedule meant it obscured too much of our vision - isn't that for me to decide? In fact, it was only ever a problem if you were turning in a very tight spot as it blocked the view of the edge/corner of the bonnet (and you took this into account in much the same way as you knew the bumper and some bodywork stuck out beyond the 'horizon' of the bonnet.

 

[deeyup]

I've not come across one yet, but it would be great if someone like brodit made a plug to go into the dash top port. They could then do the various adapters to fit iPhone , Samsung, htc etc.

Perfect mounting place for you phone and no trailing cables.

 

[Marcos999]

yer, i'm going to keep my eyes peeled, would be a dam sight cheaper if i could find one to fit my phone though! already got sat nav on it, 235 is the cheapest i've found so far.

Keep looking, I ended up getting mine for £82.