1byone is a company based in China who makes a litany of products ranging from home security systems to TV antennas all the way to mobile accessories. They are quickly building a reputation as a company who makes high quality products as evidenced by their product reviews on Amazon.com. Sure they’re spelling on their product descriptions isn’t always up to par, but don’t let that deter you from trying out their products. They are a young company and are working out small kinks. 1byone sent me a universal magnetic mount stand to use in my truck and it certainly exceeded my expectations.
Let me explain in my review.
Design and Usage
The 1byone Universal Windshield Dashboard Car Mount is one of four mounts that they offer through Amazon.com and their website. The mount itself is made from very durable plastic with a suction cup mount on the bottom and an arm with a powerful magnet. 1byone provides two metal plates, one with a sticky gel pad that sticks to your device with a circular plate(about the size of a half dollar coin), and the other is a rectangular plate(about half the size of a standard credit card) that you can insert in between your case and phone.
Nothing is permanently stuck to your device or automobile, meaning you can adjust the positioning of the mount anytime you want or you can move it to another vehicle if need be. The gel pad is reusable if you decide to pull it off and want to put it on another phone or tablet. All you need to do is rinse it with water and it is as good as new once it dries.
Because I don’t use cases on any of my devices, the circular gel pad was the option for me to use(for the sake of this review I took pictures of the stand on my desk because getting good pictures in my truck wasn’t working out for me). I stuck the gel pad on my Amazon Fire phone which has a glass back, and the pad almost felt permanent because it was so sticky.
I attached the suction cup to the inside of my windshield and flipped the latch on the bottom of the mount to fix the mount. Once the mount was in place, and the metal plate stuck to my phone, I simply put my phone close to the magnet and it grabbed on. The magnet rotates and bends which allowed me to see my phone perfectly with a couple adjustments.
I have used other mounts which require some adjustments of arms to hold the device in place, but never used a magnetic mount. It was so much easier to use than those other mounts with adjustable arms as magnets make placement much simpler. I didn’t necessarily like the metal pad on the back on my phone as it stuck up from my phone about 2mm.
I didn’t use the metal plate inside of a phone case, but I can see that being a perfect solution to the circular disk on the back of my device. Providing both options, a metal plate and circular disk was a well thought out solution by 1byone.
After two solid weeks of daily use in the recent San Diego heat wave, and on a camping trip, the 1byone Universal car mount performed flawlessly. Mounts are nothing to get excited about, but this is going to stay in my truck and help keep my phone visible while being hands-free.
What I liked
- Price at $11.99
- Solid construction
- Compact size
- Strong suction cup and magnet
- Ability to rotate my device 360 degrees
- Reusable mounting system
- Ease-of-use
What I didn’t like
- Circular disk protruded from my device 2mm giving it an awkward feel
Summary
1byone is an upcoming company and makes high-quality products. The Universal Magnetic Mount Stand is not only cheap in price, but well thought out and well built. At $11.99 you won’t find a better mounting system and I recommend this to you if you use your phone for music, maps, and phone calls while in your automobile. Check it out on Amazon or at 1byone.
