Arkon PDA Holder...

Now, I like a ride through uncharted territory as much as the next Brompton rider, but getting frustrated by getting lost can spoil this for me. So as something of a gadget lover I thought I would double my PDA up as my cycling sat nav. I have (read: had, I'll get to this in a minute) a Dopod 818 Pro, with TomTom 6 loaded and ready to roll. This is (was) a tidy little PDA and I'd used it as a sat nav in my car (this was when I realised it also planned routes for bikes!). So I punched my destination in a (20 mile jaunt through London) and off I went.
Now, when I pushed the PDA in I wasn't astounded by the security that it seemed to be offering. Yes, there are little foamy patches which stop any little scratches and allow for a squeeze fit, but there was a certain amount of play. I made it about 3 miles when I was directed through Rotherhithe tunnel. I wasn't that impressed with the idea, but I went with it anyway. I decided to trundle along the pathway, as the road is narrow and I didn't fancy a duel with my new kit onboard. I remember thinking this is a fairly rough piece of tarmac I'm currently travelling on, then "Ping". It was gone. My PDA had departed from the holder and decided to try and end it all. I managed to recover the PDA, and most of its constituent parts, from the side of the road. Bar a few scratches and grazes it was ok. I powered back up and went on my way, pretty annoyed, but determined to go for a pleasant ride.

The aforementioned "Ping" happened twice more during my trip. Once I noticed and again rescued the unit, but the second time I looked down and it was gone. By this time I was pretty hacked off with the whole arrangement! I retraced my steps and the first part I found was a battered battery cover. Now it took me a good 15 minutes to recover the rest of my PDA from the middle of a busy box junction. It had been run over by what could only have been an articulated lorry. It was smashed. Destroyed. Finito. And to think I was worried about the little scratches earlier in the day.

Now, the design is good as far as the handlebar mount goes. But the actual phone grip requires serious work. I'm considering getting an iphone or similar smartphone and all these phones have built in sat nav, but would I attach it to an Arkon holder? Only if I felt certain I could afford a replacement…

If you are going to get one of these, don’t. Get a holder where there are clips involved, don’t trust expensive bits of kit to little bits of foam…I think next time I’ll stick to the “A to Z” chartered territory.