Tom's Guide Verdict
The iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount has a lot to like, not least the way it doesn’t mean an air vent is out of action. Its ease-of-use is also a big positive, as is the competitive price.
Pros
- +
The mount can be rotated into portrait and landscape
- +
Using a CD player slot means you don’t lose an air vent or have to make sure it’s mounted firmly on your dashboard
- +
The mount is strong and doesn’t move when you tap or rotate your phone
Cons
- -
Not all cars have CD players
- -
People who need to use the included Bracket might have a battle on their hands
- -
No charging capabilities
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Price: $20
Wireless Charging: No
Color: Black
Orientation: 360-degree rotation for landscape and portrait
Design: CD Slot mount
If you have a CD player sitting unused in your car, then the iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount might be for you. Putting your car mount into your unused CD player slot is a great idea for all kinds of reasons, not least because it means your air vents are free for doing what they were built to do.
Some modern cars might not have a CD player of course, but those who do should definitely consider this mount.
iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount: Price and availability
The Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount is competitively priced at just $20 from Amazon right now. The product is listed on the iOttie website but is out of stock at the time of writing.
iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount: Design and features
Made of plastic, for the most part, the Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount isn’t what anyone would call a premium design.
But it’s functional, and sometimes that’s enough. The parts that touch your car and phone are soft enough not to scratch anything, though, thanks to the use of rubber on those surfaces.
iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount: Setup
Putting the Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount into your car is a fairly simple process, for most people at least. For me, installation consisted of sliding the mount into my CD player’s slot and pulling a clip to hold it in place. That clip moves the part that slides into the CD tray so it isn’t easily removed and stays put when you’re driving. But here’s where things get tricky.
iOttie ships the Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount with what it calls the “Bracket.” The Bracket is a piece of plastic that sits inside the mount’s clip and it’s supposed to be used if the mount still moves around once installed. My guess is that it’s supposed to be for CD players whose slots are deeper than most — but it’s problematic. With the Bracket installed, closing the clip takes so much force it feels like you’re going to break something. You don’t, but it’s uncomfortable and awkward.
Thankfully, installing the phone is easier. Just push the Release Bars to open the mount up and push your phone in. That, in turn, pushes a button that retracts the mount’s sides and holds your phone in place. Simple.
iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount: Performance
Once installed, the Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount is a pleasure to use. It’s sturdy and has a robust feel. It doesn’t move around unless you want it to, at least in my car.
The unsung hero of the Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount’s design is the Release Bars. They make it easy to install and remove a phone — in my case, an iPhone 12 Pro — without the mount also being pulled from the CD slot. The Release Bars mean you don’t need to pull your phone to remove it, which is a problem some other phone mounts can have.
The only potential downside is that this mount is pretty visible when you aren’t using it. Chances are your CD player is fairly low down, so it won’t be in your eye line while driving, but it does mean your car’s interior might not look as great as it did before.
iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount: Verdict
All things considered, I’m a big fan of this mount. At $20, it won’t break the bank and it does what it sets out to do. I enjoy using the Release Bars because they mean the mount doesn’t move around when you remove your phone. It also means you can insert and remove your phone one-handed.
I also appreciate that putting the mount into an increasingly defunct CD player means airflow is unimpeded, something vent mounts can’t boast. I’ve tested a lot of different types of car mounts and I think the CD player approach is the best — assuming you actually have a CD player in your car, that is.
