Car and Motorcycle Mounts for the BLU Life One

Car and Motorcycle Mounts for the BLU Life OneIn the world of overpriced smartphones, the BLU Life One 4G LTE Smartphone is a real bargain.  Lots of premium features go with these unlocked phones which supports GSM and LTE networks such as those from AT&T.  Just insert your SIM card.  You may not even need to call the carrier.  These aren’t going to rival a state of the art Apple iPhone 6s but then again, it’s going to cost less.  A lot less.

The BLU Life One has some nice specs.  A 1.2 GHz quad-core processor.  The operating system is Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat) but can be upgraded to v5.0 (Lollipop).  A real nice 13 MP camera supporting 4128 x 3096 pixels with auto-focus and LED flash.  Like most good smartphones, the BLU Life One has an accelerometer, gyrometer and proximity sensors.  The memory is rather unimpressive 8GB but fear not, there’s a micro SD card slot that allows a card up to 64 GB.

With a decent 5.0 inch diagonal measured screen using Corning Gorilla Glass 3, this phone measures 5.65 x 2.84 x 0.30 inches (143.5 x 72.1 x 7.5 mm).  These are the measurements needed when selecting your mount.  A universal mount is needed for these phones as I’m not aware of any custom mounts on the market for this brand (let alone this model).  Most, but not all, universal mounts are going to fit.  You will need a mount with a larger expandable cradle, especially if you are using a case or skin which is always recommended.    For those that have purchased a universal mount to hold your older phone, hopefully it opens wide enough to hold your new device without a problem.  Most universal mounts offer options to upgrade your cradle to a larger one.

I often add a statement about the necessity of a case for most smartphones since most smartphones cost a lot of money, but you are going to find these phones are real bargain in terms of pricing.  I think you should buy a case for it anyway.  A single drop on ceramic tile that results in a broken lens will cost way more than the case.  I’ve dropped my phone on the driveway from six feet up and it didn’t receive any damage at all thanks to the case.  Buy a good thick case that will provide a lot of cushioning.

On to the mount discussion.

For the car, give the location of your mount some thought.  There are lots of places to mount your BLU Life One.  The windshield is the most popular location to mount especially if you plan to use it as a GPS with my favorite application which is Waze.  We are big fans and speak to personal positive experience with the  Arkon’s Megagrip Travel Mount for mounting a phone on the windshield.  This mount has the necessary expandable cradle which expands to 3.4 inches by pressing the button at the lower left corner.  This will fit your phone with or without a case.  The mount comes with an adhesive dash plate so that you can attach to the mount to your dash as well as your windshield.  A photo of this mount in the dashboard configuration accompanies this article.  This dash disk is handy for states that do not permit windshield mounts which we documented in a recent article.

As a nice alternative to traditional windshield mounting, consider the iKross Car Cup Holder Phone Mount.  The cup holder base is expandable from 2.7 to 3.7 inches.  It will fit almost any vehicle’s cup holder.  There is a 12″ flexible stem that allows bending of the mount to the right angle for the driver or passenger.  The phone can rotate 360 degrees into portrait or landscape and is easy to insert and remove.  The expandable cradle opens to 8 inches so it will fit your phone with or without a case or skin.

My personal favorite location for a phone is the car air vent. The Spigen Magnetic Vent Mount for SmartPhones is an excellent choice for your vent.  This mount can be used on horizontal and vertical vents.  Right around eye level and out of the way of potential thieves, the vent is a good location for mounting a lightweight device.  Check your vent to make sure it’s well made enough to hang a lightweight device.  A recent innovation is mounts is the use of a small magnet coupled with a very thin adhesive metal disk which sticks to the back of your phone.  The great thing about magnetic mounts is the simple process for install and removal.  It’s a simple matter of simply matching up where the metal strip is to the magnet.

For motorcycle use, it’s important that you select a mount that has a well constructed cradle that is going to hold your BLU Life One very tightly so that it stays put through the vibration of a ride.  We continue to recommend the RAM X-Grip line.  These are heavy-duty mounts that are mostly constructed of metal and feature a lifetime warranty.  The mount has gone through some rigorous shake tests and holds up well on a motorcycle.  We wrote about X-Grips extensively on this site and you can view that article here.  Most motorcycles can use the RAM X-Grip IV Handlebar Mount.  These mounts feature the expandable X-Grip IV cradle which can open to 4.5 inches which is large enough for most cases.  We always recommend tethering your device for added security.