PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I was so annoyed with conventional suction cupped bracket systems, I have used "many" & they’ve all failed! It only takes forgetting to remove it once on a hot day & the combination of tension & heat warps the mount. This causes a permanent loss in suction vacuum which causes it to frequently fall away; if you’re unlucky it will damage your device or even worse your dash!! (I circled my little spot in red).

Dash Top mount systems are great for large heavy displays. But eventually when it comes to removing it you'll be left with screw holes or you'll have difficulty removing adhesive without causing scouring. At the very least you'll be left with a dark shadowed area of dash that hasn’t faded naturally with with the rest of the dash in the sun. Devaluing & Ugly.

I was pleased to read up on the vent mount system, one that was $50 however. Looking around my sources I have found this. After 3 months of using this very same product I could not recommend a better mount, it’s simply brilliant.

FEATURES: Geared Spring System, grips your smartphone firmly while easing retraction.

Rotates 360o, self locking at 20 points.

Suitable for Thick or Thin Vents, just rotate prongs to suit.

Suitable for 3.5"-6.3" Devices, 90mm Wide Max iPhone 4S 5 5S 6 Plus Samsung S4 S5 S6 Note 3 4 HTC One M8 NOKIA etc

BENEFITS: It’s Small!; it’s so compact you can put it away anywhere.

Unobscured Vision; this mounts just below your windscreen giving you full vision of the road.

Accessible; Being mounted at arms reach enabling & using Speaker Phone is now much easier & safer.

Device Longevity; Your device battery hates heat & all devices become very hot with the GPS, Graphics & Display being constantly powered on while using Navigation, & of course in the direct line of site with the sun. In fact it can be so hot it’s not uncommon for your smartphone to stop everything & tell you it needs to cool down. Now your device will love it’s new shaded fan cooled location.