Made of handsome machined aluminum, Ele’s eleMount ($80) is a mount option that uses sticky pads to hold any iDevice floating off a desk or table. Shaped like a barbell standing on one of its edges, the mount tapers in toward the middle, where the two ends meet at a ball joint. Both flat ends are equipped with Ele’s sticky polyurethane, which will hold the accessory to your desk, and hold any iPad, iPhone, or iPod as well. Optional caps keep the pads clean when not in use.
Standing about 3.75” tall when fully stretched out, eleMount has a rather simple, yet elegant, design. It’s just about symmetrical out from the center, like a tapered hourglass. The lower base can be unscrewed to reveal a tripod mount, something you may not even notice if you don’t already know it’s there. In the middle, the ball joint connecting the halves allows the top to rotate to different positions. It’s somewhat tight, and a little squeaky. Our review sample came with the ball already a little scraped up, but it holds any position well, which is the important thing. A small divot in the adjoining piece allows for a lower angle.
The identical adhesive pads are as sticky as we’d expect, holding the mount to a desk and a tablet or handset to the mount. On a bare device, the hold works how it should. It’s secure, without leaving any residue or causing damage. We tested with multiple devices, including an iPad Air, and all were able to be held properly at multiple angles. Cases are a somewhat different story. Hard plastic cases may be OK to use, but we wouldn’t recommend popping a leather, fabric, or other similar protector on there.
As is often the case with aluminum accessories, eleMount looks very nice, but comes at a significantly high price because of the material. Functionally, it’s a nice product, something we could see being useful on many desks. We only wish there was a consumer-level correlate to this pro-level accessory, something in a more affordable price range that still took advantage of the smart design. Because most people won’t be able to justify the cost, eleMount earns our limited recommendation.
Update (July 10, 2014): Beyond the scope of the issues noted in our initial review, which earned eleMount a limited recommendation grade of B-, we have become aware of numerous user complaints regarding defects with the adhesive pads, as well as customer problems with receiving responses to their complaints. While the pad defects were not present when we tested a unit, we would now advise serious caution before ordering eleMount. We have contacted Ele for comment, and will update further with any response.
Our Rating
Company and Price
Company: Ele
Website: www.elephantele.com
Model: eleMount
Price: $80
Compatible: All iPads, iPhones, iPods