GripGo (Universal Car Mount For Cell Phones & Tablets) – A Marketing Review

According to skeptics around the country, there’s no way that your 1987 Ford Aerostar minivan should still be operational, let alone capable of reaching highway speeds.

But you have successfully proved them wrong.  By keeping your beloved brown and tan minivan inside of a garage, spending a small fortune in the routine maintenance and upkeep, and thanks to a little bit of luck, you’ve beaten the odds.  It’s sleek, it’s futuristic, it’s worthy of belonging inside of a museum.  And it’s all yours to enjoy.

The engine races as you climb the I-85 north ramp on Spaghetti Junction, merge with another lane on top of the interchange, and then descend and fly down the ramp and join the rest of the northbound side of interstate 85 in metro Atlanta.  The growing traffic isn’t much of a concern as you accelerate well past the posted speed limit, check your mirrors, and then cut through gaps between the cars.  As long as there aren’t any speed traps, you’ll be up in Buford and enjoying Moe’s Monday in no time.  Mmmmm, burritos!

Suddenly the “Macarena” song screams into the air as your cell phone alerts you to an incoming call.  You glance towards the phone and notice that it has slid to the opposite side of the passenger seat.  Dang it.  While keeping your foot on the gas pedal and cutting traffic like a maniac, you lean over and snatch the phone before it slides off the seat.

BEEP!  BEEP!  BEEEEEEEEP!

OH F%#K!

“Heeeeeeeey Macarena!”

You violently jerk the steering wheel and barely avoid smashing into a tiny little Smart Car in the next lane.  The back end of the minivan fishtails until the rear tires regain their traction on the asphalt.  Whew!  That was a close one.  Now that you’re re-established yourself in your lane, you finally end the “Macarena” song and answer your call.

After the phone call, you can’t help but ask yourself if there’s a better way of holding your cell phone in your car.  You know, besides not using the infernal contraption and ignoring all of your incoming calls and text messages while you’re driving.

GripGo website — www.GetGripGo.com

What’s this?  The GripGo?  Can it really help me drive safer while talking on the phone?

GripGo TV commercial

Let’s take a closer look and review the advertisement for the GripGo universal car mount for cell phones and tablets.  Maybe we’ll find a few faults along the way.

GripGo TV commercial – Where in the f%#k is that f%#king phone in my motherf%#king car?!?

The GripGo television commercial begins by showing us some all-too-familiar scenes.  There we are driving along, minding our own business, when suddenly there’s a phone call.  Lord knows that we cannot find a place to stop our vehicle before answering the call (or text message).  We have to answer that call right f%#king now, even if we’re driving in traffic.

What are we supposed to do?  Ignore the phone call or text message?  LOL.  I don’t think so.  Those other motorists will gladly give you extra room on the roads while you distract yourself with the phone.  Everybody does it.  They’ll understand.  Right?

We also see examples of other scientists who choose to place their cell phone on the dash board.  And what happens when you make a turn?  That’s right.  The phone slides all the way across the dash.  I mean, how in the hell are you supposed to answer phone calls and monitor all of those text messages when the damn phone keeps moving all over the place?

GripGo TV commercial – Look!  It’s Dave Jones!  Holy crap!

Along comes Dave Jones and the GripGo.

Dave says that it’s time for us to “get a grip.”  Could this car mount be our solution for ending one of the biggest problems facing drivers today?

GripGo TV commercial – It’s a universal car mount for cell phones.

The Gripgo advertisement claims that this is “. . . one of the most versatile, hands-free mount that will instantly grip any phone for safe driving.”

Looking at the car mount, it certainly looks versatile.  The suction mount allows you to position the base on your dash board or windshield, and the arm allows you to position your device for better viewing.  And hopefully keeping it out of your line of sight for safe driving.

GripGo TV commercial – Just how safe is it to drive while talking on the phone?

Woah!  Just stop right there.  What in the world do we see wrong in this example of the GripGo?

First of all, the GripGo is mounted AND positioned right in the MIDDLE of her windshield.  By the time you add the cell phone, a large area of her vision is blocked just so that her phone is handy and within sight.  Just how safe is that again?

This is like those seniors who insist on driving with their handicap signs hanging from their rearview mirror.  Why would you intentionally place an obstruction in your field of view?  Oh yeah.  That’s right.  It’s because YOU ARE AN IDIOT!

Here we also have the GripGo advertisement stating that the product will help make for safe driving.

Are you ready?

Taking your hands off your cell phone does NOT necessarily make you a safer driver!

So many people get this wrong.  They simply believe that as long as both of their hands are on the wheel, then it’s still safe to use a phone through an ear piece or speaker phone.  THIS IS NOT TRUE!

The biggest problem with using a cell phone while driving is that your attention is focused on something outside of the car and you safely driving through traffic.  It does not matter whether you’re holding a phone, using an ear piece, or even using speaker phone.  The point is that your attention is focused on the conversation with a distant person.  That person is not sitting with you in the car.  That person doesn’t know about the traffic around you.  That person is not watching the traffic lights or the other drivers who are not paying attention.

When driving, a split second decision may be the difference with being involved in a collision.  As a driver it is your responsibility to always be aware of your surroundings.  Being on the phone, whether you’re holding one in your hand or not, greatly reduces your attention to the roads and places you in greater risk of being in an accident.

There have been scientific studies that proves my theory correct.  This isn’t just a personal statement.  This is solid fact that most people ignore.

“Oh, my driving doesn’t change when I’m talking on the phone.  I’m still safe.”

Bullsh*t.

Everybody’s driving style changes when they talk on the phone, and many of them aren’t even aware of it.

Remember that the person you are talking to is not with you in the car, keeping a watch on the other drivers and conditions around you.  That person is somewhere else, and while you are on the phone, your attention is focused on that other person.  This is even more dangerous if you’re trying to work out a problem or any other task while talking on the phone.

Don’t be a fool.

Avoid using the phone while driving.

GripGo TV commercial – “You will worship me,” said the phone.  “You know that you cannot live without me.”

The commercial shows up that it’s very fast to mount the GripGo to your car and then attach your phone to it.

That’s a great selling point.  Not only does it appear to be easy to mount, but it allegedly does not leave behind any marks or sticky stuff in your car or on your phone.  It sure beats the old days of having to lick the back of suction cups and then placing it onto the windshield.  Yuck!

GripGo TV commercial – Look!  There’s no mess on the phone!

Next we see an example how the GripGo does not leave behind a sticky residue on your cell phone.  After removing the phone from the GripGo, the phone is placed in some feathers and then lifts to show us that it’s still clean.

That looks pretty neat.  So how does the GripGo remain so sticky but yet it does not leave behind any residue?

GripGo TV commercial – Look at how the GripGo and cell phone help BLOCK HIS VIEW.

Once again we’re told that we can mount our cell phones and keep them within our field of view, making us safer drivers.

As it’s been explained, this is not true.  Here you can even see that Dave has his GripGo mounted right in the middle of his windshield, and that and the cell phone block part of his view.  What the hell, Dave?  Are you trying to show us how to be even more distracted while driving?

When your cell phone is in the center console or on the seat next to you (or whever else you store your damn phone), you’re less likely to continually glance at it and use features such as phone calls, texting, navigation, streaming music, and whatever else you like to do on your phone.

But when you place that object of mass distraction right in front of you, even when you’re not using it, you’re going to be more likely to continually glance at it or use the features.  Gee, is this going to make you more or less of a safe driver?  I’ll give you a minute to answer that question while you finish texting your friend.

GripGo TV commercial – Position it as you need it.  You *do* need your phone while driving, don’t you?

Here we’re shown how the pivoting mount can swivel 360º to provide you with virtually any viewing angle.

Again, that seems like a pretty neat selling feature.  The only concern would be if the mount still has resistance to movement a year or two down the line.  Normally mounts are prone to slipping and the inability to stay positioned after some time.  It’s just a matter of when it starts to fail.

GripGo TV commercial – Car you hear me now?

And just how strong and secure is that green pad that holds the phone to the mount?

Allegedly it’s strong enough for Dave to hold his phone outside of a moving vehicle.  If this is true then that’s pretty impressive.  Will anybody have the guts to do this with their phone?

GripGo TV commercial – It works like millions of suction cups, just like the giant squid.

After that stunning example showing how the GripGo can allegedly hold a cell phone securely while outside of the car, we’re shown the secret to how the GripGo really works.

Well, not really.

All that we’re really told about the sticky surface is that it’s a “. . . unique polymer surface that acts like millions of suction cups . . . “  So we know that it’s not a giant or series of suction cups, but it merely acts like them over and over again.  That’s as scientific as we’re going to get in this advertisement.

GripGo TV commercial – It’s the menacing bowling ball versus a carton of innocent eggs test.

To help emphasize the strength of GripGo’s “suction,” here we see a twenty-pound bowling ball being suspended over a container of eggs.

First of all, we can only take them at their word that the ball really weighs that much.  For all we know this could be a one-pound ball that merely looks really heavy.

Second, did anybody catch how much pressure was used when the bowling ball holder was attached to the GripGo’s pad?  Now that was a LOT of force.  Is that important when it comes to analyzing this product and any potential flaws?  Probably so.

GripGo TV commercial – Just rub it under the water when it’s dirty.

Should the GripGo become dirty, all we have to do is rinse it off in the water.  We then see that it’s still sticky enough to hold a cell phone after it’s cleaned.

Is the surface just as sticky after it’s washed?  Can you use it to hold a phone outside of a moving car, or suspend a bowling ball over some eggs after rinsing off the GripGo?

GripGo TV commercial – Yes, you can also use it to mount your f%#king tablet, too.

It’s not just for cell phones.

Here we can see that the GripGo can apparently also hold cell phones with protective cases, GPS units, and even your precious tablet.

Mounting a tablet on the dash of your car?  Really?  Have we really reached the point where people need to actually mount their damn tablets in the car?  Wouldn’t that be incredibly distracting to the driver, even if it’s the passenger using the tablet?

Tell me, is anybody going to be stupid enough to try to mount a tablet to their windshield?

GripGo TV commercial – Wow!  We must really be getting a super-duper deal here, right?

So just how much do those *other* cell phone car mounts cost?

$80.00?!?  Are they serious?

And to think, Walmart sells a variety of cell phone car mounts for significantly cheaper than $80, even the GripGo ($10.88 at that store as of this article’s publishing).

That’s where the advertisement ends, even on the product’s website.  We’re on our own at this point in the sales process.

GripGo’s website advertises a buy-one-get-one-free promotion.  Unlike other as-seen-on-TV promotions, they are NOT charging extra money to ship the free item.  In addition to the second GripGo, the promotion also includes two dashboard mounts along with a FREE GIFT.

And just what is the free gift?

That’s a mystery, my friends.

The TOTAL COST of the GripGo promotion costs $24.90 ($14.95 + $9.95 P&H).

FINAL THOUGHTS

Are you one of those people who needs their cell phone always ready and on display, ready to use at a moment’s notice?

If so, then you’ve probably already looked into using a car mount for your phone.  For those people who haven’t, one of the biggest concerns of purchasing a car mount involves finding one that’s not only easy to use, but can also hold a variety of phones.

Let’s face it.  Cell phones come in a variety of shapes and sizes these days.  Chances are likely that you’ll find more use out of a universal cell phone mount versus one that’s made to hold only certain models of phones.

As far as the GripGo, one of my biggest problems with the advertising is the way they continually throw around the term “safe driving.”  That’s just flat-out wrong.  They should have said safer driving.  As long as you’re driving and using a cell phone, whether you’re holding it in your hand or not, then you are still greatly increasing your chances of being involved in an accident.

The difference between holding and not holding a cell phone comes down to a person’s dexterity skill.  I’ve seen people with only one arm drive a car better than people with two arms.  I can easily hold a drink in my hand and out drive most of my fellow motorists.

Setting down a phone and using speaker phone (or an ear piece) does NOT necessarily make it any safer to drive the car.  As it was already explained, your attention is still focused on the conversation with the person on the other end of the phone.  That’s the part of the argument that most people do not understand.  Physically holding a phone has little to do with being a safer driver on the roads.

Getting back to the GripGo, to me, it always seems suspicious when a product is capable of doing incredible feats, such as holding a heavy bowling ball above a container of eggs.  Or as we saw in an example, using the GripGo to hold and shake a cell phone outside of a car while it is in motion.  Of course, these examples have been rehearsed and designed to have the maximum effect on the consumers.  It’s just that when you demonstrate what looks like the impossible, it increases the doubt as to whether or not the average person will see those same results.

I’m not going to go into detail about GripGo’s horrendous website and the way that they have all of that text at the bottom of the page.

GripGo is being presented as a product that will help you be a “safe driver.”  “Safe driver” is their term, not mine.  This is a cell phone mount that wants you to use the speaker phone function (a great way to share your conversation with the entire car), or, as we surprisingly didn’t see, using an ear piece.  Perhaps showing people ear pieces would give them idea that they wouldn’t need to mount their phone, and therefore wouldn’t need a mount like this one.

Remember that cell phones and driving a car DOES NOT MIX.  It’s a terrible combination that is responsible for many of today’s lousy drivers, most of them not even aware of their horrible driving skills or lack of them.

When you’re driving a car, put away a phone and save it for when you reach your destination.  If you need to make a call when driving, then, for the love of God, find some place to pull over and stop your car.

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All of the GripGo commercial images are screenshots of a TV commercial currently available on YouTube and the product’s website.  For more product information, please visit the company’s website at www.GetGripGo.com.

GripGo is a registered trademark.

RellimZone.com is not affiliated with GripGo.

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This article was originally published at www.chamberofreviews.com on October 17, 2013.