I'm trying to figure out a more optimal way to mount an iPhone or iPod in my S. Right now, I have the Magellan iPhone cradle and, although this works pretty well, as a mounting solution it has 2 weaknesses in my opinion. First, it is a bit of a pain to put the iPhone in and take it out of the mount of you're getting in and out of the car a lot. Second, the mount itself isn't permanent and the power wire is always dangling around. Although this last weakness, not being permanent, may be a benefit for some, I really want to try to find a mounting solution that is more permanent but looks OEM.

With this in mind, I was considering cutting the top of the dash to the right of the gauge cluster hump and recessing in an iPhone/iPod mount. Here is why I like this idea. First, placing the iPhone directly to the right of the hump (about 23 degrees right of straight ahead) would place the iPhone in very good line of sight for using GPS. Second, creating a permanent recessed mounting solution would mean I don't have to look at any wires going to the mount because they would all be hidden under the dash. Third, I think the hole for the recessed mount would be relatively small and inconspicuous. I had considered cutting the dash for a monitor but I like the way the S has such a clean interior with so little instrumentation and I think a monitor would be overkill for me because I won't use it to watch any movies, I was planning to run any camera systems to a rearview mirror unit, and because the iPhone has gps, I don't really need a monitor for that either.

I see 2 main problems. First, is there room in the location I'm thinking of to place a mount? Second, how would I structure the recessed mount to hold the iPhone securely enough? The screen on the iPhone is 3/4 of an inch from the bottom and keeping the opening tight enough I think would provide a reasonable amount of hold for daily driving, but any thoughts about this would be useful.

I'd appreciate any ideas, thoughts or suggestions any of you knowledgeable people have. I'd especially appreciate suggestions about possible mounts. I'm sure some will think this is a horrible idea but, if you do, please don't take over the thread.

Thanks