iPad Accessory Review: Just Mobile Horizon iPad Wall Mounting System

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We’ve taken a look at a number of different accessories from Just Mobile. Among them have been the AluPen, the XStand, the Gum Plus and the UpStand. All have impressed us and remain in use by one of us here at Gear Diary. Their newest product, the Just Mobile Horizon, is the Just Mobile take on the iPad wall mount. It looks great, does its job and, overall, impresses. Let’s take a closer look.

 

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From JustMobile:

The high-style wall mount for iPad: Just Mobile Horizon™ is the minimalist wall mount for iPad and iPad 2, designed by the award-winning team at Tools.

Crafted from high-grade aluminum, Horizon™ comes with rubber inserts that hold iPad and iPad 2 firmly in place – without the need for complex brackets. And with a hidden dock connector slot and rubber home button, your wall-mounted iPad will work in both landscape and portrait modes. Horizon™ can transform your iPad into an entertainment centre, digital picture frame or wall-mounted remote control – the possibilities are limitless.

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Features:

Stylish design

Premium aluminum construction

Rubber inserts for iPad and iPad 2

Unobtrusive wall bracket with secure ball-lock mechanism

Works in portrait and landscape modes

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From this angle you can see the thoughtful way the Horizon wall mount was designed. At the very inside there is a rubber “tray” that holds the iPad snuggly in place. It is soft and won’t scratch your precious device. It is tight and the iPad won’t come out until you consciously decide to remove it. It comes with two different inserts and therefore fits both the original iPad and the iPad 2 perfectly.

Around the rubber tray is the aluminum bracket that holds it securely. A bar of aluminum runs along the back and is used to neatly secure the wall mount in place without the need to reveal any screw heads or other mounting hardware.

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Here’s the bar “doing its thing”. More on it shortly.

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At the bottom of the Horizon is a cutout for the dock connector to pass through the wall mount and connect to the iPad. Since the rubber insert grips the iPad tightly I didn’t find myself concerned that my pressing up on the iPad to push the cable into the dock connector would pop the iPad out of the Horizon.

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The first step in using the JustMobile Horizon is to locate where you want it to be place. Since this is a wall mounted system you are going to want to careful determine the best location for it before you begin installation. After all, you’ll be putting holes in the wall and unless you are handy with spackle and paint you want to install once and only once.

Since I plan on using the Horizon in my house long after the review has gone live but haven’t yet determined where I want to place it I decided to a “review install” on a wall that is soon to be covered by a new cabinet.

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Step one require me to draw a horizontal line. Since I didn’t have a level I downloaded a level app from the iTunes App Store. Yup, there an app for that. The line drawn, I used the included paper template to locate where the screws should go. If this were a permanent install I would have drilled holes and put in the mollies in order to get the best grip on the sheet rock. Since it is only temporary I just screwed the screws into the wall.

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The screws need to go all the way in or they will interfere with the Horizon brace slipping over the wall mount.

At the center of the mounting bracket is a small spring loaded ball. It provides a bit of resistance as the brace is slipped over the bracket. It is this attention to small details that makes products like this so impressive.

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Once the bracket is in place you are good to go.

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The iPad can sit in the Just Mobile Horizon in a vertical orientation. When it does the bit of black rubber from the “tray” that pushes through the aluminum becomes useful.

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It lets you activate the home button even when the iPad is held in the Horizon. (Personally I wish Apple would adopt the approach taken by RIM with the PlayBook whereby you slide your finger from one side of the bezel to the other and the device wakes up. Maybe in iOS 6.0.)

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You can also set your iPad into the Just Mobile Horizon in landscape orientation.

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In all, the Just Mobile Horizon is a polished method to secure your iPad or iPad 2 to the wall with no loss in functionality. Because of the design, both in regard to how it is secured to the wall and the manner in which the iPad is held in place, I had zero concern about my precious iPad falling to the ground. That’s kind of important when you are talking about a $500-$800 device.

The Horizon looks great, gives off a high level of refinement and works as promised. I really can’t find anything negative to say about the accessory itself and that says a lot. If I DID have to list a complaint it is the fact that the only shipping option on the Just Mobile site is with DHL for $18. To spend $18 to ship a $50 item seems a bit high to me. You can learn more and order yours on the Just Mobile website.

MSRP: $49.96

What I Like: Looks great; Holds the iPad in vertical or horizontal orientation; When used with the iPad oriented vertically the Home button is fully functional through the mounting bracket; Still able to sync/charge the iPad; Works with both generations of the iPad

What Needs Improvement: $18 shipping strikes me as a bit high

 

 

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.