This device turned my cell phone into a dash cam for less than $30

With the open road becoming an even stranger place each day and the holiday travel season approaching, many consumers want to record their drives, whether for evidence in the event of an accident or to monitor their own driving behavior. We here at Pocket-lint love a good dashcam ourselves, but the reality is that not all of them fit into a tight budget. Additionally, if you're a first-time buyer, you might not want to jump straight into the deep end of the dashcam marketplace.

All of that is fine and dandy. After all, there's a product out there for just about everything, and if you want a budget dash cam that doubles as a phone mount, I believe I've found the one you're looking for: the Lounge-IT from Smart Additions. Most phone mounts only couple up with your A/C vents, but as we know, not all vents are created equal. The Lounge-IT circumvents that problem by mounting onto your rearview mirror and, in turn, can also double as an excellent option for those who use dashcam apps on their phones.

The mount itself is highly secure

If you can stand a tiny magnet on the back of your phone, nothing beats this security

One of the things I really like about the Lounge-IT is that it's incredibly secure, thanks to a series of magnets on both the mount itself and one that sticks to the back of your phone. I wasn't sure what the phone magnet would be like to live with, but it hasn't snagged in my pocket once, shows no signs of ever coming off unless I really try, and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. Granted, I have a black phone case that blends in pretty well, but it's much smaller than any Pop-Socket I've ever seen, and that counts for something.

It's minimal enough to go unnoticed, but substantial enough to ensure your phone won't go anywhere in the mount unless you want it to. In the event of any accident, that kind of security is precisely what you want. I genuinely have to nearly pry it out of the mount each time I take it off, which, if you're going to make sure you do something exceptionally well with any phone mount, I'd rather that be the sticking point, pun intended.

It doubles as a traditional phone mount, too

Being able to multitask is a must these days

While the rearview mount works great, especially in cars like mine with large front windshields, being able to simultaneously function as a vent-based phone mount gives the Lounge-IT a few extra props. If you're in a sedan or a hatchback with a smaller front windshield, this might be the better option for you.

The best thing about the phone mount is that it's adjustable to any vent size or shape. All it takes is screwing the mount's base in or out to adjust its reach, then tightening it back down onto the vent for security's sake. All in all, my setup took about a minute, and then the Lounge-IT was road-ready.

In a world of wireless connectivity, phone mounts still make sense

I've used just about every infotainment display on the market, and none are perfect

The question of whether someone needs a phone mount today, when nearly every vehicle comes standard with wireless CarPlay or Android Auto, is a good one. However, as someone who religiously uses either platform and has spent a vast amount of time dissecting car infotainment systems, a phone mount still makes the utmost sense in 2025.

No infotainment system is perfect, and if you're a user of either mainstream option, the chances are you've experienced moments during your regular commute when CarPlay or Android Auto just randomly disconnects. Thus begins the scramble of reconnecting before you miss your turn, which can get pretty dangerous if your phone is, say, in your pocket. A mount solves that issue while keeping you much safer. It's a no-brainer — phone mounts still work even if you've gone wireless, and the Lounge IT is one of the most useful I've reviewed in terms of usability and practicality.

The Lounge-IT is currently on sale from Smart Additions for $28, but even at its $30 full price, it's a fraction of what a budget dash cam would cost, and it only requires about one-fifth of the setup.