Another vote here for Brodit. They're not the prettiest things in the world - but then again no car phone holders seem to be.
Yes you lose the air vent, but it allows your phone to be placed such that it does not obstruct the view of the road, and is held firmly with an integrated charger. Tuck the cable under the trim like I have and it's quite a neat setup.
Just beware if you are using holders, make sure you have no need to touch the phone while moving or with the engine running. Tougher laws introduced in March have meant a major crackdown on this and phone holders have been reason to be pulled over. Using your phone as a satvav also falls under this and could get you pulled over and fined if you need to change the route while moving etc.
[N.B. The remainder of this post is applicable to the UK only.]
I fully share your sentiment of not touching your phone whilst driving, however as the law stands in the UK, to get a ticket for using a mobile phone whilst driving, it must be:
- A mobile phone, or similar device (e.g. a sat nav, but excluding two-way radios on certain frequencies).
- Hand-held.
- In use.
Using a mobile phone while it is placed in a dock is not covered by this legislation, however you can still be prosecuted for the more serious offence of driving without due care and attention. However this is quite a high bar and as such it is very unlikely that you would be prosecuted for interacting with your mobile phone while it is docked/mounted - indeed Uber/private hire drivers in London get away with this every single day (rightly or wrongly).
That also means that you could in theory use an Apple Watch, because that isn't hand held!
On a side note, what I have noticed in response to the increase in the penalty that you allude to which happened in March (to a £200 fine and 6 points), more people have gone out and bought suction cup mounts... but plonked them right in the middle of their field of view. These idiots pose a danger to pedestrians because they miss out a huge chunk of their view of the road, and are liable to be ticketed for driving with an obscured view - £100 and 3 points.