Kickstarter campaign details nifty credit card-sized iPhone stand

[David Tom]

The iPhone’s meteoric rise in the smartphone industry has helped more than just Apple earn a pretty penny; in fact, there are entire businesses devoted to designing and manufacturing accessories for the popular handset.

Thanks to an ongoing Kickstarter campaign, iPhone fans will soon be able to purchase another accessory to add to their collections; a portable iPhone stand that conveniently folds up into a credit card-sized package.

Geometrical Inc., the product’s manufacturer, is touting the Pocket Tripod’s ability to provide a stable platform, even when the iPhone is positioned at severe angles. The origami-like structure will allow the iPhone to be positioned in both portrait and landscape views, while keeping the entire product at a thickness of only 2.3mm.

So what are the uses of such a device? The obvious one has to do with picture and video taking. It happens far too often that an impromptu photo needs to be taken, and the iPhone is clumsily propped up onto an unsuitable ledge before the self-timer is set. To get a look at some of the product’s other uses, check out the video below, which goes into extensive detail about the Pocket Tripod.

The fundraising goal has been set to $45,000, with individual pledges starting at just $1, or $20 if you'd like to receive your very own Pocket Tripod in the mail starting in November. As of this writing the project is roughly $2,000 short of reaching their goal with little over a week to go.

Even Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, has expressed interest in the device. “Great project. Never would have come about without a great deal of creativity and desire to do something different,” he said.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/52945-kickstarter-campaign-details-nifty-credit-card-sized-iphone-stand.html

 

[VitalyT]

Hard to call which one it is more - sick or pathetic...

The only thing sure, from the number of backers, is that the sickness is contagious...

P.S. How would you like your Steve Jobs, sir?...

 

[Tekkaraiden]

It's a neat idea, though I would imagine if successful there will be a lot of knockoffs out of china.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

With some clever marketing people will buy it without realizing they never needed it in the first place. To me it looks like a superfluous gimmick. but hey, a lot of the world was built on gimmicks.

 

[Guest]

What manufacturers does take into consideration is that 99% of people put cases, that in most cases (lol pun) are easy to remove, on there phones.

 

[Guest]

Big problem...will not hold the iPhone if it is in a case (most of 'em). (n) They should have figured out a way to make the holding slot size adjustable - then it could be used with ANY phone.

Kind of dumb on their part I would think.

 

[RambodR]

Thank you for your concern.
The Pocket Tripod is the size of a couple of stacked credit cards. That leaves very little material to work with, and any adjustable mechanism (with moving parts) would make it weak and prone to breaking.
Various slim cases are being considered and compatibility modules are being designed for them.

Thanks,
Rambod.

 

[RambodR]

I appreciate that you think that the marketing is done well. I'm a mechanical engineer with no marketing background. Whether or not the Pocket Tripod is a "superfluous gimmick" is subjective, and really depends on the way you use your iPhone and what level of connivence you're satisfied with.
When I designed the Pocket Tripod, I aimed for convenience and functionality, which are things that are important to me.

Cheers,
Rambod.

 

[RambodR]

It's a neat idea, though I would imagine if successful there will be a lot of knockoffs out of china.

As the designer and manufacturer of the Pocket Tripod, I can promise you that it would be practically impossible to re-create a knockoff of the Pocket Tripod that WORKS. The Pocket Tripod is made of 6 precise and highly engineered parts with complex geometries that would be impossible to copy without the original engineering drawings and dimensions.

Rambod.