Kickstarter spotlight: STEELIE
With most mobile electrics now being impervious to magnets trying to harm them, that opens up for a lot of interesting magnetic accessories, like the Smart Cover and the Maglus. The STEELIE build on that by using magnets to connect mobile devices to various accessories. The system consists of five pieces: one magnet each for small devices (phones) and large devices (tablets), a tablet stand with a metal ball at the end, an adhesive-mounted ball for places like the car, and a snap-on “handle” that can also prop the device up. The idea is that the magnets provide both a fast way of attaching and detaching the device from the accessory, as well as a system for being able to pivot the device around to any angle, like a ball joint on steroids.
The idea is neat, and gives you an alternative to similar systems that use other connection methods, like the Orbit or the MobileMount. The downside is you have to have a magnet attached to your device, which can add some bulk. I’m using a cheap (as in $1.30) plastic/rubber case on my phone and am sitting here thinking that I could get the smartphone version, cut a hole in the case, and hide part of the magnet. I’m also wondering if the smartphone version is capable of holding my 7-inch 350 gram Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, which would let me get away with a smaller magnet attached to the back. Lots of possibilities with this one. Either way, a nice project – one that needs another $8500 in the next 18 days. Video after the break.
[Kickstarter]
