I get a lot of gadgets and gear that cross my desk, my side desk, my drawer cabinet, my office floor, well you get the idea. Anyway, a lot of the stuff is just that, stuff. Then there’s that one gadget that you keep picking up and looking at it and looking at it and you keep thinking of all these uses for it until you decide to give it a closer second look. A pseudo love affair ensues.
That’s what happened when I received the Thiphone which can be purchased online at http://www.thiphone.com. What in the world is the Thiphone and why in the world do you want one? Let me try to explain.
The Thiphone is an elastic strap with a plastic mount and suction cup that you stick on the back of your iPhone or iPod touch, your Blackberry, anything with a smooth surface for the suction cup. The idea is then to wrap the Thiphone strap around your leg and the angled mount allows you to easily watch and manipulate your portable device with just one hand. Think about it for a moment, let that image sink in. Now, that alone may not make you want to spend $24.95 for the Thiphone, but now think about it again, in what ways do you use your iPhone/ipod touch? What about in the car? Not for watching video and texting while you drive, but how about for your grandson sitting in his car seat in the back of your SUV? I just take my ipod touch and turn on his favorite show, VeggieTales, and strap the touch to the back of my seat so he can watch, but not touch it. Very nice.
Also at the gym on the stationary bike. I strap the ThiPhone to my arm and watch a video while putting in my 30 minutes of cycling a day. I wrap it around my headboard on my bed and catch up on my favorite videocasts while reading some owners manual. That’s not even mentioning the times that I actually strapped it to my thigh and used it while sitting in a chair or on a bench as it was meant to be used.
The mount swivels so you can view it either horizontal or vertical, and the strap is adjustable and elastic to get a comfortable, snug fit. Now the $24.95 price tag makes more sense. I’ll bet that in the time you’ve read this article that you’ve thought of a few ways that you can use the Thiphone in your everyday life too. That’s the sweet spot with a gadget like this, the more you use it, the more ways you’ll find to use it. I like that and I like this Thiphone thing. Think about it some more and see if you agree.
Thanks Tim,
at first I also had this “SERIOUSLY??” thought but thinking about my upcoming flights to the US. That’ll be awesome to attach it to the folded up table on the plane. $25 is still a little steep but it makes more sense than you might think on first sight.
Greets
Bastian