One of the perks of being an iPhone or a Galaxy S user is that, generally speaking, you have a plethora of accessories to choose from. From cases to laser keyboards, when you own one of these devices you’re pretty much guaranteed to get the cream of the crop when it comes to accessories. Most of the time you’ll find that these accessories do little more than serve as novelty, but occasionally you’ll come across that rare exception where an accessory actually does something worth mentioning. It looks like the Zero G Anti-gravity case from Mega Tiny Corporation just might be one of those exceptions.
Simply put, this case gives recent iPhones and Galaxy S devices the means to mount on just about any smooth surface you can think of. The case is able to support the phones by using thousands of little suction cups on the back of the case. It’s simple, but it looks awesome.
The Kickstarter campaign was able to pull in more than five times the requested amount, and David Carnoy of CNET provided a brief review of the prototype that seems mostly positive. According to Carnoy, the prototype was able to keep an iPhone 6 attached to a wall all night long. According to Mega Tiny Corp., their tests showed that the case stuck to the wall even longer. To keep the case clean and functional, all you need to do is wipe it down with water.
When watching the Kickstarter video, you’re shown various ways in which such a case could be beneficial to anybody: during workouts, getting ready in the morning, going to bed at night, video chats, recording videos, and more. For all intents and purposes, this case gives true meaning to the phrase “hands free”.
However, there’s still a sense of danger that’s associated with the product.
You’re sticking a rather expensive piece of technology on the wall. Yes, it’s covered in a case, but as we all know, even a case won’t always protect a phone in the most drastic of drops. Depending on how high you stick the case or how much pressure caused it to fall (hypothetically) in the first place, you might end up with a very ugly paperweight at the end of the day. Plus, nobody really seems to know the actual longevity at which the case will last in terms of extended use – will it last a month, a year, or a decade before the suction stops working entirely, even after it’s been wiped down with water? Carnoy’s review was only conducted after a few days of usage, so the question of how many uses you get out of the product still seems to be up in the air.
Personally, though, I find myself intrigued. Maybe it’s because I’m using a phone that’s coming up on two years of age (and therefore making it a cheap replacement even if the case does fail), but this case seems like it’s a good replacement for one of the features that I really miss in phones – the kickstand.
When I got my HTC EVO 4G, the kickstand was one of the main reasons that I wanted the device. The screen was “large” at 4.3-inches (at the time, anyway) and a kickstand seemed like the perfect solution for resting the device when watching videos. The “anti-gravity” technology behind Zero G is essentially designed for the same thing - ease of use without having to use your hands – but is definitely a step up from the kickstand because you can use it just about anywhere without having to fumble around with any extra pieces.
I’ve seen a fair share of useless accessories in my day, but as an avid multi-tasker the Zero G case seems like it’s more innovative than gimmicky.
What are your thoughts on this new case, readers? Would you trust your smartphone in a Zero G Anti-gravity case, or do you prefer to keep your phone a little more grounded?