MoviePeg: An awesome chunk of rubber

OK, so it's actually a chunk of thermoplastic elastomer. That made for a poor title, though.

The MoviePeg is an inexpensive, ridiculously useful iPhone stand from magneticNorth. It's been my companion for a week, and frankly, I couldn't love it more.

Design

The MoviePeg is a small rectangle with a notch cut into it that perfectly accommodates the shell of an iPhone 3G or 3Gs.* One side of the notch is flat, while the other side curves to fit the iPhone's curved back. It weighs next to nothing and fits in my bag's smallest pocket.

They're available in six colors with clever names like Yellow Submarine and Soylent Green. I played it safe with Black Rain.

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*It can hold a 1st generation iPhone, but "...doesn't look great," according to magneticNorth. Additionally, it'll hold an iPod touch in the horizontal position but not vertical. An iPad version is in the works, as are model-specific iPod versions.

Use

The Movie Peg fits beautifully onto the iPhone, as if it were made to do just that. There are two orientation options available: Portrait and landscape. In landscape, the iPhone his held at a modest angle, maybe 30º. In portrait, the angle is a little deeper but not to the detriment of the experience. Setting it up truly feels like saying, "Here, hold this for me, would you?"

But what would one use it for? That's the fun part, true believers. As I work, it sits on my desk and runs Night Stand. This US$0.99 clock looks great running next to the MacBook Pro. If Night Stand doesn't float your boat, check out Flip Time ($0.99), which adds a calendar. I couldn't use it because the flipping seconds were distracting.

Now, that doesn't mean that my 3GS is simply a $200 digital clock. I also use the Movie Peg to go hands-free when

1. Talking on the phone via speaker or headset mic
2. Watching video
3. Watching a photo slideshow of my kids
4. Listening to music with my iPal
5. Listening to baseball games via At Bat
6. Cook along with Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson

It also makes a nifty weather station with Outside running. Lastly, it graciously holds my iPhone at night while Ambiance puts me to sleep.

Caveats

First, if you're going to be running an app for a long time, make sure it can run in any orientation so that the dock connector is accessible. For instance, 5 hours of Night Stand sucks my battery right down, but I can plug it in as the phone is in a landscape orientation. Outside, on the other hand, runs in portrait orientation only, and won't "flip" if I turn the phone upside down, putting the dock connector towards the ceiling.

Also, since it is so tiny, it's easy to misplace. Mine popped out of my bag at the library once and it took some searching to find it.

But these are minor quibbles. If you've got £4.99 and and iPhone 3G or 3GS, you'll love the Movie Peg. It's simple, useful and inexpensive. Good work, magneticNorth!