SuctionCups
Latest
Ten One Design's Fling mini now delivering tactile control to touchscreen gamers
Improved gaming controls or a full-screen view? That's the conundrum you'll soon be able to face if you pre-ordered Ten One Design's Fling mini, which is now shipping. To refresh your memory, the $25 pair of springy capacitive joysticks for mobile devices -- specifically iPhone and iPod Touch -- cling onto your device's touchscreen, and aim to add tactile feel and added precision. We've used the larger iPad variant in the past and found it worked pretty well, but we're certainly wary about how much space the mini looks to hog up in comparison. There's more info in the PR past the break if you're still thinking about giving these some thumbs-on time.
Ten One Design's iPad joysticks set to have a mini Fling with your smartphone
Need more stuff to attach to your smartphone? Good news: Ten One Design managed to shrink down those stick-on iPad joysticks we played with back at CES, bringing the Fling's screen-cluttering gaming action to the iPhone, iPod touch, and Android devices. The new Fling Mini monopolizes a good deal of its designated phone's display real estate -- and then some -- pushing its way well into the bezel of many handsets. You can pre-order the suction cup controllers now at $24.95 for a pack of two -- five bucks less than their older siblings. They're set to start shipping next month and will no doubt get some good, slightly-obscured face time at E3.
Oona smartphone stand, as seen on Kickstarter
Take an iChair, remove the case, add a suction cup and, voilà, the Oona smartphone stand. The Oona stand is a Kickstarter project, looking to raise US $10,000 to produce the first run of the neat, unobtrusive stands that look perfect for holding your iPhone steady on your desk or attaching it to your car windscreen. We liked the iChair a lot and there'll be a hands-on review tomorrow, May 11, on TUAW TV live. The Oona fills a slightly different need, particularly in places where you want to have your iPhone stuck to something rather than just resting it on a flat surface. Its developers have gone to some lengths to use just the right kind of material for the suction cup. "We spent a lot of time designing the right suction cup for The Oona," says Sam Gordon, one of the project founders. "The ones we prototyped early on were made of a thermoplastic elastomer so they could be easily injection molded. After testing we found that low shore durometer silicone produced the best results." The Oona is designed to be stuck and un-stuck many times a day, rather than rest in place for long periods of time. Its size lends itself to this usage as it is certainly small enough to be carried around easily. Check out the Kickstarter page and let us know what you think. a
