A friend of mine recently quit his day job to follow his dream. He formed a new company to make great products, and do some great industrial design. Their first product went on sale this week after being announced at Macworld. It’s called the Podium. It’s a new stand for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and it really is pretty cool.
My friend actually showed me the prototype for the Podium about a year ago, long before there was anything even similar to it on the market. Since then a few stands have come out that are in the same vein, but the quality of those other stands just don’t compare.
The Podium is really precision made, and has substantial weight to it (it’s heavy). The other thing that really sets the Podium apart is the ball joint on the back. It allows you to swivel your iPhone in just about any angle. I forgot to mention this in the video, but the hole in the back is a cable pass-through, to help manage clutter when your iPhone is plugged in.
I’ll be honest and say that the current price of $68 is a little steep, but you have to consider the quality. You get what you pay for.
I ended up throwing this little video together because the pictures just don’t do it justice, but if you want to see the stills I shot first, here’s the front, and here’s the ball joint.
Check out the Podium (and buy one) at www.podiumrevolution.com.
UPDATE (1/26/2009): The Podium guys have just come out with an Affiliate Program. I updated my links in this post to reflect my new affiliate link. Buying a Podium through my link will send a few bucks my way. :) And, if you use my link, with the coupon code, “revolution”, you’ll save 20%.
Apple wants Podium to become Ium: http://www.tuaw.com/2009/03/18/apple-to-pivotal-take-the-pod-out-of-podium/
I’ve had the Podium for several months and love it. One thing to note, my child was playing with it and broke off one of the clamps. I sent an email through their website and they sent me new part free of charge! Great company!
My favorite iPhone iPod stand is called the Comfort Base from http://www.newpcgadgets.com. It is desktop stand that lets you plug in your charger and has a earphone holder in the back. The black acrylic base is stylish.