Hasta La Gadget!

Years of hunching over his laptop took its toll on James Olander. He claims that the damage on his nerves reached an extent that he was advised by his doctors to lay off laptops or he might not be able to type again. Fortunately, James is an engineer. So he designed a laptop stand that can help him and the millions of other people who have hunchedoverlaptoposis. Or whatever its medical name is.

James calls his laptop stand The Roost. There are hundreds of different laptop stands already on the market, so why would you want The Roost? It’s not on fire, but there are three things that make The Roost stand out. First is the sheer height at which it can raise a laptop:

Here’s another shot that shows just how high it raises the screen:

Unless everything else in the image above is really tiny, I’d say that the MacBook Air is at or maybe even above eye level there. The second advantage of The Roost over other stands is that it folds into a very compact shape. Finally, The Roost is made of carbon fiber and a flexible and durable plastic, making it strong enough to support up to 200lb. even though it only weighs 5oz.

Pledge at least $65 (USD) on Kickstarter to get The Roost as a reward. You can check its official website for the list of compatible laptops.

[via GadgeTell]

The latest iPhone accessory to enhance your music experience looks very hyper and annoying. It comes from Tomy and is an iPhone dock that dances to your tunes. It is compatible with iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5. It’s basically a humanoid-shaped stand that moves its limbs to the beat of the music being played.

Just put your iPhone in the stand, turn on the music and watch it dance. As an added bonus, you can download the Face Thing app on your iPhone and put your own or someone else’s face on the iPhone. The app uses a motion portrait technique to sync the image with the dancing body. I don’t think it would take long to find this thing completely annoying. It might make a good gift for someone you hate.

This thing measures 17×13×10.5 cm and comes in three colors: red, white and blue for about ¥3465 yen (~$35 USD).

[Nlab via Damngeeky]

I’ve never seen really seen the need to have a desktop dock for my smartphone, since I can just as easily plug the cable right into the bottom of the phone when it’s lying on my desk. That said, I might have finally found a dock worthy of my beloved mobile gadget.

This clever dock from Japan’s Cibone turns your iPhone into a giant backpack for an astronaut. Of course now this means you not only have to monitor battery life, but how much oxygen is left in your phone.

The Astronaut Smartphone Stand sells for ¥1995 (~$20 USD) over at Cibone. And if you’re not into astronauts, they also have a couple of other similarly amusing phone stands…

[via FRESH]

iPhone cases are necessary in order to ensure that your precious iPhone doesn’t all scratched up. I’ve had a couple of friends who weren’t using any cases end up with a completely scratched up iPhone. While Twelve South’s earlier BookBook case had an interesting look to it – it was a bit thick for practical use. This new iPhone case from Twelve South is called the Surface Pad, and it’s much thinner than the BookBook case.

It’s made from Napa leather, and it’s lightweight and just 1.7mm thick, meaning that it will easily fit into most pockets without bulking up your phone.

The Surface Pad is supposed to stick to your iPhone thanks to a removable  reusable adhesive substance, and it’s supposed to wrap around your iPhone, protecting both the front and the back.

The case can also be used as a stand in landscape mode, which is also a handy feature. The SurfacePad sells for $34.99(USD) from Twelve South, and is available now.

When you’re on the go and you need a portable stand, it doesn’t hurt to have one that does more than just act as a stand. The Sonastand was just updated for the new iPhone 5, and it will hold your phone snugly, as well as acting as a passive sound amplifier.

The machined-aluminum Sonastand for iPhone 5 is said to have been improved over its original design. It’s supposed to provide a more stable base and better sound amplification, as a result of the iPhone’s smaller power connector. The Sonastand is available in different sizes to accomodate users who like to use their iPhones naked, with skins or cases.

The Sonastand sells directly from Kinetic Custom Machine for $25 (USD) and it’s a nice gift for anyone with an iPhone.

[via Sonastand]