X

Fund this: NanoHold suctions your smartphone to nearly any surface

Whether for cooking in the kitchen or snapping selfies hands-free, this little sticky pad looks like a winner.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read

nanohold.jpg
Look, ma, no hands! NanoHold suctions your phone to any non-porous surface. Selfie-time! Eoseek LLC

This is going to take a leap of faith, because, well, gravity.

Indeed, if you've ever experienced the horror of your smartphone getting bumped from a table or tumbling from your hand, you know that gravity is not your friend.

But Kickstarter project NanoHold aims to help your phone defy that destructive law, without all the usual hassles of mounts or special cases. The campaign is looking to raise a mere $3,000, and as of this writing it's just past the halfway point.

Eoseek LLC

The NanoHold is a credit-card-size nano-suction pad designed to stick to the (must-be-flat) back of your smartphone and virtually any smooth surface: glass, metal, tile, plastic and pretty much anything else that's nonporous. It's removable and repositionable, and it comes with a cover of sorts so you can keep it stuck to your phone full-time.

To my surprise, the pad measures a mere 0.5mm thick, so it's actually thinner than a credit card. And yet it can hold "hundreds of times" its own weight, according to developer Eoseek LLC.

In fact, the developer says NanaHold works with tablets as well, though you should use "at least two," and three for heavier tablets.

It's important to note that the pads aren't meant for long-term use: "NanoHolds stick temporarily, and like all suction devices, the duration of suction cannot be predicted." OK, but does that mean it's good for 60 seconds, enough time to snap a selfie? Or 60 minutes, long enough to cook something while scrolling through an onscreen recipe? That's what freaks me out a little; I'd constantly worry that my phone (or tablet) was about to detach and hit the floor.

Even if you have similar concerns, it won't cost you much to put NanoHold to the test: early backers can get a single pad (in black or white) for a mere $5 shipped, with estimated delivery in October. Or pony up $9 for a pair or $14 for a three-pack.

What do you think? Would you trust a suction pad with your smartphone? Like I said: leap of faith.