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Kickstarter project adds a magnetic skin to iPhones

Ever wish your iPhone could hang around on, say, a refrigerator or file cabinet? If this project gets funded, it can.

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
The MagSkin is a stick-on magnetic backing for the iPhone 4 and 4S.
The MagSkin is a stick-on magnetic backing for the iPhone 4 and 4S. Daniel Weyer

Not everyone wants to keep their iPhone hidden away in a pocket. Some folks prefer to hang them on hooks or wear them around their necks.

And what about sticking them on a fridge, filing cabinet, or other metal surface? If my wife's phone had a magnetic backing, she could slap it on the door to our garage, thereby increasing her chances of remembering to take it to work. (Don't tell her I said that; she'll kill me in my sleep.)

To paraphrase the ol' saying, there's a Kickstarter project for that. MagSkin adds a magnetic backing to your iPhone 4/4S, thereby giving it an adheres-to-metal personality. (What, you thought I was going to say "magnetic"?)

The MagSkin is an adhesive skin that creator Daniel Weyer hopes to offer in a variety of styles and colors, including a temperature-sensitive version and snakeskin.

The MagSkin will be available in a variety of colors, including blue snakeskin.
The MagSkin will be available in a variety of colors, including blue snakeskin. Daniel Weyer

According to Weyer, the skin is less than a millimeter thick, but strong enough to "fully support the weight of the smartphone when placed vertically against a refrigerator or other ferrous metal."

Assuming the project gets fully funded, Weyer expects MagSkin to ship in September. Most of the early-bird options are sold out, but as of this writing, you can pledge $15 or more to get a MagSkin in your choice of colors, shipping included. (Weyer hasn't decided on the final pricing yet, but says it will "probably" be $19.95 -- including two "docking magnets" to allow the MagSkin to be used with non-metallic surfaces.)

You could, of course, buy inexpensive magnetic sheets and cut your own MagSkin-style backing -- but it wouldn't look anywhere near as cool as Weyer's.

Personally, I rarely find myself wishing for a way to adhere my iPhone to a metallic surface, but I can certainly see the appeal for some folks. If you're one of them, well, consider funding this project!