Tiltpod Mobile adds an iPhone tripod to your keychain
This clever-looking $15 gizmo lets you set up your iPhone for rock-steady, hands-free photography.
Your iPhone comes packing a pretty decent camera, but there's no camera on the planet that doesn't benefit from the stability of a tripod.
Just one problem: Tripods tend to be long, large, unwieldy accessories, not the kind of the things you can just slip into your pocket.
Until now. Photojojo's Tiltpod Mobile puts an iPhone tripod on your keychain.
If the name sounds familiar, you might be thinking of the original Tiltpod, which combined a magnetic tripod-mount screw head with a small base designed to be worn on your wrist. It was built for small point-and-shoot cameras.
The Tiltpod Mobile is intended for the iPhone 4 and 4S, replacing that screw head with a slotted holster that's just the right size for those handsets (as long as they're not in a case, that is). The magnetic ball-head mount remains, allowing you plenty of room to tilt and pivot the phone. And the "grippy" rubber base promises to hug any kind of surface.
Photojojo sells the gizmo for $15, plus $2.50 for shipping. It's currently listed as out of stock, but you can order one with the promise of shipping on Monday, August 13 (which is not much of a wait at all).
Obviously it would be nice if the Tiltpod Mobile was a bit more universal, or even if it could somehow accommodate an iPhone in a case. That said, it's arguably the single easiest way to pack a tripod, and therefore worth a look.
While we're on the subject, be sure to check out the Canopy Kapok and Kungl iPhone cases, both of which add a screw mount to your phone for pairing with more traditional tripods.