All-in-one iPad Mount and Stand | Hacker News Reader

All-in-one iPad Mount and Stand

kickstarter.com

84 pointstudorizer49 comments

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The product itself looks cool, but things like this keep catching my eye:

> HI ! Looking to purchase MULTIPLE REWARDS IN ONE GO ? YES YOU CAN !

> FREE shipping in the US and EU. Add 10$ for all other countries.

> EARLY BIRD SPECIAL !!!

Except, Kickstarter isn't a store, right?

If they allow stuff like this, it is. It's an interesting new kind of pre-order store. And it should be regulated like one.

Yup that stuck out to me also. Also note they are looking for $40k, which in the the scheme of things is nothing, i would imagine that video alone would cost a couple thousand dollars to produce(i could be 100% on this tho).

Does not seem like a valid "KickStarter" to me at all.

Doubt they need the $40k at all (and the movie should eat a big chunk of it) but I don't see anything in the Kickstarter guidelines they're doing against the rules.

Ah right, I should probably rephrase. When i said not a valid KickStarter i mean morally not technically.

Well, I imagine if they don't reach 40k they don't want to try and manufacture it. As Kickstarter refunds everyone's money in this case it's still a good fit IMO.

Idk, as I state in other comments and as others have said if they do get the 40k it will be nothing in the whole scope of the project. This means they have to have substantial funding elsewhere. And considering that is kickstarters purpose(at least as i understand it) is to provide crowd funding it seems to be counter to kickstarter.

My issues is companies using kickstarter as a test-bed/proving ground(if it is indeed as you stated it).

I guess it depends on what ones view of "kickstater" is and should be. I personally would be very interested to see if this product goes to market if it does not get funded by kickstarter.

As someone who has done a lot of background research into Kickstarter campaigns I think it is important to realize the difference between the idea of Kickstarter and the reality of the site as it exists now. Sure, you can still fund your $10k idea through Kickstarter, but it is going to be incredibly difficult to make a profit off of something like that for the average first time entrepreneur/maker. The internet is filled with stories of people who raised tens (if not hundred) of thousands of dollars on Kickstarter only to fail to bring their project to fruition. On the other hand, you have things like the YC and haxlr8r backed startups who have a large amount of capital to back their efforts up. There the money from Kickstarter is more or less used to prove their concept to retailers/investors/etc. Kickstarter could stop stuff like this if they really wanted to keep the site focused on indie projects, but I'm guessing the monetary incentive to host these massive projects is a pretty good reason for them not to do that.

Maybe we'll see a rise of more early stage crowd funding platforms in the future. Perhaps Kickstarter will become the place to take your project when you are seeking a "series A" crowd funding injection to go from prototype to manufacturing, but you get your "seed round" from some other place to go from idea to prototype.

Hello my name is Uros and I am the founder of the project you are discussing. I'm very happy to see that you are all curious about the project and I understand and perhaps even share some of your concerns. However being part of the project from the very start untill now, I can assure you this is actually a perfect example of a Kickstarter project and I mean morally AND technically... Please read the below I posted on our Kickstarter page after following your blog.

Best regards to all, Uros ( FOUNDER )

A word on the project:

The Boomerang has been so far funded entirely out of 2 main sources:

- the amazing selfless support of friends who are professionals (in fields of design, mechanics, video production, etc.) or other professionals we met along the way that simply believed this could be a big thing some day. Together we invested a total of about 3700 working hours (of 40 individuals) from the start till now. (many of them are in the team shot in the end of the video… some couldn’t make it that day unfortunately ☹ )

- the rest was the founder’s more or less entire life’s savings + extra money from 2 friends and family who blindly belive in the product and the team

We are extremly happy to have come this far , however we are at the point where our belief alone cannot fund this project anymore. We have come to Kickstarter to prove to ourselves and convince others that this product really needs to exist. Of course, if we only reach the $40k goal , the earnings would cover only a fraction of the costs we already put it. But we have come far enough that we know the $40k will certainly cover the costs of fulfilling the rewards, it will boost our belief that we are doing the right thing and hopefully bring new investors in. We saw no reason of setting the goal higher and risking the project never getting funded at all. It would disappoint a lot of backers not to mention ourselves. … But luckily your support has been amazing so far an if we only continue at this pace we will exceed the goal more than two or three-fold

The founder is a VFX artist, I'd imagine this video was a piece of cake for him.

Very possible, as i said i could be 1000% wrong lol. But it was just an example, the $40k they are looking for is a drop in the buck in terms of production costs. Simply pointing out that they money they are seek would have very little impact on the actual development/production of the product.

You need $40,000 to create a mass production line? Nope, you need kick starter to advertise your wonderful product and hopefully start a word of mouth marketing campaign so you can compete against the bigger players in the market and still seem cool.

It's a great product, good luck guys.

To be fair they said they needed the money to "finish tooling and create a mass production line." Which is different than starting from scratch.

I'm sure you are right about the advertising/marketing angle of kickstarter, but it doesn't preclude what they suggest it's for as well.

It's called "Kickstarter" but anymore it seems you need to have a really slick pitch with mock-ups/prototypes and professional graphics to get any attention (and thus, backing). All that is really expensive. It seems antithetical to the apparent goal of removing barriers of entry into making "things".

This. I wanted to get money to design and develop this idea more, but it's still in the earliest stages, which they didn't approve: http://imgur.com/a/NTrx7

Looks good, but I like the coat hanger stand better. http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-20005985-285/turn-a-coat... It does look a little derpy but it works elegantly. You can change the angle just by bending it a little more. Seriously, if you could use a material that did the bending rather than a latch, I'm sure it would be cheaper and more reliable.

> Boomerang is fully compatible with all versions of iPad (except iPad1&iPad Mini).

Just wanted to point this out for anyone interested, since it is pretty buried in the description.

Could be written as: Boomerang is not compatible with any version of iPad (except iPad2&iPad3)

& iPad4

So compatible with all versions except half of them. That's a pretty odd use of the word 'all'.

To be fair, there is iPad 2, the New iPad and the 4th generation iPad. They're on the plus side of half, but your point still stands.

It sounds silly but is one of the least ambiguous options.

Compatible with iPad2 and above (but not mini).

Compatible with iPad2, 3 and 4 (except 3 and 4 are not official names).

Compatible with iPad2, the new iPad and the newest iPad???

The vast majority of them though. The iPad 2/3 were the blockbusters in sales and the 4 is the same as the 3 externally. Few people have the Mini so far and it's pretty obvious cases would not be compatible.

The windshield and air vent implementations scare me. How is having an interactive, 10" screen in your field of vision whilst driving a good idea?

That's why windshield mounts are illegal in some states, like California.

Depends on the person, car, mount location, driving conditions, and what it's being used for. 5" GPS windshield mount hasn't been a problem for me.

I'd say it's safer than having a 3" screen that you have to squint at, as millions of drivers with smartphone mounts use today.

$65 for a mount is bit high. Considering it's just a piece of plstic/metal. It seems to me like a lot of Kickstarter products seek to pay out all of the manufacturing investments with the first batch. As if they don't believe that the product can sell afterwards.

The dramatic music and delivery of these guys' lines would make you think they just cured cancer or revolutionized the world.

I don't think you get to be this over the top for an $85 tablet accessory.

I dont think its over the top at all. The creator does video and animation, and he is obviously good at it.

Hi, I just read your comment. Thank you for saying this...we have really put in a lot of hard work in the video. Since I was a professional in the field, many of my close friends are indeed professionals in the video/movie industry and I was absolutely blown away that they were willing to put in long hours and even provide the equipement without receiving any payment at all. I first thought we would do something simple, but since we're all a bit of perfectionists, we couldn't help ourselves but to push quite a bit further. Thanks again, , Uros (FOUNDER)

It was a little disconcerting to think you invested some huge budget into the pitch vdeo. Glad to hear otherwise.

Sorry for being a hater.

Elegant and ergonomic - http://i50.tinypic.com/2qicw79.jpg

Sorry, can't help :) It looks quite useful, especially the car headrest mount.

I wouldn't use the headrest personally. In an accident the magnets will detach and the ipad will become incredibly dangerous to the passengers in the car.

The easy way to look at loose things in your car is would this hurt if it hit me from a 10 story building. However, as this is behind the seat it's probably going to mostly have forward momentum in a crash which means it's far less likely to detach and be tossed around that violently in a crash.

I suspect on average it's about as bad as holding it in your hands.

No, NO, we do NOT need a car mount. I've personally seen people fumble with GPSs to the point of near-total distraction while driving, we do not need something twice as massive and thousands of times more ripe for use to be right in the face of drivers.

That may be one of the slickest presentations I've seen on Kickstarter

Totally!... it will surely reach it kickstarter goal

This looks very nice! I completely agree with the frustration that so few stands/mounts are considered for multipurpose use, which is strange as I feel iPad is really designed for it (TV remote on a stand, photo frame on the wall, charging on the desk, in the kitchen, etc). This looks like a close to perfect way of solving it.

Only thing lacking is charging, but that is a minefield for sure with new cable connector.

After the bait & switch and excuses for production delays with Brydge I'm very suspicious of kickstarter's with high production value videos.

In the video they show the mount resting on a leg and on a cushion. If that works as advertised that'd be a killer feature. iPad stands have to take into account that people don't typically use an iPad at a desk, so the typical rectangular stands won't do the trick. This looks very promising, and much more comfortable than the alternatives.

Does anyone know? how much it will weigh? I looked on the description but found nothing. It seems it adds weight but it is great anyway!

> It seems it adds weight

Well, welcome to the spectacular world of physics -_-

Anyway, they say it's made of thin plastic, so, judging from the pictures, the bare kickstand could weight less than 100 g.

EDIT: grammar

it weighs exactly 125g...you were pretty close :) regards, Uros (FOUNDER)

Finally a product that is going to open source itself it wins on kickstarter. Thats what usually stops me from contributing

I can't quite see how it fixes onto the iPad itself. Anyone figured it out?

magnets probably.

This looks extremely good. The video is also very well done; props on that!

It looks like it cost $40k just to make that video...

:) you are very right ! It probably would cost about $40k if many of my close friends (who are professionals in the video/movie industry) would actually charge their fees & equipment...they simply decided to help and didn't want to stop until it was polished...what can I say, they are good friends and we're all a bit of perfectionists. The "actors" are actually friends and 2 of them work on XVDIA project full time. The entire video therefore cost about $3k ...but I owe a looooot of favors :) regards to all, Uros ( FOUNDER - XVIDA )

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