If you have a third arm, you’re probably a little different than most, but if you’re always looking for an extra hand, TwelveSouth’s latest gadget may well be for you.
Whether you’re cooking, showing something off, or just keen to leave a gadget like a phone or tablet in an eye-height position, we don’t always have the available limb to make that happen.
Phones and tablets can always be positioned against a wall or using one of the inbuilt stands found inside many covers, but sometimes, that’s not really what we want, and they’re rarely at an eye-line unless you’re sitting down.
Accessory and peripheral maker TwelveSouth seems to have cottoned onto this problem, a #firstworldproblem if ever, and have launched a stand that kind of fixes that, offering a way to hold up devices so that you don’t need to hold out your arm to do so.
Called the Hoverbar Duo, it’s probably going to be seen as a useless accessory for many, but also useful for others, particularly those who have wanted to hold an iPad or other tablet out at an angle, or even a phone, ideal if someone is cooking, looking for a different angle for video conferencing, setting up the screen as a secondary option on the side, using a gadget like an iPad as a way to film what you’re doing, or maybe even using it as a makeshift teleprompter while filming a video.
The concept for the TwelveSouth Hoverbar Duo is simple enough, with what is basically a device clamp and an adjustable stand mounted either to a desk or a clamp. It’s a gadget stand of sorts, and one with options for mounting, with the desktop option being a weighted stand, while the shelf clamp can mean the Hoverbar Duo gadget holder can be mounted to the edge of a table much like how a microphone stand typically can.
From there, you just clamp the Duo’s sides around your gadget, and it’ll hold the device up, allowing you to reposition it in a variety of angles.
Depending on who you are, this might make a lot of difference. If you’re looking to make an iPad work with Sidecar in a way that matches another large monitor — such as with an external monitor or an iMac — this might give you the positioning you can’t do with an iPad case.
Alternatively, if you’re cooking and don’t want to look too far down at a tablet on the counter, the Hoverbar Duo could lift up at phone or tablet just that little bit more.
Yet at $139.95, it’s also a little pricey for what it is: a stand for an iPad or a phone. We’re sure there are people that won’t see the price tag as an obstacle, though, and they’ll find the TwelveSouth Hoverbar Duo in Australia from the TwelveSouth site and JB HiFi shortly.
