A Flexible Tripod for cell phone works great for application development

Diceman

Diceman

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I bought a flexible tripod from Amazon a couple of weeks ago for my Android phone and discovered it works great when developing apps. I have always preferred using the Android emulator for testing apps because it leaves my both of my hands free for typing. That changed when I bought my flexible tripod. These tripods only stand about a foot tall and the legs can be bent in a variety of shapes to hook on branches or the back of chairs. These tripods are also great to get the phone to stand up on the desk so I don't have to keep picking it up in order to use it. I can have hands free operation of the phone, apart from clicking a few buttons or swiping when I need to. I always know where my phone is on my desk because its there staring at me. If I can't find my phone now, it means my desk needs cleaning because I would have to have a pile more than 2' high on the desk in order to hide the tripod and camera. :D

Since there are literally dozens of models of flexible tripods to choose from, I needed one with these specific features:
  1. It has to hold phone in Portrait mode as well as Landscape mode. Not all tripods can do Portrait. Putting the tripod in portrait mode takes some skill by widening the legs and positioning the camera in front of one of the legs to prevent the tripod from tipping over from all of that weight on one side of the tripod.
  2. The tripod has to have a steel ball for rotating the camera. The tripods that use a plastic ball will wear out quickly from the thumbscrew when you tighten it down.
  3. I stayed away from the old fashioned Gorilla pods because their ball jointed legs would come apart easily and they are far too expensive. Their time has come and gone.
  4. A Bluetooth remote shutter release is nice to have so I can take pictures from 10' away when I'm not programming with the camera. Cameras do have other uses than program development, or so I'm told. ;)
  5. If I want to use the tripod with a heavier SLR camera then the legs have to be stiffer than normal in order to support the weight. If you have a DSLR check with the manufacturer to see if it can hold that weight.
  6. Some of these tripods will come with a GoPro adapter so you can use it on your action camera.
  7. If you have an oversize phone, make sure the tripod can handle it. The phone needs to fit within the spring clamp.
  8. Don't expect the legs to bend 360 degrees (full circles) like you see in the photos. Mine will bend 180 degrees at most.
  9. The price ranges from $20 to $40 which is quite good for the features you get. My tripod cost only $20 including the remote shutter release and I'm quite happy with it.
I have included a few photos of the tripod. The screen images were overexposed because I wanted to show the tripod and its pretty dark in my "dungeon".
I purchased a Soft Digit Tripod LZuk-Tripod-01 but I don't see it on Amazon any more. There are a couple of other brands like UBeesize and Neewer that I was also interested in but they were not in stock at the time.

Assortment of Flexible Tripods to choose from

Here are a couple more tripods that look interesting. I haven't checked them out but it should get you started.
UBeesize Tripod

Fotopro Flexible Tripod

When you think you have found the perfect tripod, be sure to check out reviews on Youtube so you can see it in action.

I hope you appreciate the work that went into cleaning my desk off so I could take these photos. Now where did I put that shovel? :rolleyes:
 

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Diceman

Diceman

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canalrun said:
And now for the poor man's version…

Get a small piece of 2 x 4, cut some slots, and paint it black.

It works in both portrait and landscape. And, I agree, It helps a lot.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of doing that with corrugated cardboard but the base wasn't heavy enough. But your 2 x 4 idea should work fine as a phone stand. Unfortunately I don't have any 2 x 4's.

The cost of these tripods is really inexpensive, between $20 and $40 and that includes the wireless Bluetooth shutter release which usually costs $10 if purchased separately. If you want to take pictures with your camera, a tripod comes in handy because you can adjust the camera angle and get the camera at face level for video conferences. The tripod legs are bendable so it can also be used as a mini stick for holding the camera when taking selfies. I found it to be well worth the $20 and has become a new toy for me to play around with.
 
A

AHilton

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I used the 2x4's for several years myself, canalrun. Liked it but had a problem with charging while in portrait mode and with larger screens/tablets. So, I made the below for myself and, since then, for the rest of the team. It's oak and very stable. Handles large tablets and small phones easily. Just tall enough to have the charging cable run underneath it but not so much that it interferes with the computer screen above it. The device doesn't slip around because of that white shelf liner, either. I suppose I could 3D print a skeleton of it but it wouldn't be nearly as stable/heavy.

Ideally, I'd like to find/make something that resembles those floating multi-monitor stands but for phones/tablets so I could attach it to the desk from behind and swing it into/out of the way as needed. I'm finding that I often need to have 2 or 3 mobile devices available at a time and it's becoming a pain to switch them back and forth on my stand.

20200901_081008.jpg
 
Diceman

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ilan said:
i have 4 kids at home. 1 holds an iPhone when i code another an iPad another Samsung s8 and the last kid holds the fan. (then i wake up and the reality is much different ?)
Click to expand...

You are awaken from a sound sleep by your little one tugging at your arm and asking philosophical questions like "Why don't iPhones float?". Then reality sets in pretty quick as you race to the bathroom to find your iPhone was being used as a boat in the toilet.
 
Diceman

Diceman

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AHilton said:
I used the 2x4's for several years myself, canalrun. Liked it but had a problem with charging while in portrait mode and with larger screens/tablets. So, I made the below for myself and, since then, for the rest of the team. It's oak and very stable. Handles large tablets and small phones easily. Just tall enough to have the charging cable run underneath it but not so much that it interferes with the computer screen above it. The device doesn't slip around because of that white shelf liner, either. I suppose I could 3D print a skeleton of it but it wouldn't be nearly as stable/heavy.

Ideally, I'd like to find/make something that resembles those floating multi-monitor stands but for phones/tablets so I could attach it to the desk from behind and swing it into/out of the way as needed. I'm finding that I often need to have 2 or 3 mobile devices available at a time and it's becoming a pain to switch them back and forth on my stand.
Click to expand...

The FotoPro Tripod can hold any size iPad or they sell just the Phone/Tablet Mount for $10. If you could find a swing arm strong enough to hold up your tablet, you could mount a 1/4" tripod screw onto the swing arm that would accept this tablet mount. That would get it off the desk entirely.
 
AnandGupta

AnandGupta

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I too was looking for a cheaper mobile stand in online shops. I found some and shown them to my wife to select which will look good on the table.

Well she suggested a much cheaper alternative, only scissor and tapes required. Now I have a mobile stand (both P and L mode) and it also acts as mobiles holder.

IMG_20200902_163658.jpg IMG_20200902_163717.jpg IMG_20200902_165529.jpg IMG_20200902_165632.jpg

Regards,

Anand
 
f0raster0

f0raster0

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For my birthday I got this present, a keyboard :p it has a Smartphone holder..
photo_2020-09-03_20-59-21.jpg
 
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ilan

ilan

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i use this to hold my iphone and galaxy s8:


IMG_3811.jpg


and this:

IMG-3809.jpg



btw, this is how my workplace look like:

IMG_3812.jpg


yesterday i also bought me a "energy drink maker" to stay awake when i code at night.

B4X: 
    Dim awake As PhoneWakeState
    awake.KeepAlive(True)

4.jpg
 
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f0raster0

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udg

udg

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@ilan : ok, not ready to compete on the coffee challenge, but what about my workplace and phone stand? :D
 

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udg

udg

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i am ready to make the switch with you
Click to expand...
There are two deck chairs..

.. , you must have the eyes of a cat
Click to expand...
That's why the pretty girl sitting on the orange bath towel is Cat-Woman! Well, shortly @ilan could take her place so don't rush to pick up a satellite view ?
 
rabbitBUSH

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udg said:
Cat-Woman! Well, shortly @ilan could take her place
Click to expand...
Well .... if you take the blue chair then there is space between for Cat-Woman and @ilan as her left-hand phone-holder helper.
 
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