About this project
In case you've missed the chance to pledge for a TidyTilt on Kickstarter, you can check out TidyTilt.com to learn more about the product and how to purchase.
Our goal at TT Design Labs is to create products and services for the modern lifestyle. We hope you enjoy TidyTilt!
Meet TidyTilt.
TidyTilt is an earbud cord wrap, multi-position kickstand, and mount for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. TidyTilt takes up less space than any one of these devices - yet does all three things - without adding something extra to carry.
Wrap your earbud cords without skipping a beat. TidyTilt is always at hand, since it lives on the back of your iPhone. When you're done using your earbuds, simply wrap them over your iPhone, snap TidyTilt closed, and pop your earbuds right off. TidyTilt keeps your cords neat and secure, whether in a bag, pocket, or attached to your iPhone.
Tilts
TidyTilt serves as a stand for iPhone, enabling landscape and portrait orientation at multiple angles - perfect for watching movies, typing, or making video calls. It even does so while simultaneously keeping your earbuds secured. Gaming with a friend? Position Tidytilt at the center of iPhone for a new seesaw-like head-to-head gaming experience.
Mounts
Thanks to TidyTilt's strong, strategically-placed magnets, you can tack your earbuds or whole iPhone to any magnetically-responsive surface. Pop iPhone onto your fridge for referencing cooking recipes, stick it to a dry-erase board for brainstorming, or park it on the key-holder by your front door.
A Design Based Upon Ethnographic User Research
After researching how and where people use and store their headphones, we discovered several common workarounds that users regularly fall back on: wrapping the headset cord around iPhone (rendering the touchscreen unusable); coiling the wire around fingers and putting it in a bag or pocket (only to dig it out later fully tangled) or surrendering to the chaos, stuffing the wad of tangled earphone cords somewhere and hoping for the best.
These behaviors aren’t ideal, but neither is carrying an extra doodad with you to wrap headphone cords around. We think TidyTilt untangles the headphone cord predicament whilst also serving as a handy kickstand and magnetic mount for iPhone.
Our Prototyping Process
We built and tested dozens of prototypes before settling on TidyTilt‘s final design. Using rapid prototyping techniques such as laser cutting, we were able to quickly make modifications and test the impact of our changes.
Manufacturing TidyTilt
We have a manufacturer lined up and ready to begin production. They have provided us with the prototypes you see in the video. We’ve been working closely to ensure TidyTilt will be a quality product that minimizes environmental impact (through efficient packaging, fewest shipping hops, etc).
A Bit More About Us
We are two human-centered design students looking for funding to make our iPhone accessory a reality. We believe that TidyTilt can make iPhone users’ everyday lives just a tiny bit easier.
We have the design and the drive, now we just need funding to bring TidyTilt to market. If we are successfully funded, we will be able to do a first production run of TidyTilt, including investing in the up-front machining and material costs.
In doing so, we hope to pursue our dream of creating solutions for the modern lifestyle, and establish our young design firm in the process.
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Patent Pending.
© TT Design Labs LLC
Apple & iPhone are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc and are not affiliated in any way with our product.
FAQ
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The TidyTilt metal frame adheres to iPhone's back glass panel using an advanced adhesive. It is super strong, but can be removed safely without damage to or residue left on your iPhone. It shouldn't leave any sticky stuff after removal. Space-age stuff, really.
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TidyTilt uses the magic of magnets to attach to it's accompanying frame. It is secure enough to stay attached to your iPhone in a pocket or bag, but snaps off in a jiffy.
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Nope! Your data are safe! iPhones use flash memory that isn't affected by magnetic fields. The same can't be said for 1990's floppy disks, though. Thank goodness your iPhone doesn't use floppies for storage! Check out this article if you want to learn more about some major tech-related myths.
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In our testing, we found no degradation of signal strength (using the iOS signal test utility) with the frame on vs off. Since there is no contact with the antenna band around the iPhone, TidyTilt's metal frame shouldn't cause interference.
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The magnetic field from TidyTilt will only spin the compass a bit whilst it's on to the back of iPhone. Whenever you need a precise directional reading, simply pop off TidyTilt temporarily. No other functions of the phone should be affected. Onward!
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While TidyTilt is designed specifically for the iPhone 4/4S, we hope to offer versions for other devices in the future.
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TidyTilt works with almost all earbud models, not just the iconic white Apple buds. TidyTilt can even organize the cords of over-the-ear style headphones. Rock on!
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TidyTilt will work with some minimal bumper cases that don't cover the back of your iPhone. The TidyTilt frame can also adhere to flat, full back-enclosed cases, if you like.
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Of course! We've designed TidyTilt to fit iPhone 4, so it won't be able to cling to most other devices (since the metal frame is required for a strong cling), but TidyTilt happily stores earbuds on it's own for any device. It will even cling informally to the left side of your iPad 2, thanks to the tablet's inbuilt magnets.
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We've had luck using TidyTilt to hold our iPhones (or just earbuds) to refrigerators, dry-erase boards, MacBook displays, filing cabinets, and other magnetically-responsive surfaces. We recommend switching vibrate mode off when TidyTilt is suspending your iPhone (to help prevent it from sliding). We aren't responsible for dropped iPhones!
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Though we have a blast using our TidyTilts, they shouldn't be given to kids, pets, or vampires. And please don't eat the magnets. Cookies are better.
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It's possible. If you have a pacemaker, please always consult your physician before using a device that emits a magnetic field. But you probably knew that already...
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Since TidyTilt goes right up to the edge of iPhone 4/4S, Apple's bumpers aren't fully compatible. Other, more minimal bumper-style cases that don't have a large lip work great with TidyTilt, though. Here's one we particularly like that fits perfectly with TidyTilt:
http://www.shapeways.com/model/207226/4_4_case_for_iphone_4_gsm___cdma_verizon.html -
While technically you could use TidyTilt on the front of your iPhone 4/4S, we haven't designed it to work there. The metal frame would cover a little bit of the left and right sides of the touchscreen, as well as the ambient light sensor above the front camera.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
4,001
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on January 29.
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A personalized thank-you message from us, plus a mention on our website as an official supporter.
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1 BLUE TidyTilt. Free US shipping. (please add $10 for international shipments)
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1 GREEN TidyTilt. Free US shipping. (please add $10 for international shipments)
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TidyTilt 2-Pack! Get one BLUE and one PINK TidyTilt so you can mix and match, or share with someone special. Free US shipping. (please add $10 for international shipping)
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TidyTilt 2-Pack! Get one BLUE and one BLACK TidyTilt so you can mix and match, or share with someone special. Free US shipping. (please add $10 for international shipping)
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TidyTilt 2-Pack! Get one GREEN and one BLACK TidyTilt so you can mix and match, or share with someone special. Free US shipping. (please add $10 for international shipping)
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TidyTilt 2-Pack! Get one green and one pink TidyTilt so you can mix and match, or share with someone special. Free US shipping. (please add $10 for international shipping)
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TidyTilt 2-Pack! Get one PINK and one BLACK TidyTilt so you can mix and match, or share with someone special. Free US shipping. (please add $10 for international shipping)
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A TidyTilt in every color! Get one green, one blue, one pink, and one black TidyTilt. Fun for the whole family, or your 4 pairs of earbuds! Free US shipping. (please add $15 for international shipping)
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Seller Pack: 20 TidyTilts (5 in each color). Help us generate buzz in your neighborhood by spreading TidyTilt cheer! Free US shipping. (please add $15 for international shipping)
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Mega Seller Pack: 40 TidyTilts (10 in each color). Help us generate buzz in your neighborhood by spreading even more TidyTilt cheer! Free US shipping. (please add $15 for international shipping)
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100 Seller Pack: 100 TidyTilts (25 in each color). Free US shipping. (please add $15 for international shipping)
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240 Seller Pack: 240 TidyTilts (60 in each color). Free US shipping. (please add $15 for international shipping)
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500 Seller Pack: 500 TidyTilts (125 in each color). Free US shipping. (please add $50 for international shipping)
Project By
Connected
We’re Zahra and Derek, two human-centered design students at the IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. We have a passion for great products that take the user's needs into account. With the help of Kickstarters, we hope to launch our first product, TidyTilt, which will allow us to establish our young design firm in the process.
