Kickstarter

FAQ

• What advantage is there to the quick disconnect coupler?

  Twofold: Portability and flexibility with mounting options. By having multiple mounts the arm can quickly be disconnected from its current location, folded into a backpack, carrying bag or luggage then quickly connected when at your destination, such as work. This is assuming you have multiple quick disconnect mounts which are available as a separate purchase and will be offered at discounted price.

  Take a home example: Perhaps you're BBQ'n and have the quick disconnect bracket attached to your grill and arm attached to the mount, holding a plate with food or grilling accessories (because space is limited, right?). You can grab the arm, disconnect the coupler and hold the arm to transport the plate of items. Then when done offloading the grilling items and un-gripping the plate, take the arm into the family room and snap it into place to hold an iPad for screencast playback of the video game you've been playing. 

  Or perhaps you're a teacher and you're using the iPad as a document camera in the classroom for displaying instructional materials for your students.  A much better investment from perspective of cost considering everything a tablet can do beyond a dedicated doc cam.  Now you wish to have the iPad used at home after school, so you disconnect the arm, curl it up and store it in your carrying bag or backpack, then when home snap the arm into place ready for holding your iPad to read a book or for streaming TV shows with your Apple TV to your television. 

  Or perhaps you just wish to have an Armagetn handy in your tool box. By disconnecting the arm from the mounting clamp, magnet or bracket stud, it curls up and stores easier.

  The quick disconnect coupler enables you use the arm flexibly without transporting the clamp. The quick disconnect coupler also allows the arm to be connected to other types of mounts that are available, where a clamp won't work or isn't suitable based on the situation.

  Last updated: Sunday Aug 12, 10:54pm EDT
• Why would I want to purchase multiple hands?

  Several good reasons!
  - You might want to have a hand that always gets dirty in the yard or garage.
  
  - Might want to keep one in your backpack for portability and tablet / smartphone holder on the go.
  
  - Let's say you have a hand holding an item that was glued to another object. While the glue is curing, you could very well need assistance with an object being held in another task. So having more that one in use at the same time could be "handy", pardon the pun!
  
  - Great gifts! They make great stocking stuffers at Christmas, birthday gifts, door prizes and any reason to give someone that special something that is not only unique but quite useful.
  Many reasons why having multiple Armagetn hands is a good investment!

  Last updated: Wednesday Aug 15, 2:43pm EDT
• What is meant by "iPad as a doc cam"?

  Document cameras, also known as "visual presenters" are a hot topic in education: K-12 and college classrooms. Plus public institutions such as court rooms for hearings and trials; city or government meetings; company meetings; etc., any meeting can benefit from a doc cam. They are used to present an image of an object or document to a flat panel TV or projector for audience viewing. The image can be still pictures or video. Doc cams can run from several hundred to thousands of dollars in cost then require cabling to connect the display.

  This space continues to develop with new features, such as internet connections that webcast the object being displayed under the doc cam's camera. (tongue twister there!)

  Well, we recognized with smartphones first, then tablets that the camera makes a great way to capture video and still pictures if it could be held securely at a precise angle and distance. Its hard to hold your smartphone or tablet for any length of time and record images, especially when you wish to do other things with your hands.

  Hence the inception of Armagetn. As you can tell from the video and pics, Armagetn will grasp and position any smartphone or tablet computer over an object such as on a table or A/V cart and then you have the added capability of using apps on the device to record still pics or video.

  By using the apps, you can then transfer the recorded content to the internet, such as iCloud with an iPad or for that matter, any website.

  What an ingenious solution! Overall a big cost savings due to:
  - Great investment performance by not having to purchase an expensive piece of equipment (doc cam) and that's all that device can be.  With an iPad for instance, it goes from being a "doc cam" to a webcam by simply rotating Armagetn's flex arm up so the camera is recording the classroom or meeting.  Once done "being" a doc cam or webcam, the iPad can be used for so many other situations.
  - Anyone can operate an iPad as a doc cam in this manner for example, due to its ease of use. 
  - Think of making recordings for posting to eBay, Amazon, You Tube, etc.. No need for a high end camera for many situations of simply taking a good picture without any shaking. With video recordings you can have the Armagetn hold the iPad or iPhone while you talk and interact with other props.

  Many, many more advantages of using Armagetn in such an unprecedented manner. 

  We reference iPad and iPhone a lot due to those being the mobile devices of preference by us, but any manufacturer tablet or smartphone can be used as a doc cam in this manner, as long as it has a camera and recording app.

  We also couple Armagetn and iPad as a doc cam with an Apple TV, then turn on display mirroring to project to a TV or projector over wifi, whatever is being recorded. No cables!

  Simply incredible, isn't it!

  Last updated: Friday Aug 17, 10:51pm EDT
• What about those shipping costs?

  Its primarily due to weight. The majority of the weight comes from the arm assembly: The quick disconnect ball mount, the flex arm, the clamp style mount all add up to a couple of pounds. The arm assembly has some heft to it on purpose - it is a serious piece of engineering. Its intended to securely hold a tablet or smartphone for instance, which can be very expensive!

  The hand has very little weight comparatively, hence its more portable use. It will securely hold any tablet or smartphone, so be rest assured.

  The shipping costs were arrived at based on analysis of various shipping destinations on continental US, Canada and Mexico, from SE Michigan where the product is assembled. International rates are incurred due to the weight of several pounds and not being able to be shipped via ground. We did not want the cheapest shipping methods available which can be several weeks, feeling you would want an Armagetn hand or arm in your own hands asap once ordered!

  Hope this helps.

  Last updated: Friday Aug 17, 11:06pm EDT
• Can Armagetn hold something really, really hot - like a hot frying pan?

  Short answer is "Nope".

  Not yet at least, hmmm...

  Last updated: Friday Aug 17, 11:04pm EDT
• Can an object being held, be positioned at different orientations - landscape or portrait?

  Yes, the ball mount at the top of the arm allows the object being held to rotate to any orientation and a full 360 degrees. A small adjustment lever is used to loosen the position of the ball mount for the hand, the object being gripped is rotated to the desired position, then the adjustment lever locks in the desired orientation and angle.

  Last updated: Sunday Aug 19, 12:59pm EDT
• How do I go about purchasing more than 10?

  Let's say you wish to purchase more than 10 Armagetn items. How would you go about this as the reward tiers reflect 10 or less?  

  You would need to contact us and coordinate the order. The total amount of the purchase needs to be entered in Kickstarter when specify the pledge amount. We can then establish the desired quantity in our order fulfillment system.

  The reason for having to coordinate with us is due to new rules in place from Kickstarter that limit a given reward to 10 pieces or less. We have discounting in tiers of 10, 20, 50 and 100.

  We're happy to work out terms with you for volume orders, just shoot us an email at : 

  armagetn@gmail.com (all staff see this) or gravityassist@gmail.com (Matt's personal email).

  Last updated: Friday Aug 24, 10:04am EDT