You’ve already forked out plenty for your iPhone or iPod touch, so why tax your wallet further by buying an expensive stand?
Whether you want to save money, keep your personal drain on the planet’s resources to a minimum, or are looking for a quick-fix solution at your desk, we’ve found five fantastic iPhone stand designs that require no more than everyday objects — and some MacGyver-style skills.
Have a look-see below at our homemade docks, then have a go at making your own and let us know the results in the comments box below!
1. The Paper Clip Stand
What you’ll need:
Overview:
This solution utilizes a large paper clip, cunningly straightened and then twisted to make an impromptu stand for your iDevice. Depending on how strong you are, you might need pliers to help manipulate the clip, but the principle is pretty darn simple — and pretty darn effective. Mods include wrapping a rubber band around the “legs” to aid stability.
In the immortal words of MacGyver himself: “A paperclip can be a wondrous thing. More times than I can remember, one of these has gotten me out of a tight spot.”
MacGyver Rating: 5/5
2. The Cassette Case Stand
What you’ll need:
Overview:
We love that this takes (almost) obsolete tech and upcycles it into a useful object. You can use either a cassette case from an old camcorder tape, or an old audio tape (which, if you’re of a certain age, you’ve almost certainly got lying around at home).
Put the tape and the cardboard sleeve to one side, open the case, flip it around, and — presto! — a minimalist desk stand. To make it a super-stable solution in landscape, you might want to use a file to make a nice neat groove for the iPhone to better sit in.
This really works for us as an easy way to keep our iPhone out of calamity’s way on a desk surface.
MacGyver Rating: 4/5
3. The Pencil Stand
What you’ll need:
Overview:
This easel-esque stand can be created from five pencils and several rubber bands. It will require some dexterity to get the pencils in the right place, as you use the bands to hold it all together, and then a little more to get it to stand up straight. However, it is a strikingly simple design once made, and can be collapsed down to nothing again, should the occasion require.
Although this requires the most stuff to actually make, the Boy Scout-style binding process keeps it firmly in MacGyver territory.
MacGyver Rating: 4/5
4. The Sticky Tape Stand
What you’ll need:
Overview:
Perfect for those “I just want to catch ten minutes of [insert favorite show] while I eat lunch at my desk” moments, this devilishly simple solution requires only a roll of sticky tape to work. Simply stick a bit of tape to the back of your iPhone or iPod touch — and voila! — your iBuddy is propped up at a nice angle while you consume both your lunch and choice of video-based media.
It’s not quite duct tape, but damn!
MacGyver Rating: 5/5
5. The Paper Stand
What you’ll need:
Overview:
The instructions call for the use of at least a 270 gsm paper or card stock, so assuming you have that, simply print out the template (available for both A4 and U.S. letter size paper), cut, fold, and faster than you can say “origami,” you’ve got yourself a new dock.
And this one really is a dock (rather than just stand), as it includes space for the iPhone’s cord underneath. We would suggest that anyone not old enough to have a Facebook account should find a responsible adult to take care of the craft knife elements.
MacGyver Rating: 3/5
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