When I think back to all of the "smart" devices I have owned, going back almost 15 years with my original Palm Pilot, they always came with a cradle – a stand / holder that served multiple purposes from presenting the device to charging it.

With today’s smart devices, they do not come with any form of cradle from the manufacturer, and any cradles I have seen are more for charging them rather than their presentation or protection on your desk. I find this odd, especially with the escalating cost of these devices. However, there is an alternative that may bring the cradle back – the Wedge by Toddy Gear.

The Wedge is a pyramid-shaped bean bag-like item item with a lip for holding a mobile device into place as it rests on the shape. As a result of its flexible shape, you can place almost any device in it and at a comfortable viewing angle. The Wedge is made from the same material as cleaning cloths that Toddy Gear, a Chicago firm, creates for cleaning and polishing mobile devices, thus allowing you to do the same thing with the item you support the device with. As a result you have a highly functional and attractive item on your desk for holding your highly functional and attractive mobile device.

I have taken some pictures of the Wedge I have been using for the past several months along with my Nokia E7, my past device. Below is an embedded slideshow of the pictures of it on my Flickr account and you can also view the set of pictures by following this link.

As you can see, I can orient the device however I want. Though these pictures don’t show the power cord, I can also place the device however with it, or with headphones, and it holds it fine, especially as no cords actually go through the Wedge itself, just go out the sides of the device, so it is not in the way of them. The Wedge is also small and lightweight enough that I can throw it in my computer bag and take it with me to other places or even on vacation without taking up much room.

When device manufacturers today talk about "ecosystems" of mobile devices they often are referring to the device itself, its operating system, apps and maybe an accessory or two. There was a time when ecosystem included all of the main accessories you would use with a device. When I think back to even my Palm smartphones they came with a cradle for holding and charging the device and even charging a spare battery. Sure there were third-party or aftermarket accessories, but the main ones from the manufacturer were ones you would always want and get. The Toddy Gear Wedge is filling that gap for me, as well as the physical gap between my devices and my desk.

For full disclosure, I was given the Wedge by the brother of the founder of Toddy Gear, whose son used to go to school with my daughter! That being said, I was not asked to write this – the device itself compelled me to share my experience with this great item with my readers.

So what do you think? Do you own one? Do you want to own one? Is a flat surface enough for you? Share your thoughts in the comments of this post.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Mobile Technology • Technology • Thrive • (2) Comments • Permalink