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The ball is rolling: your suggestions for Multidevice Stand Solutions

Thanks for all your support and feedback on my recent post on the need for a proper multidevice stand for mobile web development. Awesome people sent in their solutions or suggestions for such, and I want to thank each one of you in helping all of us to make improve the mobile web by improving the necessary tools.

This post is to gather them in one place (with images and links enabled), numbered, to have you guys discuss them – comments wanted!


The Plank Mark I
A solution to hold multiple mobile devices, made of wood

#1 “The Plank”

Glynn Phillips sent a picture of “The Plank Mark I” along with these comments:

“So maybe not quite as advanced and technical as the above mentioned but one day by boss turned up with what is now own as ‘The Plank’. Power supply is attached to the back which also acts as a stand to keep the devices at a nice level to use and see. The devices are held on via velcro. I present to you The Plank Mark 1. Yes some improvements are required around its flexibility.”

I would say it’s a bit unflexible in terms of device orientation. But this is just my 2 cents.


Developer Station
Another Solution to hold multiple mobile devices, made of wood, plastic clamps and proprietary ministands

#2 “Developer Station”

Sven sent a picture of his “Developer Station” which looks like a wooden frame with a carpet platform, holding several devices with plastic clamps and standard proprietary stands.

It also holds the charging cables and keeps them in place through holes cut into the bottom tray.

From my eyes this again is suboptimal when it comes to orientation changes, and I wonder if charging actually works with the devices upright?

It is a good starting point to actually keep all the stuff together in one place, and move it from desk to desk without a bigger hassle.

But is it also flexible enough for project-specific changes in the device test farm? I’d say: no.


device_lab_logo
Logo of proposed “Device Lab” (Image © device-lab.com)

#3 “Device Lab”

Switzerland based Vanamco has put on a website announcing a commercial solution named “Device Lab” over the past days (this edit is from September 18, 2012). They had some more details on the page, e.g. stating details like maximum 10 devices, small footprint on desk, 10-port USB-charger included, etc. – but took off these details when I last checked the site.

Would be interested if these guys got inspired by my original tweet or post. ;)=

Why you should join the Berlin Desknots today!

Badge of the Berlin Desknots
NOT the Austrian Flag here. We’re still looking for a proper logo – do you want to make a proposal? ;oD=

I am happy to announce that this week, Michael Scharnagl, Sven Wolfermann and me founded the Berlin Desknots around the recently established co-up Open Device Lab. “WTF is a ‘Desknot’?” you might ask.

Well, we felt the strong need for a platform to exchange knowhow and best practices around everything we as developers and designers love to create to be consumed on mobile devices: including apps and of course the mobile web. So, how do you name a meetup that is targeting everything around…

  • how to test and debug on and for Smartphones, Tablets, Featurephones, Dumbphones, mobile Gaming Consoles, … (& you name it)
  • how to ensure UX concepts perform on elderly non-Touchscreens as good as on the brand new stylo-goodness
  • how to do performance optimization for the mobile Web
  • how to enable yourself to access a large number of test devices

…and so on. The existing Meetups just don’t focus enough on these highly relevant topics, so we created one, but how to name it?

Josh Clark established a term for “every internet connected device for content consumption that is not a desktop computer or notebook”: Desknots. It’s as simple as that! So we’re proud to announce the foundation of the Berlin Desknots and welcome Josh as a honorary chairman and first member of our meetup. Please join us today on meetup.com, and save the date for our first Meetup: October 17, 2012. This first meetup will be around “Mobile Web Performance, Testing & Debugging Best Practices”.

Looking forward meeting you there!

The Graphical Web VIP Pass

It's a boat. On a lake. At the jetty.
That looks like a nice location for a dinner event. Bring your swimsuits! ;oD= (Image © zsg.ch)

The Graphical Web in Zurich, from September 11-14, is a conference for discussing what is aesthetically possible on the web. The speaker list reads like the who-is-who of the expressive web, so it’s definetely worth attending. I mean, despite your possibly different opinion: I’ll be there! ;oD=

You wanna go as well? Fine, no pumpkin’. Add a comment to this post and let me know which session proposal of the conference schedule catches you most, and why. Be creative, the comment I find most interesting wins a free VIP pass to The Graphical Web 2012 – including full access to all three conference days plus the workshop day plus the dinner event on a boat tripe across Zurich lake, worth 850 CHF (700 EUR, 888 USD)!!!

The winner will be announced on Monday, Sep 10 2012, on this page.

Conference website: http://www.svgopen.org/2012

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