Facet Wants to Cradle Your iPad on the Couch and in Bed

By Nathaniel Mott
On September 19, 2012

Getting hit in the face with an iPad sucks. I’m not talking about what this kid did to his brother (though that couldn’t have been fun either), I’m talking about the shame and physical pain that accompanies dropping an iPad on your own face, whether it’s reading in bed or watching a movie on the couch, eventually that aluminum ~~death machine~~ tab is going to slip and hit you right in the dome.

Enter Facet, a new iPad stand from iLoveHandles. With a pyramid shape and a bunch of magnets, Facet is meant to be the first stand to reliably hold an iPad in bed or on the couch. iLoveHandles, almost predictably, has turned to Kickstarter to raise funds from and gauge the interest of the masses to determine if Facet will make it to market.

Founded by Richard Moore and Avik Maitra, iLoveHandles got its start making wristwatch bands. Maitra says that the company started advertising these wristwatches the day the watch-like iPod nano made its debut, thinking that the ever-important “first!” would net them some publicity. It did. The duo had 2,000 orders within two days, and Maitra says that he had to fly to China “with the idea that I’d return with 2,000 wristbands in my luggage.” (This could be described as bootstrapping, but I prefer to think of it as watchstrapping.)

The company has since expanded from watchstraps – a prescient move, given the new iPod nano’s form factor – and currently sells eight products, including Facet, a human-shaped iPhone dock called “Pinhead“, and a “Cyclops” iPad case-slash-sleeve. The products are often playful, and the tongue-in-cheek copy — the rubber wristwatch is advertised with the “always wear a rubber” tagline, to give you a sense of the company’s humor — combined with Maitra and Moore’s product- and design- based backgrounds help differentiate iLoveHandles’ products from the rest of the Apple accessory also-rans.

Which brings us back to Facet. Though there is no shortage of iPad stands (I’m a personal fan of TwelveSouth‘s Compass), Facet is just different enough that it could make a name for itself despite the crowded market. It’s hard to gauge whether or not the product can actually keep an iPad stabilized on a bed without testing – mattress makers have been making that claim with glasses of wine for years, and you don’t see people standing their glasses of Merlot on the bed. But the prospect that it might work as advertised will probably lead to decent sales. The product’s distinctive shape will also lend a hand, as it’s just “what the fuck?” enough to make someone stop and pay attention.

Sounds like a recipe for success to me. Distinct shape? Check. Fun branding and an established (as much as a relatively small accessory maker can be estbalished) company? Yep. Not getting hit in the face with a pound of metal and glass? Priceless.