Gift Lab: A Phone Case with Sticktoitiveness

Product

Anti-Gravity Phone Case

Research

When I saw the Anti-Gravity Phone Case in “This Just In,” I was intrigued. I went to the item page for more information and once I realized what this product does… I knew I needed it for my life. As a dancer, I’m often using my phone to record choreography, improvisation, or just plain silliness in the studio. In a group, it’s always a question of “Who will film this?” Inevitably someone is nominated to hold the phone while everyone else gets to dance. When you’re alone, you get creative – you find that perfect spot on the baseboard, on the radiator, or my personal favorite, balancing on a picture frame that’s hanging up on the wall. Some people tape the phone to the mirror – but what if it could be easier than that?

Hypothesis

If this product really does what it’s supposed to do, every dancer needs one! It says it sticks to any smooth, non-porous surface which means no more precarious iPhone balancing acts in the studio. But I have many questions – like what if it doesn’t stick, and my phone goes crashing to the ground? Will this case actually protect my phone if dropped? What if it sticks too well, and I can’t remove it? Will it become less sticky over time? What happens if I throw my phone into my knapsack or slip it into my pocket – will it attract every crumb, lint and fuzz? And everything I love ends up coated in cat fur (thanks, Owl) – I’m guessing the Anti-Gravity Phone Case will be no exception, so how do I clean it? Best case scenario – it works like a charm. Worst case scenario – it’s more trouble than it’s worth, either because it sticks TOO well or not well enough, or gets too dirty and requires constant cleaning. The only way to know is to try it out!

Experiment

The Anti-Gravity Phone Case comes in super cool packaging. I’m excited to open it up and start using it – but I won’t be in the dance studio until Tuesday, which is four days from now. Until then, I’ll have to find other ways to use the “nano-suction technology”…

I was ready to take the product out of the box and swap out my old case for this one. Inside, I found 4 different colored backplates and instructions. The backplates are supposed to protect the sticky surface when it’s not in use. Putting the case on my phone was super simple, and it felt good – not too thick or heavy. I peeled the protective plastic off the nano-suction surface and stuck on the silver backplate. So far, so good.

Eager to try this thing, I decided to see if it would stick to the side of my dresser when I turned in for the night. It stuck surprisingly well. It stayed stuck the entire night, and didn’t budge with the vibrations that accompanied my alarm the next morning. I worried I wouldn’t be able to pry it off, but it did detach with minimal effort. I replaced the protective backing and used my phone regularly for the next few days until I was able to try it in a studio setting.

When I finally got to the studio, I at first tried to stick the phone to the mirror around shoulder height. This was a mistake. In that space it was much too high and the camera would capture only my head… yikes! I was surprised at how low I had to go to find the perfect spot, just below knee level. The benefit to sticking the camera to the mirror was not having the mirror in the shot. I later tried sticking the phone to the radiator. In the past I’ve tried resting the phone on the radiator, but this has resulted in skewed images from the phone leaning or bits of radiator in the shot. Both of these problems were eliminated when I stuck the phone directly to the metal surface.

So far I knew the Anti-Gravity Phone Case was great on solid wood, glass and metal surfaces. When I went into work the next day I was ready to show everyone just how well it stuck – so I tried sticking to the wall. This was a very bad idea. It stuck for maybe half a second and then dropped about five feet to the ground. It slid along the wall the whole way down. The phone wasn’t damaged at all, but I did find my first “no stick” surface. Later, I tried sticking it to a painted metal pole in the atrium at BAT (where UncommonGoods is located)… this too was unsuccessful. Painted surfaces are not ideal.

Over the next week I found that while I had a phone that would stick to many things… I didn’t really need this. Even in the studio, I didn’t see a great benefit to sticking the phone on surfaces versus resting it. I think this was largely due to the size and shape of this particular room. In another space I believe I will notice a more significant difference.

I wasn’t doing much sticking, and the protective backing does a really good job keeping the sticky surface clean. I wanted to see how dirty it could be before its stickiness was compromised, and also wanted to know how easy it’d be to wash it. That’s when I decided to take it into UG’s warehouse (where I practice sometimes… shhhhh!). I stuck it to some plastic wrap that was pulled tightly around a stack of boxes. It stuck quite well the first time. When I tried it again the next day, the plastic wasn’t as taught so the weight of the phone caused it to droop and eventually fall off. Luckily it didn’t have fall to far. Unluckily it fell onto a cement floor. Luckily it didn’t break at all!

After its time in the warehouse, the sticky surface was sufficiently dusty. As a test, I tried sticking my phone to the side of my dresser at night. It seemed to stick well at first, but after only a minute or two it unstuck and fell to the floor. (Once again, not broken.) I either have really great luck (I do…) or the Anti-Gravity case actually protects my phone.

The directions say to clean the Anti-Gravity Phone Case, just run it under water and rub the sticky surface with your hands – no soap required. Then let dry 3-5 minutes. I didn’t attempt to dry it since I thought the fibers from a towel would stick to the surface, but it took a little longer to dry than I would have liked to wait. Once it was clean and dry, I stuck it to the dresser. I thought it was sticking well, but it fell off after only a few minutes! I read somewhere that if it wasn’t sticking well you could press the sticky side of a lint roller sheet to the Anti-Gravity surface, then remove to rejuvenate the suction. I tried this before sticking the phone to the dresser again. This time, it stuck almost as well as the very first time, remaining stuck all night through a group text (impressive) and my alarm the next morning.

Conclusion

Is it handy? Yes. Is it earth-shattering? Not really, but neither is a swaddle that makes your baby look like a burrito – and that doesn’t make it any less useful or amusing. It was fun to try sticking it to different surfaces, and, as advertised, it clings for varying lengths of time – several hours, only a few minutes, or not at all. Was it useful in the dance studio? Yes! If I didn’t have the Anti-Gravity Phone Case, I’d make do – but since I do have it, I will use it. I’m looking forward to using it more often in other locations now that the weather is improving and I’ll be spending more time outdoors!