Sometimes when we’re cruising through the web looking for new and exciting gadgets, something catches our eye and captures our hearts. The Galileo project is a fine example of that – it’s an awesome dock for your iPhone or iPod Touch that can be remotely controlled, swivelled and rotated using another Apple gadget or via a website.
Until you see the video below it’s hard to see why so many people are getting excited about the project, but when you think about the situations in which such a product would be useful you’ll find yourself wanting one.
Simply dock your iPhone 4, 4S or 4th Gen iPod Touch and it will charge through the docking connection. The dock features a motor which will rotate your iPhone a full 360 degrees in either landscape or portrait mode, which can be controlled with another iOS device simply by swiping your finger across the screen.
The obvious uses come to mind at first: Skype and Facetime calls, with the rotate allowing you to follow your subject easily or to simply take a look around. Think a little harder and the possibilities soon start to pile up: what about using Galileo for conference calls, allowing you to pan around the office to see everyone in turn? Or what about putting the dock somewhere to use as a sneaky surveillance camera, or to take beautiful panoramic photographs of an area, or even video?
The Galileo dock can be attached to a tripod using a standard tripod thread located on the bottom, which would be great for capturing panoramic shots or lengthy videos, using the swivel motion to follow your subjects. An internal lithium battery means the dock can be charged up and taken anywhere too.
At the moment Galileo is an idea that has been turned into a kickstarter, which means that the people behind the idea pledge it to potential investors, businesses and even just people who want one, in order to raise the necessary funds to build the product. $100,000 was the target that needed to be raised for Galileo to go into production, and currently the kickstarter has raised over $300,000, which goes to show what a great idea it is.
When the Galileo goes on sale the company aims to retail it for $129.99 plus $20 for international shipping, which works out to be around £95 if you want to order one from the UK. However, to be in with a chance of being the first to get your hands on one you can pledge $85 (£55) to the project and secure yourself one of the first models in either black or white, saving yourself a wedge. There’s even a limited edition lime green edition for those who pledge $95.
Check out the Galileo in action right here, and if you like what you see you can check it out and pledge on the official website.
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