J
Justin Herrick
Guest
Is it possible for a tripod to be so compact even if it is holding just a smartphone? The people at Kenu would say absolutely. The Kenu Stance compact tripod manages to hold smartphones big and small in place with ease. It allows for the smartphone to be setup in various positions which can each serve a different purpose. If that’s not enough, the Kenu Stance doubles as a bottle opener.
The Kenu Stance is composed of a few different materials, none of which feel cheap. The overall body is constructed from zinc alloy. The rubber feet and other green-covered areas are thermoplastic elastometer (TPE) rubber. And the MicroMount piece connecting the gadget to a smartphone is what Kenu calls Grilamid. The Kenu Stance, like the company’s other products, features a simple design that has a premium look and feel. It measures 3-inches long and weighs 1.2 ounces: the footprint is smaller than a pack of gum.
There are four purposes that Kenu emphasizes with the Stance: watch videos, self timer, time-lapse, and video calls. None of them are bound to any particular position and users will likely find more purposes. You can thank the ball-and-socket joint for so much versatility.
Three legs, when separated, provide the support required to hold the smartphone in its portrait mode. The zinc alloy legs are sturdy and the rubber feet have a good grip on the surface underneath. I wanted to see how the Kenu Stance would handle smartphones of different sizes; therefore, I enlisted the Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S 4, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S 5, and One (M8) for help. As expected, the Kenu Stance kept each one upright at all times. One might think the Galaxy Note 3 would provide some trouble, but that was not the case. The ball-and-socket joint is tight and the gargantuan smartphone didn’t phase it.
Aside from using it for timed photographs and video calls, I found it perfect for stationary use. You can set up the Kenu Stand at your workstation and have something opened on the smartphone. Apps like Pocket Casts and Yahoo Weather suited me just fine as I did work for school and TalkAndroid. When a notification rolled in, I picked up my phone and pushed the legs back to return to conventional use. The Kenu Stance was also handy when cooking because you can view a recipe and have a timer going simultaneously. No need for an actual timer and expensive stand.
Bringing the three legs together are for Kenu Stance’s landscape mode. Make the Kenu Stance perpendicular to the smartphone and then angle it accordingly. Now watch videos with comfort rather than leaning the smartphone against something or holding it in your hands. Again, the ball-and-socket joint becomes valuable because of its freedom to angle the smartphone perfectly.
Did I mention it can open bottles, too?
Who knew such a compact gadget could be so versatile.
The Kenu Stance compact tripod is available online (and in select retail stores) for $29.95. It works with any phone that has a micro-USB charging port; therefore, all Android and Windows Phone devices are supported. Kenu also sells a Stance model for iOS devices. So anyone can use a Kenu Stance regardless of their operating system.
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