Add pocket knife and bottle opener to the list of uses for your iPhone. A start-up named TaskLab offers a case, the TaskOne, which turns your iPhone into a discreet multi-tool.
The creators describe it as the “next generation of cases.” The case, which weighs just more than 0.2 pounds, has 16 tools made of aircraft aluminum and polycarbonate, according to the TaskLab website.
Tools include a 2.5-inch knife with serrated and fine edges, a 1.8-inch wood saw, six metric Allen wrenches, small and large flat-head screwdrivers, a medium Phillips screwdriver, pliers, wire cutters, wrenches, a wire stripper, a ruler, a kickstand, and a bottle opener.
Warren Johnson, a member of the TaskLab team, says that the idea stemmed from the creators’ desire for a less clunky multi-tool.
“It was developed through pursuing active lifestyles and trying to fill the void of a multi-tool that isn’t bulky or something extra to carry,” he says.
But could the multi-tool cause damage to the iPhone? Perhaps not. TaskLab demonstrate the case’s potential durability in a video. The test shows the demonstrator trying to bend the screwdriver tool connected to the iPhone as it is clamped between two wooden blocks. The screwdriver withstands the pressure with no damage to the case or the phone.
In a second test, the demonstrator breaks the screwdriver, but causes no damage to the case or the phone. The demonstrator shows how to remove the remains of the screwdriver and replace it.
TaskOne held a funding campaign in December through the crowd-funding website Indiegogo. The team raised nearly $40,000 by the Dec. 26 deadline.
Contributors pre-ordered the case for $90 and should expect the Task One to ship by April.
The Task Lab intends to continue production once it officially breaks into the market. However, the team does not specify when that will be.
