Every Tablet Deserves a Tail

In my house are many tablets: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a stand for them.

And that’s where Octa’s TabletTail system comes in.

I recently received their Monkey Kit, affectionately known as the “MonkeyTail,” to solve a nagging problem in my electronics-heavy household – what do you do with a tablet when you don’t want it just sitting in your lap. In the past I’ve tried camping out by the kitchen table during marathon iPad gaming sessions, propping up my Kindle on a TV tray for bedside reading and a dozen or so other improvised scenarios for hands-free use. None of them have been what you might call successful.

The delightfully named MonkeyTail approaches this problem head-on – butt-on? – by using a rotating suction cup connector and a flexible, rubberized length of tubing that attaches to the rear of your tablet or e-reader of choice. Admittedly, Octa’s product-specific verbiage is a little much, but the device itself is actually pretty damn solid.

The MonkeyTail is most stable when its supporting your device upright on a single, wide circumference coil (with its nubby tip placed opposite the mount attachment itself), but that’s not this cyber-simian’s only trick. Crook it like an umbrella handle and wedge it in-between your sofa cushions. Wind the tail around your favorite piece of cardio equipment while you work out. The possibilities are vast, providing you give the Vacuum Dock attachment enough pumps to firmly grasp your tablet, and you make sure to bend the tail into a proper counterbalance.

My complaints? They’re pretty minimal. The suction attachment seems to work best on the slick backs of iOS devices, as opposed to the more grip-friendly Kindle Fire HDX casing, but with a little diligence I was able to get multiple hours of solid attachment even on my heaviest and rubbery-est gadgets. My only real wish is for a slightly more robust mounting option… which, it turns out, Octa is already working on.

Their current Kickstarter is for a fully modularized TabletTail positioning system that works with existing components. Already funded with four full days to go, this enhanced product adds a clamp, a low-profile wall mount, the Spider “gripper-type” tablet holder and a bridge system to pull any of these together with each other and the already available WhaleTail and MonkeyTail systems.

If you’re looking for a stable, adaptable mounting solution and don’t mind a little creative wordplay, then Octa definitely has what you’re looking for. And, if their Kickstarter is any indicator, things are only going to get better.

Review and promotional materials provided by: Octa

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