“We also released a video on our website that shows some stress testing of the case with an iPhone 5 installed. “The case is light and strong enough to width stand abuse, not damage your phone, and even keep it safe when dropped.” continues Shelton. This was how our TaskOne iPhone case was born.” As a result of my own needs, I figured there were a lot of people like me that would enjoy having a handy toolkit bundled into their iPhone. “They say necessity is the mother of all inventions. “I spend a lot of my day using tools and always wish I had a multi-tool in my pocket, but never carry one due to the size, bulk and inconvenience of a stand-alone multi-tool,” says Addison Shelton, inventor and recent Stanford University graduate. For all the Chronicle ’s stories, pick up a print copy or subscribe, either for print or digital editions.The project is currently seeking funding of $32,000 on the crowd funding website Indiegogo, and is offering a TaskOne case for the reduced price of $75 for the first 200 backers of the project. Dunbar at more free articles from the Chronicle like this one, see our Featuring pages. In his spare time, he decided to invent the Task One.Ĭontact Bethany M. “Mostly we are trying to increase the capacity,” he said. The company is researching improvements in lithium batteries. His regular job is with an Atlanta, Georgia, company that he and some of his friends from college started. He graduated from Stanford in 2005 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Shelton is the son of Betsy Allen and Bucky Shelton. If the website funding program does not raise $45,000 by December 26, he could either drop the idea or look for a different way to fund the product’s manufacture, such as a conventional bank loan. If this works out, he might also create a version of the case for Android type cell phones next. “I think a lot of people would find it pretty useful.” “I’m pretty excited about getting this to manufacturing,” he said. The cases can be pre-purchased for $75 to $90 each. If he gets fully funded, he will owe 550 people a Task One iPhone case, and he figures that $45,000 would be enough to be able to buy the manufacturing tools he would need. He launched the idea a week ago, November 21, and so far he has raised $15,000. Shelton has until December 26 to raise $45,000 through the crowd-sourcing website The inventor has a year from that time to submit the provisional patent application. The process of obtaining a patent is three or four years long, he said, and it starts with making the product public. He has not patented the tool yet, but he has written a provisional patent. Shelton promises to replace tools that break, for a very small charge. The tools are designed to break before the phone would be hurt, and Mr. Part of the design process has included making sure no one would break the phone when using it to cut a steak or firewood. Task One has 16 tools and is no thicker than an ordinary phone case. His blog, which can be seen at, tells some of the story of working out bugs in the original prototype. So about a year ago, he set about making a prototype. Shelton started thinking, what if the two could be combined? He searched the Internet and didn’t find that anyone had already invented such a thing.
![taskone iphone toolkit taskone iphone toolkit](https://blog-imgs-46-origin.fc2.com/e/x/c/exchangeworld/iPhone-TaskOne03.jpg)
The one thing a lot of people do carry, though, is a cell phone. Task One has 16 tools inside it and is no thicker than a regular iPhone case. “They turn out to be not that useful to me,” he said. Despite that, he finds he doesn’t carry those multi-tools around in his pockets because they’re too bulky. Shelton said he had the idea because he loves tools and multi-tools like Swiss Army knives. “Task One is a sleek and sexy multi-tool case for your iPhone,” says the product’s Facebook page, called TaskLab. The knife can be removed for when a person gets on an airplane. He’s looking for people who want to buy one ahead of time in order to get the funding to manufacture the product.Ĭalled Task One, the case includes a small serrated knife, pliers, a wire cutter and stripper, screwdrivers, Allen wrenches, a bottle opener and more. Photo courtesy of Addison SheltonĪTLANTA, Georgia - Addison Shelton, who grew up in Glover, has invented a case for iPhones that has several slim tools stashed inside it. Addison Shelton shows off his invention, Task One.