I generally keep my phone within a 15ft radius of my body at all times, and I don't think I'm the only one. When you think about it, though, smartphone mounts haven't exactly been updated to consider the wide variety of tasks we now rely on our phones for. The most basic example: When we have a daily Skype meeting here in the office, people using their phones create makeshift props so we can see eye-to-eye instead of eye-to-nostril. Maybe that's just the designer in all of us coming out, but it would be so much easier to have a built-in stand already attached to our phones. A quick fix would be buying one of those flexible phone mounts, but they're awkward to carry, and the clip never fits the one surface you need it to. 

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HaloEffect is a product ecosystem that may be the answer to these particular frustrations. The team behind HaloEffect realized there was no single product structure able to accommodate mounting phones in the places we use them most—in the car, during exercise and at the office. They decided to redesign the idea most have of phone mounts, which is typically purchasing a separate mount for each activity. With HaloEffect, one clever phone attachment has the ability to directly attach the the rest of the mounts in the system, creating a more seamless experience.

Play + Perform

Play + Perform

Play + Perform

The Play + Perform mount clips directly onto your phone and allows you to attach your phone to the rest of the mounts in the system. Flipping the handle out gives you a few other options as well, including a table-top stand and a more chill version of selfie stick (it frees up your thumb when using the front-facing camera). The space between the Play + Perform mount can hold things like metro cards, photo IDs and credit cards. If the Play + Perform mount had no other purpose than to attach to other mounts, I'd lose interest. However, since it doubles as a stand and card holder, I could see this being a useful tool on its own.

Drive + Direct

The same handle/stand that lets you take better selfies acts as the connecting piece to the rest of the mounts. For in-vehicle use, the Drive + Direct mount allows you to easily have hands-free conversations. Since the Play + Perform mount is already attached to your phone, the time it takes to fumble around making sure your phone is snapped in properly is eliminated. To use it, simply pull out the Play + Perform mount's handle and pop it into the Drive + Direct mount on your car's vent. 

Run + Ride

The Run + Ride mount is for people whose arms and anxiety levels don't mesh well with other arm mounts on the market. This one offers the option to swivel your phone for different views (great to check Google Maps mid-run), and instead of sliding your phone into one of those risky clear sleeves, you snap it into place with the Play + Perform Mount and push a button to remove it when you're done. 

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Finally, the Share + Stream mount allows you to stick your phone onto almost any vertical surface, be it the wall you stare at during work all day or in your bathroom to watch TV when you, um, you know. All it takes is a Command Strip and some creativity.

Below is a list of phones HaloEffect can work with, and it's pretty long:

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And a quick look at the kit's unboxing:

Overall, this is probably the best stab at streamlining the hands-free lifestyle I've seen yet. As long as the arm band stays secure during my clumsy runs, I'm in.

HaloEffect is now available on Indiegogo at an Early Bird price of $39.