TaskOne Turns Your iPhone Into an Indispensable Multi-Tool

You always have your phone on you, but have you ever needed a screwdriver or knife to get out of a jam, and been caught empty handed? Wrap your phone in a TaskOne case, and that'll never happen again.

Designed by an engineer who worked on the Stanford Solar Car project and with Apple on touchscreens and displays, he wanted a way to keep a few simple tools handy whenever he needed them. He put on his engineering hat, fired up his computer and created the TaskOne—a super slim, super lightweight (just over 3 ounces), super strong case that arms your iPhone with 16 hardened-steel tools.

Packed into a protective aircraft aluminum enclosure surrounded with polycarbonite (so it doesn't affect your reception), you'll find a knife with saw blade, 2 flathead screwdrivers, a Phillips screwdriver, bottle opener, pliers, wire cutters, wire strippers, a set of allen wrenches and a ruler. Everything you need to survive a day on the trail, or to make a quick repair at your girl's house.

The case adds almost no bulk to your iPhone's profile, yet is strong enough to allow you to use those tools aggressively. They're meant for real world use, not for opening boxes or picking teeth. So go ahead and saw through that underbrush, install that flatscreen wall mount, the TaskOne can handle it. And handle it without damaging your phone. (Plus your phone actually provides a great way to get some extra grip and torque for big jobs.)

Headed on a trip? The makers of TaskOne wanted to make sure you didn't get gang tackled going through security. The knife can be removed from the case quickly with no tools needed. And should you forget to do that before you hit the TSA agent with the itchy frisk finger, you can buy a replacement blade for just a few dollars.

Right now TaskOne is only designed to fit the iPhone 4 and 5, and is still in the development stage. But the makers say they'll be available in April 2013 at a retail cost of around $99. Until then we'll just have to do it the old fashioned way and carry a separate phone and multi-tool. And that's so 2010.