After pre-ordering an iPad this spring Steve Zaharakis improvised a stand for it out of a business card holder.
His 11-year-old son Dino thought he could do better. If he could, Steve said Dino would get an iPhone.
So they ordered some sheets of aluminum and Dino got to work. Several prototypes later he came up with a triangular stand that has a slit in the back to accommodate a cord, so an iPad can be charged while sitting in the dock. It’s the right size for iPads, iPhones, Kindles and similar devices, with or without a case. Dino, whose family shares the iPad, notes that the dock works great with the FaceTime video calling feature on his mom’s iPhone 4.
Then Dino and Steve, an electrical engineer, went to the Fab Lab at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem. Through the lab and connections on Dino’s lacrosse team, they manufactured the product, dubbed the dzdock One, and started the process of patenting it.
“I’ve never really had my own business before,” says Dino, a sixth-grader at Saucon Valley Middle School in Hellertown. He’s contracted with local companies, including Electro-Space Fabricators in Topton, which makes the dzdock One.
“We didn’t want it to be made in China,” Dino says. “You’ve probably noticed that pretty much everything is made in China.” And since he cares about the environment, the aluminum dock and cardboard box it comes in are recycled.
The dzdock One is selling fast, with most sold last weekend. And Dino did get his phone — with unlimited texting.
Sources: Dino and Steve Zaharakis, ZLabs
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen