Arkon Portable Fold-Up Stand for Apple iPad, Galaxy Tab, Kindle Fire, Playbook, Xoom, Toshiba, Acer, Nook and Other Tablets (IPM-TAB1)

This stand is great. I take it with me everywhere my iPad goes. The stand is very compact and portable. When folded, it is small enough to fit with my iPad in a 10.2″ net book sleeve. The stand adjusts to every angle you could want for both portrait and landscape use. It’s great when resting it on a pillow while lying in bed or for placing on a lap desk. At night, I use this on my night stand to charge the iPad while it displays my night stand app and plays my audiobook. When reading, I put the iPad in this stand and sit and read in landscape mode. When I want to lie down and read, I lock the iPad in portrait mode, put it horizontally in this stand and lie down one my side to read the book ‘sideways’. In the kitchen, it it my iPad cookbook stand. I am very happy I bought this. The iPad is stable and safe in the stand. It fits great, even with a clear protective case on the iPad. The only issue I have is that the charger will not fit with this in portrait mode. The stand is too low to the ground. However, this can be remedied by turning the iPad so the charger is on top. Very happy with my purchase. Would buy again!

Great portable stand. In my opinion, the item description nails it. It is very portable when folded up; can be easily tossed in a drawer or bag. It held my iPad perfectly while in its case and is sturdy enough to operate. It didn’t slide around the counter tops and is adjustable for different viewing angles. It pretty much suits all of my requirements. However, my one minor complaint is that when the iPad is sitting vertically in the mount and the charging cable is plugged in, the cable interferes with the stability of the iPad. In other words, if the mount held the iPad maybe just a half-inch higher off the surface, the plug wouldn’t be a problem. Horizontally is of course no problem. I personally don’t find this to be an issue as I seldom have it plugged in when I’m using it anyway.

I got this for my Motorola Xoom and it seems to be working great! Just thought I would add this review in case anyone with a Xoom was looking for this type of product.

Update 6/28/11 – Just got another one for my sister and her iPad 2. Works great on that as well – best portable stand for the money.

Pros:

1. Folds down to a size akin to that of an eyeglasses case – an ideal size for carrying and travel.
2. Very light – perfect for carrying and travel.
3. Very sturdy when used (with iPad) on a clean, hard surface. The grips on the feet of this stand keep it stationary, and the stand does not move when I poke my iPad. I also own a leatherette iPad case/stand (it holds an iPad horizontally at adjustable angles), and it tends to move a lot when I use it as a stand on a hard surface and poke my iPad. The Arkon stand doesn’t move at all.
4. Elegant design suitable for casual and professional use/occasions.
5. Practical design: The screws and nuts that hold the moving parts together are user-accessible (i.e., a user could tighten if necessary), and adjustments in angle are made via a kind of ratchet system (albeit plastic). I’d expected an adjustment system dependent on friction, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the Arkon stand uses what I’m describing as a ratchet-type system, because I would expect a system that depends on friction to loosen over time much faster than I think the ratchet-type system the Arkon stand actually uses will.

Cons:

1. As other reviewers have noted, when using the stand with an iPad, if you want to position the iPad vertically with the iPad’s home button on the bottom, you will not be able to have the charger cord that comes with the iPad plugged in. This is hardly a deal-breaker, as you can always have the home button/charger port at the top if you must have the iPad charger cord plugged in (for use with the A/C adapter or with USB), and if you use the stand to hold an iPad horizontally, having the charger cord plugged in will be no problem. However, if you use the stand to hold an iPad vertically with the home button on top so you can use the charging port, you will not be able to use the audio out jack, because that will be on the bottom.

There are rubbery pads on the feet of the stand, and on the parts of the stand that touch the face of the iPad or whatever unit you use the stand to hold. I assume they are held in place with glue and may eventually come loose, but I expect that should that happen, it will easy to re-glue them.

The price of this unit has been fluctuating since I discovered it in Amazon’s listings (visit camelcamelcamel and enter a product name or ASIN, etc., to see a chart of the item’s price history at Amazon and by third-party sellers), but even at full list price it is a fair deal considering how overpriced so many (I’d say most) accessories for the iPad (and similar products) tend to be.

If you need an iPad stand – for use at home (dining table, nightstand, coffee table, etc.), at a cafe, on a desktop at work or in a school, etc. – you can pay more than you’ll pay for the Arkon, but I doubt you’ll find a better combination of form and function.

Highly recommended.

I wasn’t too sure when I ordered this, but I really love this little stand. It holds the tablet very well; it doesn’t seem to slip or feel like the tablet is going to fall off, even when typing on the screen. In order to attach the power connector to the XOOM, you have to put it at a very low viewing angle, or (and this is probably what most would do) just flip the XOOM upside down. Just keep in mind the headphone jack will be on the bottom if you do that. Either way should accommodate almost every situation. I had low expectations for this thing being so cheap, but it’s terrific! One thing I didn’t “get” until I received the stand was that the hinges click into position at specific spots (every couple of degrees), so it’s not like it’s just a stiff joint that you can put at infinite angles. The way it’s designed is better, imho, as it will probably last better.

My favorite accessory purchase for my Kindle Fire! I use it everyday at work – I set my Kindle up and play music through it into a speaker. The stand is small enough to fit into the outside pocket of the Kindle’s case, and it’s easy to set up. So thankful for this, especially if I’m at a long game of Scrabble or playing other games… the Kindle weighs almost a pound and my arms get tired! Here are my pros and cons for this item:

CONS:
1) All of the other users are right, there is some awkwardness if you want to keep your Kindle in portrait mode (with plug at bottom) and charge it at the same time. The stand is small and and so does not hold your device very far from the table surface. If you plug the charging cable in at the bottom while it’s in portrait mode, you may have to bend the cable it so that it fits, OR set the device at a very severe angle backwards (which makes it almost unusable). The best idea is to keep your device in landscape mode while charging OR turn it upside down in portrait mode aka with plug at TOP (from reading some other users’ reviews… I don’t think they know that you can flip the Kindle every which way and most apps will adjust and turn to fit). Even with these alternatives, this is still a little annoying for me, as my WordFeud game app (aka Scrabble) ONLY works in portrait mode, and ONLY the portrait mode where the charging plug is on the bottom (doesn’t flip around to fit like other apps, sadly).

2) It seems to be made of lightweight and simple plastic. Opening it and closing it daily wears the plastic away very slowly. I’m very curious as to how long it will last me.

PROS:
1) I searched all around and wasn’t able to find a product like this… it doesn’t seem to have a competitor, so that made it an easy choice!! All of the other stands I found at the time were large, and I wanted something foldable and portable to bring with me everywhere, since I take my Kindle Fire everywhere.

2) It’s SOO customizable!! Landscape or portrait mode, and every possible angle. Very easy to set up and adjust. Seems like it could hold anything with ease.

3) There is soft rubbery cushioning everywhere it’s needed on this stand: on the bottom to prevent sliding, on the arm where the back of your device rests, and in the “slits” on the bottom 2 legs where the device rests. Absolutely zero worries about this stand scratching up my Kindle Fire.

P.S. I have a silicone cover on my Kindle Fire and no issues whatsoever, still fits just fine. This stand is a CHAMP, especially at this price! I would recommend this to anyone that owns or uses a tablet.

UPDATE 08/17/2012: The stand is STILL going strong, even with my daily use! No indication of wear at all… this thing is great. I recently travelled to Egypt, and had preloaded my Kindle Fire with all kinds of movies to watch. This stand was wonderful on the long plane ride – it packed down very small in my purse, set up in 2 seconds, and it sat perfectly on the plane’s fold-down tray and never budged thanks to the rubbery cushioning on the bottom. It’s nice to have for travelling.

I will add to the comments of others that this stand, for its price, is absolutely head and shoulders above its peers.

I owned, and returned, a Twelve South brand Compass stand, which was expensive, heavy, and kept falling down (see my review of tat stand).

This small plastic stand is extremely lightweight, folds to a small size, and holds my iPad and Kindle3 in any way I want. Love that about it.

One star off for thin plastic build, and as others have mentioned, the ratchetings settings –to adjust the angle, you simply force it along ratchet teeth made of plastic–will get loose, I have little doubt. I think mine is looser now already, and I have owned this for thtree weeks. I literally leave it open most of the time now as to not wear out the ratchet. Better would have been to, like an artist’s easel, have a wing nut that can be loosened and tightened, and not rely on dragging across plastic teeth for its sole means of staying in position.

But for the price, I do like this stand (if it were more expensive, I might opt for something made of metal; but NEVER the Compass standTwelve South Compass Portable Stand for iPad and iPad2

Cheers.

This is a great stand. It is compact, rubberized in the right places so it does not slip, adjustable for multiple angles depending on the situation or condition. It is priced well. Highly recommend 5 star in my mind.

I was concerned when I ordered this that it would be too big for my 7″ Samsung Galaxy Tab (since the iPad is larger) — but I just got this today, and it works great. Very sturdy, lots of different angles to adjust to. And the rubber on the feet and other areas of the stand keep the device in place, and the stand from skidding across my glass-top desk. Perfect!