We’ve reviewed our share of iPad stands here on The Gadgeteer. Today I want to show you another iPad stand, but this one isn’t for your desktop, it’s an iPad floor stand called the iProp. The iProp is an adjustable stand that will allow you to use your iPad hands-free for watching movies, reading, or even as a musical stand.
Note: The images in this review can be clicked for a larger size.
The iProp is comprised of 3 main parts. The heavy duty V shaped metal base, which weighs 3 lbs, the flexible gooseneck and the iPad holder. It ships unassembled, but don’t worry, assembly only requires 1 bolt. They even include the tool to tighten it.
The iPad holder is made of black plastic. It holds the iPad by the bottom two corners and top edge.
If you flip the holder over, you’ll see the ball and socket connector that is used to attach the holder to the stand. This connector allows you to rotate the iPad 360° as well as tilting it to almost any angle.
You can use the iProp with the original iPad and the iPad 2. To use it with the iPad 2, you’ll need to attach a stick on foam spacer to the back of the holder and small spacers to the corner holders.
The only assembly required for this stand is to attach the flexible gooseneck to the base with the included bolt and washer. There’s an Allen wrench included to tighten it. The hole in the base is countersunk, and the instructions say to tighten the bolt flush with the base. As you can see from the image above, I wasn’t quite able to do that… Either I’m not strong enough (very possible right now…) or this is just as far as it will go. This isn’t a big deal if you intend to only use the iProp on a carpeted floor. But if you are going to use it on a hard wood floor, I’d be worried that this could cause scratches. I was surprised that there were no stick on feet included with the base.
Once you have attached the gooseneck to the base, you are ready to put the iPad in the holder and attach it. This is done by loosening the socket connector, sliding the ball into the socket and tightening it back down again. You can turn the iPad either in landscape or portrait orientation and adjust the angle of the screen. Once you’re done, tighten the socket connector to keep it in place. At this point, you can adjust the gooseneck, too, if desired. If you leave the gooseneck straight up and down, the stand is 36″ high.
Forgive my lack of fashion. I didn't feel like changing my clothes for the picture.
I’ve found the iProp to be a great music stand. I can use the iPad with the TabToolKit app to let me easily view sheet music while I practice songs on my ukulele. It sure beats printing the music and putting it on my lap.
This stand is very sturdy and at 9 pounds, it is heavy enough that there is no worry that it will topple over. I can think of quite a few uses for it in addition to my own musical stand use. For example, it would be useful for watching movies and videos in bed or on the couch hands-free.
Other than the bolt on the bottom of the base, the only complaint that I have about the iProp is the price. You can buy a heavy duty stand for much less. Of course those stands don’t include an iPad holder like this one. Even so, I do think the iProp is overly pricey. On the plus side, they do ship free to anywhere in the US.
You choose a sleek new smartphone, then the internal war begins: case or no case? Cases can obscure the looks that attracted you to the phone in the first place or make it much heavier. Or you find out that all those features drain your battery so quickly that you can’t make it through a long day without needing to recharge. External batteries can keep you going all day, but it’s hard to use a phone with a big battery pack dangling from the charging port. Some cases have built-in batteries, but they are too big and heavy to keep on your phone all the time. Third Rail offers a case and external battery system that gives you what you want – protection and power – without the things you don’t want – bulk. Let’s look at the Third Rail System for iPhone 4 I received for review.
I found the case to be fairly comfortable on my iPhone 4. It added weight, but it didn’t seem to change the size of the phone otherwise. The case didn’t interfere with the operation of the back camera at all. Since it leaves the front of the iPhone 4 completely open, there is no chance it will interfere with the front-facing camera or the ambient light or proximity sensors.
Tom Bihn makes great bags, and I can say that with absolute confidence. My husband has a Tom Bihn Empire Builder bag that he has used every single day for the past 8 years. After seven years, we bought him a new Absolute Shoulder Strap, but the bag itself looks as good as the day he opened up the package. I’ve owned a Zephyr bag, which is a slightly smaller version of the Empire Builder, for several years. While mine doesn’t get as much use as Butch’s does, my bag also looks brand new. When I saw that Tom Bihn was selling the Breve, a minimalist bag for iPad/iPad 2, I knew I had to try one. Tom Bihn was kind enough to provide me with a Breve. They even threw in one of their new screen cleaning cloths. So, does the Breve live up to my expectations?
I’m reviewing an iPhone 4 case from Mivizu called the Sleek Leather Case in Black Stone. It is part of a collection of cases from Mivizu with 11 different finishes, including carbon fiber, that center on a flip cover case design. I spent a week with this as my only case to get a proper feel for using this as someone’s primary iPhone cover, and came away impressed but with a couple slight problems. Read on for my review of the Sleek Leather Case in Black Stone.
