iPad: Stand by me

TUAW readers have been writing in to tell us about the stands they have been purchasing to use with their iPads. Personally, I'm using a $6.99 Staples "Study Stand" (SKU 120147). Made of chrome with rubber tips, I have found the stand really sturdy and easy to use. I particularly like that I can attach the charging cable and still use the iPad in portrait orientation. I wrote about this stand in more detail on a couple of blog posts here on TUAW.

Although my Staples seemed to have quite a few stands in-stock (they are located near the business card holders in my store), it hasn't been as easy for others to find. My friend Jeff Smykil over at Ars Technica tells me his Staples rep wasn't initially helpful. "They tried telling me that you got that stand at Office Depot--until I showed them the sticker with their logo on it," he wrote. He left, unfortunately, empty-handed. The SKU didn't show up online for me when I did a search on the Staples site, so it may be a discontinued item.

Fortunately, readers are locating some good alternatives. Bob Schoenburg found this $6 stand at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Made of clear acrylic and, more importantly, foldable, Bob's stand is meant to be used as a folding easel. Bob writes, "Don't forget to use a 20% off coupon!"

TUAW reader "gilmore783" tracked down a Fellowes study stand at Buy.com. Costing two dollars less than the Staples version, the Fellowes folding stand offers free shipping, for a total of just $4.99 shipped. The same stand (at least I think it is the same stand) sells for $7.99 plus shipping over at Amazon, where you can read thirty-odd reviews. According to write-ups, the Fellowes stand does fold completely flat unlike the Staples model, which does not.

So do you have a stand? Tell us about it in the comments -- and don't forget to add a link to your picture!

Update: Ordered my Fellowes stand from Buy.com, it came the *next* *day* and it's really great. Folds flat (unlike Staples stand), comes with extra rubber tips (unlike Staples stand), a few bucks cheaper and very nice. I still rather prefer the Staples one for my desktop but the Fellowes one is now my travel-stand.

Update: Here's a video from TUAW reader "francisreal" showing how to make a credit-card/soapdish ipad stand:



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