TUAW review and giveaway: Twelve South Compass iPad stand

Yesterday we heard of a new iPad stand from Twelve South, and our initial reaction was a yawn -- everybody and their brother has come out with an iPad stand, and most of them are clunky, ugly, or weigh as much as the iPad. Upon further reading of the press release, we decided differently, and immediately worked with Twelve South to review and give away two of these amazing stands. They shipped a couple of the stands overnight, and we received them this morning.

The Compass (US$39.99) gets its name from the drafting tool, not from the device you use to determine where magnetic north is. Folded into its travel case (included), the Compass takes up a space just 7 inches (17.8 cm) long and 1 inch (2.54 cm) wide. The Compass can be deployed in two modes. In the first, it looks like a tripod with the two compass-like legs holding the iPad and a third, thicker leg keeping the assembly upright. In this way, you can view the iPad in either portrait or landscape orientation. The second mode holds the iPad up in a slightly tilted configuration that is perfect for typing.


If you have an Apple iPad case and you're worried that you'll need to take it off to use your Compass, put your fears to rest. As you'll notice from the photo gallery, the Compass and the iPad case get along very well. As usual, Twelve South has put attention into the packaging of the product as well. It comes in one of their nice boxes, with instructions on how to re-use the box and use the Compass, and includes a small cloth slipcase for the Compass to slide into so that it doesn't scratch your iPad when thrown into a bag with it.

The Compass is built tough, made out of heavy gauge steel. The entire package (box, Compass, case, and literature) weighs about 10 oz (.28 kg). So, how does it work? Pretty well. It's very sturdy when holding the iPad in either orientation, with no tendency to want to slip or slide on surfaces since it has rubberized "feet" that grip the table or desk it's on. Likewise, in the typing mode, it handles the motions of typing with very little movement on the part of the iPad.

Hopefully after looking at this description, you really want one of the two Compass iPad stands we're giving away. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is to leave a comment telling us what your favorite direction is on the compass rose. We'll pick two winners from all of the entries. Here are the official rules:

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• To enter, leave a comment telling us your favorite direction
• The comment must be left before midnight on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Two winners will be selected. Both will receive one Twelve South Compass iPad Stand, valued at $39.99.
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Good luck!
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