The &#36;0.69 iPad Stand

While the money-hungry, material hoarding iPad accessory makers are charging upwards of up to $130 for an iPad stand, the super duper awesome Andrew Devigal (multimedia editor at New York Times) has found a solution that would literally makes every single other option moot. Not to mention it'll have Office Depot scrambling to restock business card holders for the next 6-9 months.

From Andrew Devigal's blog:

"Bought a wireless keyboard today to eventually replace the iPad Keyboard Dock I ordered online with my iPad. One really should try out a product before buying peripherals. But what I was really looking for was a stand that allowed landscape or portrait display. Neither the Keyboard Dock nor the iDock does this… granted, those do charge the iPad while docked. And I saw Griffin’s A-Frame: Tabletop Stand for iPad in stock at the Apple Store. But at $49… it’s ridiculously expensive.
Then I went to Office Depot and found this: Business Card Holder for $0.69."

Need we say more? The stand looks like an absolute perfect fit for the iPad and seems to tilt it back just enough to give a decent viewing angle without sacrificing easy horizontal/portrait flipping.

We're probably going to get one ourselves to see if it actually works. If our local shop doesn't have it, we'll have to take this knowledge into our own hands, raid the online store, toss an Apartment Therapy logo on the plastics, and sell it for $5 a pop to fundraise development for an AT iPad app!

[Via Andrew Devigal] Thanks Nina!

Comments (16)

Duh! I've been using this for my iphone stand for years. 'Welcome to the party pal!'

I use wooden plate stands for both my iPad and iPhone.

I picked up a metal plate stand this weekend, and padded it with a little adhesive-backed felt. Total cost: $6.50
It fits great, but it feels precarious, like the least little bump could knock it over. I'd think the business card holder would have the same problem -- too high of a center of gravity.

Just out of curiosity, why would you write an AT iPad app? Does the website not work on the iPad? I thought the browser was decent on these things, and I don't think you guys use flash...

Hi, nice idea but doesn't seem stable, take a look at http://www.groovystand.com for 6.95$ seems more stable and they will have a larger one for typing. Check the video on youtube.

I just made a special trip to Office Depot and picked up two of these. They're marked $1.29 on the shelf but rang up at $0.91. Still a bargain. The iPad feels rock solid in them, no wobble or tipping at all. Great tip!

Just got one @ Office Depot. Works perfectly!!

I agree, I've been using the exact same thing for 1 or 2 years now, it worked great until it broke but then again, they are really cheap to replace, a really good option for this.

I've been using a cookbook stand and it works *perfectly*. It supports the entire back, so there is no danger of it falling down. The business card holders look really sleek, though! I think I'll pick one up next time I'm at Office Depot, portable stand!

please make an AT iPhone app too!! :) Reading on the iPad is fine, what with the bigger screen...it's the iPhone that could really use a specially-formatted version.

Interesting. I've been using one of those as an iPod Touch stand for like a year now.

Here's my free DVD case solution. It certainly isn't as pretty to look at, but its very secure and travels well:

http://bit.ly/DVDCaseiPadStand

Would love ideas on how to make it less unsightly. :)

You can build your own iPad stand. All you need is an iPhone box. Check it out here. www.fishinggeekz.com

check-out this ipad stand i just found
http://www.stumpstore.com
colors, portable, and customizable

LOVE it!

I have this one: http://www.buy.com/prod/360-degrees-rotation-steel-stand-holder-mount-for-apple-ipad/q/loc/101/217050819.html Steel and stable! Cool!