Affordable easel of solid quality, though it needs stabilizing
I've been frustrated in my search for an iPad stand designed to get the iPad lifted up a distance over the table, so one does not get "laptop-user's neck pain" when using it.
I think such a thing will be generally very useful, and not the least when writing with a keyboard.
I have found some nice-looking stands which can, via a flexible arm, lift the iPad up. But they seem to depend on a suction cup, which does not seem very secure. And perhaps worse, they weigh well over a pound and are little bit bulky, so not great for portable use.
I found a half-solution. I searched Amazon for Table Easel, and found a bunch of different things. A promising one at an amazing price was this one. (I even somehow got international shipping for free!)
As you can see, if one slides the holders up, one can get the tablet lifted about a full length. That makes a difference in neck tension.
Warning: the downside is that it's just designed to carry signs in restaurants, nothing valuable, and it is not stable. The legs have nothing to hold them in place, they swing loose when not in the outter position, so it's pretty easy to accidentally topple this thing when trying to move it, or if bumping it. I will try to find out a way to jam the legs in place when open, it should not be hard to do, even just some gaffer tape might do (though not while looking pretty).
But this instability comes only from a lack of locking mechanism. In itself, the easel is actually of really good quality, especially considering the price. If the feet are held in place, it is very stable, and the legs are very solid, I'm sure it would take a grown man to bend them.
The top also seems very strong. The main part at least, I can't judge the hinges.
It would also be a good idea to put some none-slip rubber on the holders and the side of the top.
Here is the hub seen from below:
As can be felt overall, this is a non-optimum solution. I have talked with the maker of the Roost laptop tall-stand, and he tells me he is working on an iPad version, something I am looking forward to. (If you would also like a tall tablet stand to exist, feel free to write him, he is friendly.)
