Arkon Portable Tablet Stand for iPad, Honeycomb, TouchPad, and eReaders

Those of us who buy lots of gadgets spend a lot of time shopping for accessories to help round out our electronic purchases. The perfect accessory is one that works well with the intended gadget while adding functionality. The Arkon Portable Tablet Stand fits that description aptly, and is a cheap accessory too.

I have several tablets around here and was often wishing I had the perfect stand to prop them up at a comfortable viewing angle. The stand would need to meet the following criteria to be considered: portable form, light weight, fully adjustable, stable when used, protective of the expensive tablets, and cheap. The Arkon stand meets all of those requirements and handily.

When closed for transport, the Arkon stand takes up little room and can be tossed in even the smallest of bags one might use to carry a tablet. Once needed, it can be opened in a few seconds, and the adjustable riser tilted to support any tablet at any desired angle for viewing. The stand can be used with any sized tablet, from eReaders like the Kindle to any of the 10-inch tablets that are all the rage.

Every surface on the stand that touches the tablet is designed to both protect the tablet and support it securely, with a rubbery material coating these spots. The same material is used on the bottom of the stand to prevent sliding when set up, even when pushing and prodding the tablet screen.

Arkon lists the stand for about $18, but I found it on the web for just $13, making it a cheap stand for any tablet. Tablets can be used in the stand in either portrait or landscape orientation with confidence. This entire review was written on the HP TouchPad with the wireless keyboard. The TouchPad was used in the Arkon stand in landscape orientation for a very laptop-like experience. I have used it with the Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the TouchPad without issues. Note that tablets can be in thin cases and still work with this stand.