Halopad, The Universal iPad Stand

Like a pub ashtray with the bottom cut out, the Halopad is utilitarian but useful

The Halopad is — not surprisingly — an iPad stand in the shape of a halo. Not that you’ll find this halo floating over the heads of saintly prophets — instead it is simply a chunky, lightweight plastic ring which has slots cut into it for propping the iPad at various angles. It’s simple, it’s cheap, and it’s not ugly.

I test a lot of iPad cases, and they have to do many things: protect the iPad, look good, be lightweight and easy to hold and — crucially — work as a stand. And surprisingly, many of them are terrible at this last one. Even Apple’s Smart Cover is too wobbly to balance on a bed for watching movies# Heading, even if you put it on a tea tray first.

So, if you want a steady stand, you’re going to need to buy a steady stand, and the Halo looks as good as any. The 280-gram base (ten ounces) is round an fat for stability on hard and soft surfaces alike, and has slots cut at 18˚ and 45˚ which can hold the iPad both horizontally and vertically. The Kickstarter product page claims that 45˚ is perfect for typing, but giving it more than a second of thought shows that this clearly isn’t the case.

Still, you could always just prop the iPad up on the Halo and use it that way.

The very best part of the Halo, though, is its oversized slots. These are big enough to fit the iPad 1 as well as the new iPad, and even things like the Motorola Xoom (like anyone actually bought one). This also means that if you use a thin case, or a rear-shell protector, you should be able to get the iPad 2 and 3 into the stand with the case still attached. And if not, the solid plastic construction means you should be able to Dremel your way to victory.

As I mentioned, the Halo is a Kickstarter project. Pledge now and you can get a Halo for $25. Wait to see if it ever actually ships and the price will be a still-reasonable $30.

• Source Kickstarter
• Thanks Michael!

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