Kindlerama

SUMMARY

Attaches directly to Kindle 2, provides ability to stand Kindle 2 upright at different angles.
$19.95 + $7 shipping from www.arkon.com.
Same price on Amazon through a third-party retailer.
Arkon provides a 90 day warranty, but you will have to pay $9 for a replacement product.
For purchases directly from arkon.com, there is a 30 day return policy, and shipping fees will not be refunded.

Pros:

lightweight and relatively unobtrusive
sturdy, easy to clean
easy to attach and remove
can attach to a wall

Cons:

can’t leave on if you use a case
very noisy when you adjust the legs
current buying options make it slightly expensive when you factor in shipping

MY EXPERIENCE

A stand that attaches to your Kindle 2 and lets you prop it upright is pretty self-explanatory. But why would you want or need such functionality in the first place? Before I tested this model, I tried to come up with real life scenarios: sitting in bed, recuperating in a hospital, nursing a baby, eating.

The one category from that list that I could test was eating (sorry, my iPhone comes to bed with me), so I used it to read while I ate lunch. I found it surprisingly nice–it doesn’t cover any buttons or stand out obnoxiously, so I could forget about it and enjoy hands-free reading. Having your Kindle upright and facing you is indeed slightly more ergonomic than leaning over it and reading while you eat. Sure, it’s only a slight advantage, but I can see the appeal.

Arkon makes dozens of different contraptions to hold your smartphone or GPS unit in place, whether you’re at your desk, on a bike, or in a car. Most of their stuff is thick and black and chunky, but the Kindle Stand throws out that “bulky=sturdy” asthetic and goes with a translucent, slightly frosted plastic that blends in nicely with the Kindle. It’s also just big enough to do its job, so you don’t feel like you’re adding unnecessary bulk to your device.

There are two things I didn’t like about the stand, however: it’s noisy, and it doesn’t play well with cases.

First, the noise. If you buy this, get used to hearing clak-clak-clak-clak when you adjust it. Hold on, that wasn’t realistic enough. Try this:

CLAK!CLAK!CLAK!CLAK!

The legs open and close using a hard plastic ratchet method, as you can see. I imagine this approach will prevent the legs from ever getting too loose, and I also imagine that the sound will lessen slightly over time as you break it in. Still, you’ll probably never want to use this in a library or study hall. If you’re the type who hates to draw attention to yourself in public, you probably won’t even use this on an airplane. My cats ran out of the room every time I adjusted it.

Second, I was hoping that the stand would be minimalistic enough that it could remain attached even when the Kindle was in a case. It is thin and lightweight, and practically invisible when you’re not thinking about it, but the added thickness is going to cause problems if you try to leave it attached all the time. More problematic is that the stand covers up the top slot on the edge of the Kindle 2, which ruins any chance of using a case that takes advantage of the new slot design. If you want to use a case and use this stand, you’ll have to carry the stand around and slide it on whenever you need it.

I didn’t dislike the device, though. It worked as advertised, and if you’re the type who keeps your Kindle in one location, or who doesn’t use a case, the case problem becomes a non-issue.

I also found one other interesting feature: there are two slots on the back that seem designed for hanging the case on a couple of nails. This means you could use this case to hang your Kindle on a wall or cabinet door. I’ve never found the Kindle very useful as a cookbook due to formatting issues, but if I stored recipes on it, this ability to hang it on something would be highly welcome.

COMPETITORS

Arkon isn’t the first company to introduce a stand for the Kindle. After looking at the competition, however, I have to say it’s probably the most conventional, which depending on your tastes is a strength or weakness. The squiddish FlexStand from M-Edge is a goofy bendy-arm contraption with bulbous ends and looks kind of like an IKEA reject. The other stand for sale on Amazon is a weird, chunky thing that looks like the cousin of one of those carrying trays you get when you order too many drinks at Starbucks. Arkon’s stand certainly wins the beauty portion of any contest with those two.

When compared gainst the wood-composite, adhesive-backed $15 stand from Cyncronix, it’s a tougher call. The Cyncronix stand is smaller, more portable, and can work with your existing case. It’s also kind of strange-looking, which again may be good or bad depending on your tastes. It also comes with a longer warranty.

If you want a case and a stand, you might want to look for a combo-case like the $30 Platform Jacket from M-Edge. (Do an Amazon search for “kindle case stand” to see other options, including some average-looking solutions if you own the original Kindle.)

VALUE & BUYING ADVICE

At $20, I think the Arkon Kindle Stand is affordably priced, but I’m unimpressed with the company’s shipping fees and warranty period. As a small company, I realize it probably can’t come up with ultra-low shipping offers the way a behemoth like Amazon can. On the other hand, the $7 shipping fee adds 35% to the cost of the stand. The FlexStand I made fun of above costs just under $25, but if you bundle it with another purchase on Amazon you can get free shipping, making it ultimately cheaper. And the stick-on Cyncronix easel thing I mentioned above is even cheaper at $15 with shipping included. The Arkon stand isn’t overpriced, it’s just not a bargain.

More worrying to me is the warranty period. I can’t imagine any situation where a user could break the stand through neglect, but the toughness of the ratchet mechanism made me worried that I was going to snap the legs in half every time I adjusted it. Maybe the plastic is so tough that such a disaster is impossible, but I keep thinking I would want to know that if those legs snap in six months, the company would replace it. A 90 day warranty period is too short for my tastes. You also have to pay $9 for a replacement, bumping up the total cost of the stand. Hey, maybe it would never break, but I think you should factor warranty and replacement costs into the overall value of an accessory.

Would I consider buying it?
I would if Amazon sold it so that I could get free shipping.

VIDEO & PICTURES

Everyone loves videos and photos, so here comes the multimedia portion of this review.