Just Mobile Slide iPad 2 Stand Review
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Just Mobile keeps the tradition of creating some of the most innovative products that just seem to work as intended. Last time we reviewed Just Mobile's Encore aluminum stand for the iPad and iPad 2, this time we've got yet another aluminum stand to show and review for all you iPad users that I personally think you're going to love. It's the Slide aluminum stand for the iPad and iPad 2 from Just Mobile. Unlike the Encore stand, the Slide is different in everyway, however, it's still a full featured stand in every sense of the word. If portability is key for you, you may really want to jump after the break for the full review of the Slide!
The more I use some of Just Mobiles accessories for Apple gadgets, the more I want to see more of it. You may be asking yourself, what on earth can this little stand be able to do with an iPad? I was thinking the same thing before I started using the Slide. Upon first glance, the Slide looks a little complicated to set up, but looks can be deceiving. The Slide is made up from a solid piece of aluminum coupled with a weighted rubber cylinder that is neatly stowed inside of the Slide's tube for portability. I really like the solid build of the Slide. It's got that streamline look to it and it's an extremely sturdy portable stand.
If you turn over the Slide, you'll notice that it's got rubber feet for traction and keeping that aluminum body from ever coming in contact with the surface you place it on.
Rubber is used everywhere to insure your iPad or iPad 2 will never get scratched or damaged. The front of the Slide is curved to cradle your iPad with a rubberized layer. It's curved in a way so that you'll be able to use many different types of cases with your iPad or iPad 2, just like you can with the Encore stand. While the Encore lets you adjust your viewing angles and accommodate an incased iPad or iPad 2, the only difference in functionality between the Slide, is portability. The Slide is small enough to be called a portable stand, while the Encore is more suitable as an office, home and desk stand. That doesn't mean you can't use the Slide at home though. In fact, I would rather use the Slide stand as it's more compact and takes up less space.
All things aside, what really makes the Slide worthy of its title is that black rubber cylinder. The Slide works by utilizing good old friction made between the iPad and the rubber cylinder. By sliding that rubber cylinder up or down on top of the Slide's slanted flat aluminum surface, lets you control the angles in which you can set your iPad in. What's so great about the Slide is that the angles aren't restricted by a joint or pre-set levels. You can easily set the perfect viewing angle you desire with precise adjustments of simply rolling that rubber cylinder around. One of my first concerns about the rubber cylinder was how well will it hold up its friction characteristics with dust and lint being attracted to the rubbery surface.
To test that out, I literally rolled and bathed the rubber cylinder in as much lint as it could possible attract to itself to see how well it can stand up. I can confidently say that it isn't really a lint magnet, and it will still work perfectly even while accumulating lint and dust with use. After all, rubber will always attract lint.
The Slide may look like a complicated portable stand to operate, when in fact it isn't at all. Place your iPad on top of the curved rubberized layer and place the rubber cylinder against the iPad's back side. Traction will immediately hold everything together, and you'll be able to easily set your desired viewing angle by sliding the rubber cylinder up or down.
The simplicity of the Slide only holds true to the way it looks. It's more than capable of holding the iPad in both landscape and portrait orientations. No matter what angle you set your iPad in, with or without case, the Slide will stay as sturdy as a rock allowing you to fully interact with your iPad's touch screen no matter where you touch on the screen.
I find it hard to believe just how well the Slide performs based solely on friction. Every angle, orientation, case or not case, just works flawlessly each time. Surely one would think such a huge device being held by such a little stand using nothing but friction won't be very stable at the lowest possible viewing angle in a portrait orientation. Believe it or not, the Slide can pull that off without a sweat. All that without any horrible pressure being put on the iPad itself. I do have one nitpick about the Slide though. As a portable stand, I would have wanted to see some sort of locking mechanism used to secure the rubber cylinder inside the Slide when in transport. If you hold the Slide sideways, the rubber cylinder will easily slide out since it isn't being held down by anything.
One should know that obviously the Slide will not hold its angle position for you when you remove your iPad from it like the Encore. That's exactly why you've got two different types of stands that Just Mobile created. If you don't mind that, I think the Slide is probably one of the most useful and versatile portable stand you can find for your iPad. I would even go so far as saying it would be compatible with other tablets that have a flat back. The Slide also includes a handy storage pouch for storing it while you travel around. That why you won't accidentally lose that rubber cylinder too. The Slide will set you back $39.95, is it worth it? Definitely yes. Such a quality stand as the Slide is worthy of your iPad hands down.
