Ten One Design Magnus Stand for iPad 2 & iPad 3rd Gen Review
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Ten One Design's Magnus stand is really something out of the ordinary. It's the first stand to ever take full advantage of the iPad's ingenious embedded magnets in order to achieve an amazing gravity defying presentation. This aluminum made stand of greatness is designed to work with both the iPad 3rd Gen and iPad 2, and looks to replace your Smart Cover or any other stand using geek appeal.
Over the years, we have reviewed and covered many iPad and tablet stands, none of which had the same extraordinary visual appeal as the Magnus. Will the Magnus prove to be as magical as it looks? Find out in the full review down below!
The Magnus stand will set you back $50 and doesn't include anything but itself. To be fair, the price fits in very well with all the other aluminum made iPad stands we've covered. Since this is the first iPad stand that we've seen to feature embedded magnets, there aren't any other worthy competitors. At least for now. Granted there's a caveat involved in all this that we will get into later.
The whole idea behind the Magnus and what makes it one of the more unique stands out there is that it's capable of propping the iPad 3rd Gen or iPad 2 in an upright angle whilst keeping a slim profile without any visible support. It's as if the iPad floats on top a slab of sleek aluminum and that's what so beautiful and minimilistic about it. The magnets that are embedded in the Magnus self-align the iPad when you go in for docking. Very much like an Apple product, the Magnus is designed as if Apple itself came up with its conception.
To be honest, the Magnus does have the tiniest amount of lip to support the edge of the iPad around the front just so be extra secured should you accidentally tip it over when the magnets aren't strong enough to grab hold. Even with that, the Magnus does its job in hiding the evidence of support from plain sight. Having uses the Magnus for quite some time now, I can say that I'm fully impressed by just how great it works. Using it as a stand is just as easy as attaching a Smart Cover to your iPad. The magnets really help pull the iPad into its rightful place without much effort on your part. Removing the iPad requires to hands since there are magnets involved.
As I've mentioned earlier, the Magnus does come with a few of its own special drawbacks. Unlike most stands out there, the Magnus is only compatible with a naked or skinned iPad 3rd Gen or iPad 2. That means you can't use any form of case even if its extremely thin. With that said, it makes perfect sense sense as the magnets must have perfect contact with each other in order to work as advertised. The Magnus has no padding or form of protection that will keep your iPad away from rubbing against its metal surface aside from a strip of plastic.
With that in mind, I've had constant worries that I would end up scratching and scuffing my iPad's backside against the Magnus each time I docked and undocked. However, I was dumbfounded to find out that after nearly a month of using the Magnus stand my iPad showed not a single scratch or scuff mark. I would still advise to be careful while using the Magnus.
It's worth noting that the Magnus and all of its Apple-esque design still doesn't match the quality of aluminum finish found on Apple products and even Element Case products. It's more rough and of lesser quality by comparison, albeit one would only notice that upon closer inspection. The Magnus isn't meant to be portable even though it has somewhat of a compact shape and takes little space being that it's primarily made out of a flat plate. It works perfectly on a desk environment without interfering with your work flow.
With so little support, you'd think your iPad won't be in good hands. Be that as it may, the Magnus is one of the more sturdy and secure stands for the iPad. There's no chance of it tipping over or magnetically discharged no matter the direction and it remains exceptionally solid when tapping on the entire touchscreen area as if it were one with the iPad.
This isn't your multi-angle, versatile iPad stand. You can only use your iPad with the Magnus in the landscape orientation and only at a single fixed angle which is extremely upright yet still great for viewing videos, displaying the time and other types of iOS apps, yet it isn't ideal for gaming, typing or using a stylus. Stands like the Compass, Slide and Encore, to name but a few, offer better flexibility for users who like to utilize various angles and orientations.
The Magnus is the kind of iPad stand you'd think Apple would have released long ago. The Magnus is very much like an Apple product in that it skimps on features to look better yet still costs the same as most stands. Ten One Design created a visually stunning low-profile aluminum stand that works flawlessly using the magnetic feature of the iPad. But you should consider an alternative if a more functional stand is what you're looking for. Otherwise, the Magnus is worth having a look at for what it's worth.
