Nite Ize QuikStand: nifty smartphone travel accessory

For way too long, when watching a video or making a phone call, I found myself holding my phone, propping it up against some vertical surface, or finding something sort of lumpy to tuck under it to make it tilt for easier sight. Enter Nite Ize QuikStand, at just under $10, solving a problem I didn’t really know I had, with a nearly perfect, quite affordable and highly compact solution.

The QuikStand approaches smartphone stand perfection.

Made of brushed aluminum and flexible polypropylene, this tiny little device stand is barely bigger than a credit card (3.4 inches by 2 inches by 0.2 inches). Weighing only four ounces and folding flat to stow, it’s always there whenever you might need a little help propping up your phone or e-reader.

Simply pull out the aluminum support bar and place it in one of seven slots to determine your preferred viewing angle. Then slip your mobile device between the stand and little front flaps. The stand works well in both vertical and landscape modes, although I find I use it primarily in vertical mode with my iPhone. There are times, as crazy as it sounds, when I place my phone in landscape, pair it with a Bluetooth keyboard, and use the setup to actually write short notes and longer emails. Works pretty well, too, although with a small screen – and, er, aging eyes – it’s not a work environment I want to embrace too often. My wife likes her Android propped horizontally to use as a monitor with a mobile keyboard, touch typing without really looking at the phone. We also know another user who props up his phone beside him on travel to be able to quickly access texts from his wife and family.

While Nite Ize says the stand also works with small tablets or e-readers, most protective cases these days for those types of devices come with their own built-in stands. And, frankly, even with an iPad mini, the Nite Ize QuikStand feels a tad wobbly and insecure.

For a phone stand though, it is THE perfect solution and, as such, the Nite Ize QuikStand now travels with me everywhere. If I could make one teeny-tiny suggestion for improvement, it would be to add something rubbery or sticky on its plastic base, which is a tad slick. No worries in a hotel or at a desk, but I watched my phone doing a quick side slide heading toward the edge of an airplane tray during some moderate and somewhat sudden turbulence not so long ago.

However, this little quibble isn’t enough to knock the Nite Ize QuikStand out of the ranks of those top travel products receiving our HITT Seal of Approval.

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