Standit for notebooks lets you eyeball your screen

IN MY CALL for toys a while back, I got a few interesting responses that I never would have otherwise checked out. One of the first of these that landed in my inbox was the Standit , a very creative little laptop stand. Basically, the Standit is an upright laptop stand that holds your laptop fully open, or mostly open depending on the model you choose. The keyboard is upright, and the monitor is at eye level, or much closer to eye level in all but the smallest of mini notebooks. Having the screen a foot or so off the desk is a good thing.

When we at the INQUIRER get products like this, we ask the usual two questions. First and foremost, does it burn, and second, does it do what it says it will on the box? Sadly, at it's most basic level, the Standit is simply two pieces of metal with grippy rubber feet, and as you know, metal tends not to burn well. We could probably make the rubber feet smolder a little, and get some fumes off the black vinyl coating on the metal, but that's about it. The second part is more encouraging. They say it will hold your laptop, and allow you to use it without craning your neck and ending up with sore arms, or a stiff neck, take your pick. It does this quite well, without any fuss.

There are some caveats to the stand however, so choosing your model correctly is quite important. The model listing screen is a bit confusing (see here), with some models listed in two categories, and others not listed in the pictures at all. I would e-mail before you buy to make sure you are getting the one you want. Other than that, there are two things to decide on, how wide you can open your screen, and how wide the base is.

If you pick the wrong size base, you won't be able to put the laptop in the stand, but if you pick the wrong angle, you can't make the screen vertical, which mostly defeats the purpose of the Standit in the first place. Even if you get the wrong one, it is nothing that can't be fixed with a pair of pliers, or some creative shimming. You shouldn't need any of this however, all you need is a keyboard and mouse that will work with your laptop and you are off and running.

I gave the Standit to a few friends who use laptops regularly, and after a few days I heard a few complaints, all of them minor. Some had laptops that it didn't fit, and a few others had the keyboard ports obstructed when the screen was opened fully. This isn't the Standit's fault however, it is mainly because I only had one of them that either fit well or it didn't. Most of them, it fits well. The Standit people even thought of some nice touches, like a center cutout on the bottom so you don't press the CD eject button on some laptops every time you put them in the stand.

Most executives I buy laptops for whine about not just wanting a docking station, but NEEDING it. They spend enormous money on the damn things, then get sick to death of the profile changes, hardware located, and all the other little annoyances Windows inflicts on laptop users. The docks quickly end up in a drawer, but because they tend to pay the bills, you can't make fun of them, at least to their faces. Pity. Because of this, most laptop users I know have a USB hub with all the things they need plugged into it. Simply put the laptop down, plug in power, Ethernet, the hub, and monitor and you are done. Not quite docking station easy, but cheaper and not all that painful once a day. With the Standit, you plug all the same things in, but do not have to use an external monitor, it really works well.

Overall, the Standit is a well designed gadget, and with most model prices around $25 or so, it isn't all that expensive. It does what it says, saves desk space, and is well thought out. Except for the flammability part, or lack thereof, it has no major flaws that I found. If you are a laptop user, check it out. Overall, 8/10. µ