One of my favorite iPad accessories is the Apple Wireless Keyboard, a full-size keyboard that connects to the iPad via Bluetooth. When I am traveling and I need to draft something longer than a few sentences, I almost always reach for the keyboard, and even when I am in my office, I will sometimes use my keyboard and iPad together while I use my computer for another purpose. When using the Apple Wireless Keyboard, you want to have the iPad propped up at a good angle. You can use an Apple Smart Cover, but it is not very sturdy when you tap on the iPad's screen. For a while now, I've used the Origami Workstation for iPad, a combination case for the keyboard and stand for the iPad. For a few weeks now, I've been trying another solution called the Niblstand because one of the creators of the device sent me a free review unit. It's a clever solution that has quite a few tricks up its sleeve.
The Niblstand is a made of plastic and comes in two specially designed parts that fit together: the main part that attaches to an Apple Wireless Keyboard with a grove to hold an iPad, and a handle that extends out to provide support.
As you can see from the side, there are special groves so that you can slide in an Apple Wireless Keyboard.
Simply slide in your keyboard, place an iPad in the well, and your iPad will be propped up at a good angle. Better yet, it is fairly sturdy in the well so you can tap and swipe on the screen without fear that the iPad will fall down.
Because the Niblstand is fairly strong, you can even place it on your lap and type without a desk. I'm not a big fan of typing with any device on my lap — I don't like to do it with laptop computers either — but if that position works for you, the Nimblstand provides a sturdy platform for the iPad and keyboard.
You can also make the Nimblstand more compact by moving the extender from one end of the base to the other. In this position, if you push on your iPad too hard it will push back and could fall over, so I prefer to use the Nimblstand the other way. But the compact position does work, and it also provides a more efficient design for storage.
There is also a round holder in the Nimblstand specially designed for the Wacom Bamboo Stylus, which I and many others believe is one of the very best styluses for the iPad. When you are using the Nimblstand to type, the placement of the stylus is a little awkward so I didn't use it very much.
However, the clever Nimblstand can be used yet another way. in either extended or compact mode, flip the iPad around so that your keyboard is behind the iPad (and not used). This places the iPad in a perfect angled position for using the iPad, especially if you want to use an app to draw on the screen — such as one of my favorite apps for taking notes, GoodNotes. And in this orientation, the placement of the stylus holder makes perfect sense and works quite well.
I was actually surprised how much I liked this last orientation of the Nimblstand. I originally thought of the Nimblstand as something to use only when using a keyboard, but when I wasn't using a keyboard I really enjoyed using my iPad in this position in which the iPad leans far back but is still quite sturdy when you tap or otherwise touch the screen.
All of the above pictures show the Nimblstand with my iPad 3. The Nimblstand website says that it works with 99% of all tablets, even with many tablets in covers. However, I'm not a big fan of how the Nimblstand works with the brand new iPad Air. Because the bevel on the iPad Air is so narrow, the screen sits a little to low in the Nimblstand, making it difficult to touch the edge of the screen — and thus making it difficult to access the new iOS 7 control panel. Here is a picture of my iPad Air in the Nimblstand:
I contacted the developer about this, and he told me that the company is already working on developing spacers, something like an adhesive-backed soft rubber pad, to fit in the Nimblstand so that the iPad Air is at the correct height. He said that the company plans to include these spacers with all Nimblstands sold and will even send them to current owners. I'll update this review when I get a chance to try out the spacers.
[UPDATE 2/26/2014: I received my iPad Air Sustainability Kit for the Nimblstand. It consists of four adhesive pads that each have a sticky side. You simply place them in the groves at the ends following very simple instructions, and now your Nimblstand is updated for the iPad Air. The edge of the screen is no longer burried in the groove on the Nimblestand and everything just works. So whenever you upgrade to the iPad Air, your Nimblstand is ready to upgrade with you.]
The design of the Nimblstand is fascinating and makes the product quite versatile. The website says that the developers went through 64 prototypes over 30 months to create the final design. On this page of the Nimblstand website there is a great video that shows all of the different positions of the Nimblstand.
If you use an Apple Wireless Keyboard with your iPad, this product is worth a look. The Nimblstand lets your Apple Wireless Keyboard and your iPad work very well together.
