Mobility Digest Review: TenOne Design Magnus iPad 2 Stand
TenOne Design are probably best known for their Pogo Sketch line of styluses for the Apple mobile devices. Recently they released their first iPad 2 stand called the Magnus. What differentiates this stand from others in the market are the built in magnets and its design aesthetic.
The built in magnets allow the iPad 2 to firmly lock into the stand by interacting with the iPad 2’s smart cover magnets giving the Magnus a minimalist appearance letting the iPad 2 take center stage.
Once the Magnus is locked onto the iPad 2 it is securely in place, even requiring two hands to separate the 2 components. TenOne Design uses the same machine aluminum style found on the iPad 2 creating a very organic looking pairing as the Magnus could have been easily designed by the folks at Cupertino.
Author: Tom Ratas
Vendor: TenOne Design
MSRP: Price: $49.95
Overall Rating: 3/5
Price: $47.50 ( from Amazon at time of review)
Specs/Features:
Sweet Dandy Checkers!
We have just finished making a dandy of an iPad stand. Sure, it’s incredibly secure and has magnets and all that cool stuff, but let’s be honest here – we’re only selling it because it looks super hot.
This isn’t one of those portable travel stands. Leave it on your desk, ok?
Magnus works beautifully with unfettered iPads (iPad 2 only!). Protective skins on the back are no problem.
The hand-finishing does limit our production speed, so stock levels may be low for the first few weeks.
Are magnets magic?
The front of the iPad shows no visible support. How can this be?
It’s in the name. We think of magnets as magic; maybe you do, too. In any case, Magnus uses a strong magnetic link to hold the iPad. All this while remaining completely out of the way.
The inside story
Magnus is first machine-crafted from pure aluminum and then hand-finished using the latest manufacturing techniques. After that, customized magnets are installed into the base, and rubberized feet are fitted to the bottom surface.
A lot of hard work goes into each of these, and it shows.
ingredients: machined, recyclable aluminum, nickel-plated neodymium, recyclable plastics, recyclable carton, PET-coated paper fiber.
[Industrial design geek-out warning]
Our designers targeted a reduced silhouette. Viewed from the side, you see only the iPad’s tilt, and a flat plate on the desk. From there, the engineering took over.
Magnus may look like it’s defying gravity, but the magnetics keep it secure. Make sure to use two hands when removing your iPad. Magnus will try to hold on and may lift off the desk.
What’s in the Box?
TheTenOne Design Magnus arrives in a white cardboard box with an image of the device holding an iPad 2 in what looks to be a portrait orientation but is actually a horizontal profile. Apparently the angle of the photo gives the horizontal aligned iPad 2 a portrait view, which may initially confuse the buyer including myself.
On the back of the package is another photo of an iPad 2 resting in a more discernible horizontal orientation on the Magnus stand.
Inside the package we find the Magnus magnetic stand and a pictorial instruction sheet.
The Magnus Magnetic Stand for iPad 2 is composed of machined recycled aluminum with a nickel plated neodymium finish and is rectangular in shape.. Aesthetically it looks it could have been designed by Apple themselves.
The front of the stand rests at a slight angle to allow the iPad 2 to be viewed at a comfortable site line. One drawback to this unibody stand design is the viewing angle is permanently fixed in one position.
At the front of the stand we find a thin lip that rests in front of the Magnus just above the cradle area. A series of magnets are hidden in this cradle area and allows the Magnus to magnetically hold the iPad 2 firmly in position. This stand is only designed to work with the iPad 2 in the landscape position with the dock connector aligned on the right side. This allows the magnetic interaction of the two devices to occur.
Looking at the Magnus from the back we see the TenOne Design logo.
On the bottom of the stand off for rubber feet to keep it from sliding on whatever surfaces it rests.
Impressions / Review:
The Magnus Magnetic Stand for iPad 2 is definitely eye-catching in its appearance. Its design makes it a perfect match for the iPad 2. When resting on the Magnus stand the iPad 2 and it seemed like one continuous unit. TenOne Design made it that way to keep the focus off the stand and onto the iPad 2.
One drawback to the Magnus is that the iPad 2 needs to be outside of any case, shell or other protective accessory for it to work with this stand. Personally my iPad 2 is always protected at minimum with a shell style case, more often with a folio style type. This means for me to use the Magnus I would need to remove my iPad 2 from its protective housing. In addition the Magnus only works with the iPad 2, original iPad owners need not apply.
The fixed viewing angle is acceptable for watching videos or images on the iPad 2 but some people may not like the inability to adjust the viewing site line.
Conclusion:
The Magnus stand from TenOne Design is a unique iPad 2 stand with its use of magnets to hold the Apple tablet in place. The aluminum low profile design makes it seem like a natural part of the iPad 2. However it’s fixed positioning make it a one trick pony. You can not adjust the viewing angle and can only place the iPad 2 in one orientation as all others do not take advantage of the Magnus’ built in magnets.
Appearance wise the Magnus is a pretty nice looking stand. Priced at around $50 its limitations may give pause to some buyers before spending that much on an iPad 2 stand.
Pros:
+Beautiful designed stand
+Quality build
+Holds the iPad 2 securely
Cons:
-Fixed viewing angle
-Can only use iPad 2 in one orientation
-Need to have iPad 2 out of any case to use
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