MobilityLeaks: Kick Stands

David K: Just occurred to me that the kickstands in all of these tablets are backwards. They shouldn’t come from the top on the device…they should be at the bottom. Like if the bottom 1/5 was a flap that lied flat to support the tablet being upright. Then it is easy to adjust the angle and has more support against the ground. So rather than just the edge touching the surface, the entire panel is lying flat so it supports itself better. It does limit how far back you can angle the screen though.

Anyone capable of doing a quick mockup of this? Just turning the hinge on the Surface to come from the bottom effectively. That’s beyond my paint.net skills 😉

Jimski: I think you would experience a lot of flexing. I get some of that when using the touch screen on my Asus notebook. The hinge is pretty tight, but there is some bounce. Also at a certain point, the center of gravity would shift and it would either topple backwards (back too far) or forwards (near 90 degrees). Actually unless the kickstand was a chunk of solid steel (for ballast), the screen might topple over as soon as you touched it. I wouldn’t mind the Surface kickstand having some kind of ratchet mechanism to give you maybe 5 positions. But otherwise, it is very solid and stable.

David K: The center of gravity should be unchanged. In other words, if the Surface puts the kickstand at 3" behind the base then so would this version. You have the same last point of contact. The difference is that between the front and back you have more surface contact so it’s more lappable.

Jimski: But because it’s a hinge, and not a fixed, supported leg, you will get flexing/rocking. Both forward and back. That movement as subtle it may be, can cause tipping. Sorry, based on my experience designing floor and counter displays, I don’t think it would work. Easel type supports always win out.

David K: What if I add a little triangle type thing between the tablet and foot?

Jimski: Maybe. But if it’s only in the middle, rather than two (at the ends or evenly spaced), not sure. And how would it/they adjust for your infinitely adjustable hinge?

David K: I don’t want one foot…i want the entire base to be a foot. Think of the Surface but run the hinge from the bottom of the tablet and not the middle of the back. So it runs the entire length.

Jimski: Understood. Was referring to the little triangle thing. Or, would that also run the full length?