Okay Geek Farm
Bluelounge Nest review
Jason Tsay
We’ve gone through our fair share of stands for iDevices and although we’ve seen a couple of good ones, the Bluelounge Nest is easily the most useful, and simplest stand. It doesn’t seem like much of a stand at first sight but rather more like a tray. So why is it so good?
Features
- Easy iPad Stand or Valet
- A Comfortable Fit
- Intelligible Design
- All Tablets Welcome
Our Impressions
Let me preface this review by saying the Nest is a product intended for the iPad but since we didn’t have one in our “lab” at the moment, we settled for using an iPhone instead. The experience is similar.
The Nest comes in a plastic blister backed by a piece of cardboard describing how the product is used.
The Nest is actually very simple - a glossy white base is topped by a grippy surface. Since the Nest comes in several varieties, the top part can comes in many vibrant colors. From the side, it resembles a long triangle but the view from the top is a perfect square. Four rubber feet on the bottom of the Nest ensure that it won’t slide around and can function well as a stand. There is a little drawer that pulls out of the bottom of the Nest which acts as another upright stand. Despite being made of plastic, the Nest feels very solid and no part feels like it’s going to break or fall off. This is especially good considering the slide out base part.
So how exactly do you use the Nest as a stand? Well there are two main ways. You can plop your iPad down right smack dab in the middle of the square (don’t worry, it’s very grippy and your iPad will not slide off) or you can pull out the drawer and stand your tablet up at a much more vertical angle. The flat configuration is great for using the iPad on a table while the upright position is for a more dock style approach, but you’ll still be able to interact with it.
Of course, the product’s name is Nest for a reason. Although the top part is slanted so that you can use your iPad comfortably, the surface inside is flat. This means that you have a nice little vallet dish to store your keys and whatnot. This is a little similar to the Griffin PowerDock Dual idea we saw a while back but much simpler.
Overall
The Nest doesn’t seem like a very impressive stand at first but its simplicity and elegance in use is what makes it so compelling. There’s nothing really special about it but once you use it, you think “This is something that would actually make my life easier every day.” You can plop a couple of items into the dish and get on with using your iPad comfortably.
Pro’s
- great design
- well built
- useful
Con’s
- none
Where to buy
Bluelounge / Amazon — MSRP: $14.95
This review was done by Jason Tsay, who was provided the Nest by Bluelounge.
