iBend

The promise of holding my iPhone or iPod Touch in a secure landscape manner to watch videos appeals, but the simple fact is that I really don't feel 100% confident that it isn't going to tip over in the iBend.

My iPhone, when it it's Incipio Feather case is relatively secure in the iBend and doesn't tend to move. The same thing can't be said of my iPod Touch as the slightest movement of the surface that the iBend is on (such as my desk at work when workmates walk past) sends the iPod moving about in an alarming way. Fortunately it hasn't fallen out but there have been a few moment when I thought it was going to.

If you have a good solid surface to use the iBend on and it is not likely to get bumped at all then, yes, it does hold the iPhone or iPod Touch and enables you to easily watch media. As mentioned above there is quite a bit of movement when the surface isn't 100% solid and to me me this makes the iBend less than appealing in day to day use.

I did find that using 2 iBends together (as a "double thickness" iBend) does give increased stability and makes me less nervous about using it.

The instruction card that comes with the unit makes it very clear how to use the iBend and I commend the packaging and ease of use of the unit, but as mentioned above I am a little uneasy about the stability/safety when in use.

I regularly watch TV shows on my iPhone. I wouldn't want to watch a full length movie on it but for productions without the massive special effects budgets of the big screen blockbusters it does the job nicely. Part of my lunch time ritual is to watch The Daily Show but placing the iPhone flat on the table doesn't really make for a good viewing angle. Enter iBeam, a simple piece of plastic cut to hold an iPhone or iPod Touch at about 45 degrees. It's wider than a regular business card which means it may not fit in your wallet and folding it in two would probably ruin it. Even though mine was free (thanks Phil :-) ) I'm not prepared to risk putting a crease in it.

So how does it perform? Very well. It holds the iPhone firm enough that you can play and pause videos quite easily. But I found when there were actions that needed more pressure, like scrubbing over ad breaks in TV shows, the whole set up would slide backwards on the table. Using the physical buttons to change the volume would also knock it over but it's easy to squeeze the iPhone from the opposite side too and it stays in place. It was bit annoying to have to rebalance it everytime I pick it up to deal with an application (Photos and iPod) that don't rotate when the device is on its side.

Before discovering the iBend I had been using a business card that I'd cut and folded. It cost almost nothing and if I ever lost it I could make another one anywhere I see a guy in a suit. But over time they start to sag and eventually they collapse and drop my iPhone. There's no worry of an iBend suffering the same fate. They're sturdy, simple and some are even colourful. I fully recommend them, and they are packed so flat you could post them in a Christmas/Chanukah card :-)

P.S. It won't work with any iPhone cases I've ever seen, they're too chunky.