Artwizz’s Alustand has some pretty good looks. It’s got that Macbook like metal and a crystal like plastic piece that connects both aluminum parts together. It looks like it might be sturdy, but in my opinion, it falls short.
I love that you can collapse it down and stick it in your laptop bag. If you have a Apple Bluetooth keyboard, the whole package will go nicely in your bag. Both aluminum pieces nest and I am not exactly sure where the crystal piece can go, but it’s not difficult to find a spot in your bag.
Unfortunately, when it comes time to assemble it is where I feel its design falls short. First, there are arrows on the clear piece that indicates where the aluminum pieces go. However, there is nothing that they snap into so it just sort of sits there.
Once you put a laptop or netbook on it, it has more structure, but it feels like the laptop is going to fall off. If the end pieces would snap onto the plastic part of the stand, then it might feel better but as it stands now, I don’t feel comfortable sitting my laptop on it.
I did like the fact that you have a place to stick a keyboard, but this area is awfully small. A small Dell keyboard I had on hand was able to fit there and Apple keyboards also fit, but any bigger than that would be a stretch.
Typing with this is out of the question. You really shouldn’t be typing with this stand anyway but if you do, the laptop will start to oscillate and feel bouncy as you type. Since you may have to use your laptop keys from time to time to us Fn+F key combs for volume and other laptop functions, this may be enough of a turn off for you. However, since most operating systems also let you use your trackpad or mouse, this may not be a huge issue for you.
The Artwizz AluStand is available from Harmonic Inversion Technology for $40.00.
Update: Also available on Amazon.com for $29.99
What I liked: I liked the compactness of it.
What needs improvement: The clear center piece needs to snap into the aluminum pieces so that it is a solid stand. The way it is now it feels too unstable.
