The AViiQ (pronounced Ah-Veek) Portable Quick Stand is a 5.5-ounce Hylite stand for laptops up to 17” in size. I’ve been testing it for about a week with my 13” MacBook Pro, and to be completely honest, I’m still unsure of what to think about it. On the one hand, it’s the lightest stand I’ve […]
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Review: AviiQ Portable Quick Stand

Jun 23rd 2011 by

The AViiQ (pronounced Ah-Veek) Portable Quick Stand is a 5.5-ounce Hylite stand for laptops up to 17” in size. I’ve been testing it for about a week with my 13” MacBook Pro, and to be completely honest, I’m still unsure of what to think about it. On the one hand, it’s the lightest stand I’ve ever used with a nearly negligible setup time. On Teheran other hand, it’s also a finicky little accessory that requires you to develop a very particular habit in order to get proper use out of it.

AViiQ Stands

I was excited to get my hands on this Quick Stand because I love the original AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand. I still use that stand to this day because it’s sturdy, keeps my 13” MacBook Pro at a very comfortable viewing angle, and is dead-simple to set up. The Quick Stand looked promising because of its even simpler and lighter design, and it has held my MacBook up at a very comfortable level for viewing and typing. It’s surprising how much of a difference keeping your screen a few inches off of the table can make.

Setup

Theoretically, all you have to do to use a Quick Stand is take it out of your bag, plop it on a table, and then put your laptop on top of it. Unfortunately, the reality is a little different.

The first complication arises when you realize that the Quick Stand’s super-compact design also makes it a bit of a flop – literally. If you don’t get the positioning just right when you first put stand to table, the whole thing will just fall right over because it requires downward pressure (e.g. your laptop) to keep it nice and solid. This can get a little annoying when you put the stand down and then pick your laptop up with both hands, only to have the Quick Stand topple like a tipped cow before you can place your laptop on it.

There’s also a bit of a sweet spot to the Quick Stand, at least as far as my 13” MacBook Pro is concerned. The edges of the stand are lined with rubber to help hold your laptop in place, but unless you manage to wedge the top of the stand on the rear rubber feet of your MacBook Pro, there’s a good chance the whole laptop will slowly slide right off the stand. It isn’t a dangerous slide — your laptop won’t simply drop two inches to the table — but that really shouldn’t be happening.

There is another way to sit a MacBook on the Quick Stand without any fuss: you simply prop the laptop up using the joint that holds the screen in place. This works quickly and effectively but it also scares me. I’m just not sure that my MacBook was meant to hold up any weight along that joint, so I’m not sure whether I can really trust the laptop to stay stable or safe in this position.

Conclusion

Truth be told, I have trouble recommending a Quick Stand for $40, especially given that the awesome AViiQ Portable Stand is available for $60. Considering its premium pricing, I would have expected AViiQ to iron out the Quick Stand’s slipping and awkward setup before bringing it to market.

There’s no doubt that this is a sturdy, light, and highly mobile accessory, but given this stand’s propensity for falling over, I’d recommend buyers look to the AviiQ Portable Laptop Stand instead.

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The Portable Quick Stand was provided by the Max Borges Agency for review on iSource. For further information regarding our site’s review policies, please see the “About” page.

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