Consumer Products
The Tstand is an iPad holder for bed and an ergonomic industrial design owned and developed 100% by SurfaceID. As such, SurfaceID undertook a thorough, comprehensive research process to understand and tackle the fatigue and physical ailments caused by the prolonged use of an iPad or any other tablet (especially in bed).
After hundreds of sketches, hours of mechanical engineering and dozens of prototypes, the Tstand was created and its health benefits have been widely recognized and validated by end users and medical professionals! Avid iPad junkies are thrilled about the Tstand.
Its use on a bed or a couch allows for total relaxation of the neck and the arms when using an iPad or tablet computer, and many have adopted the Tstand for its recreational purpose as well as for the preventive/curative nature of such a flexible support. Additionally, the innovative nature of the Tstand makes it a totally reversible mount, transforming your tablet into a genuine working or gaming station. It is a real leap that totally changes the iPad from being a ‘hard to hold’ device.
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Tstand started with a very personal problem. SurfaceID founder Sean Kieley was partly inspired by his mother, whose arthritis made it painful to hold her tablet during long video calls with family. Tablets are wonderful devices, but they are hard to hold, especially when you are lying in bed or on a couch, and looking down at one for long periods strains the neck and back.
Our goal was a hands-free tablet holder for bed that brings the screen to eye level, frees both hands and lets the neck and arms fully relax. Because Tstand is owned and developed 100% by SurfaceID, our industrial design and mechanical engineering teams in Montreal, Canada carried it through two years of product development, prototyping and user testing before it became a finished consumer product.
Tstand has drawn praise from leading tech publications at both launches. Gizmodo predicted it “will change Netflix in bed forever,” Cult of Mac called it “the missing piece between a tablet and the way we all try to interact with one,” and SlashGear titled its review “TSTAND Is The Best Tablet Stand We’ve Seen Yet.” In 2021, iMore called Tstand 2 “a much-improved version over the original,” and Metro‘s reviewer admitted, “I just can’t stop using it.”
Launch coverage (2015–16): Cult of Mac · Gizmodo · SlashGear · Daily Mail · iMore · 9to5Mac · Yanko Design
Tstand 2 coverage (2021): iMore · Metro · Geeky Gadgets
Ergonomic industrial design starts with the body, and for Tstand that meant a patented H-shaped base. Like an uppercase H, its centre bar runs along the sternum, while the two end bars rest across the upper chest and the lower ribs. The open spaces on either side of the centre bar clear the chest instead of pressing on it, so the base fits comfortably around the breasts and works well even for large-breasted women. Resting on the firmer structure of the sternum and ribs, the wide footprint stays stable as you watch, read or play. Reviewers noticed: 9to5Mac wrote that the legs “wrap around your torso, making it stable when lying on a couch or bed.”
Good industrial design is about usability, and Tstand’s adjustable neck and reversible base give users 310° of viewing comfort. In bed or on the couch, the stand rests on the chest and holds the screen at an ideal angle and distance. Stood upright, it slips into the back pocket of a car or airplane seat.
Rotate the base all the way around and Tstand switches to desktop mode, raising the tablet to eye level as an ergonomic workstation with a keyboard. A spring-loaded top hook extends over the device and locks it in place, with silicone padding that is non-scratch and non-slip. Tstand holds iPads, Android and Surface tablets, Kindles and the Nintendo Switch, any device smaller than 13.5 inches, and a phone adapter adds smartphones.
SurfaceID launched Tstand on Kickstarter on October 21, 2015. The $10,000 goal was reached in under 48 hours, and by the end of the 33-day campaign 2,896 backers had pledged $192,562, or 1,925% of the goal. By February 2016, Tstand had passed 1,000 orders, and more than 10,000 units have since been sold around the world. In 2021, we returned with Tstand 2, which drew 2,654 backers and CA$303,050 on Kickstarter. In total, Tstand has raised over $850,000 across its Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns. Just as rewarding are the countless messages from people with chronic pain, carpal tunnel and mobility issues who can now use a tablet comfortably.
Product development didn’t stop at launch. After years of user feedback and testing, SurfaceID re-engineered Tstand for its second generation to improve the user experience. The glossy plastic gave way to a soft-touch rubber paint finish that feels great in the hand and ends plasticky squeaks. The hook mechanism was re-engineered to be sturdier and to survive falls and rough handling, and the hinge is now silent.
A stronger steel frame and a sturdier base add stability and strength, while new accessories, including rubber feet and an earbuds cord wrapper, make everyday use easier. The improved phone adapter switches from iPad to iPhone in a second, and a longer extendable top hook fits everything from an iPad Pro to a Switch or Kindle.
Tstand’s clean, simple industrial design hides a lot of mechanical engineering, prototyping and product development done in Montreal. The base is two injection-molded halves, a cosmetic top and a structural bottom, joined around a metal insert. Early molded parts showed small sink marks above the screw bosses on the glossy feet, and adding about 0.25 mm of wall thickness to the cosmetic face made them disappear. Six screws alone also weren’t sturdy enough, because the long seams of the H could flex between them. Our engineers added 19 cantilever snap-fits to hold the seam closed, with lifters in the mold tool forming the snap undercuts.
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What it took to make a simple-looking injection molded part look clean, feel solid, and come out of the mold. Tstand looks simple. It is a tablet stand that rests on your chest while you lie in bed or on the couch, so you can watch a movie without holding the device or craning your […]
