According to the dictionary a Plinth was the base for a pillar or statue, the lower slab at the base of the column.
Today, the Plinth is the most amazing portable tablet stand ever made. British designer John Bull, uses uses tablets for reference viewing, to take notes, make sketches and to even have some entertainment on in the background while he’s working. But like most people these days, John finds himself working all over the place. Sometimes he finds himself in a hotel room, other times he’s at a client’s office, or maybe he’s working at a picnic table or a food court.
No matter where he set himself up to work or to take in a movie or book, he wanted the convenience of a tablet stand. Sound familiar? That’s how most of us work today.
Most really hard working road warriors have a tablet or two and then they have a tablet stand or two. One stand for the desk, another for the suitcase, and even another for the backpack. To John, that needed to change.
John wanted to design a tablet stand that anyone could take anywhere. It would need to be sturdy, functional, aesthetically appealing, and reliable. It also needed to be small enough to fit in someone’s pocket or in their light summer wardrobe, and weigh less than their smartphone.
From there, Plinth was born.
Plinth folds up into itself to become smaller than the latest Samsung Galaxy S phone and just about the same size as an iPhone. It was just 50g so it’s extremely light. But the real magic comes when the user holds the Plinth with one hand, with a finger in each corner and then uses their index finder to push a button at the top.
Once that button is pushed, sturdy, long legs flick out of the bottom, instantly, and there you have a tablet stand.
John wasn’t done with just the mechanism though. He wanted to make sure all kinds of people could use the Plinth in whatever position they needed to work in. That’s why a tablet on a Plinth tablet stand has five different positions. The first position is for people looking to elevate their workspace just a bit. The second position is for when your tablet is not immediately in front of you but on your desk, allowing the user to see the screen better. The other three positions are separated at 45 degree angles with one optimized for things like following a recipe in the kitchen, to an almost vertical position, great for watching movies or as a bedside alarm.
Once you’re done using your tablet on the Plinth stand you just fold it back up and into the pocket it goes. It can fit in a side pocket, rear pocket and get this, even a breast pocket. Also the Plinth is designed for just about any tablet and any form factor. It can hold a full sized iPad, Galaxy Tab or Windows Tablet, and the smaller 7″ form factors like the Google Nexus tablet or the iPad Mini. Best of all the Plinth can hold your tablet in whatever case you decide to put it in, while it’s still in the case.
After coming up with the Plinth Bull quickly realized that the Plinth is also great for holding up note books, note pads and even drawing books. You can even use the Plinth to hold up a moderately sized cookbook in the kitchen. That’s how sturdy the Plinth stand is.
“What’s the point in having your office, library, videos and recipes all contained in this magical lightweight tablet, that you want to carry with you everywhere, if you haven’t also got the means to set it up and use it anywhere? You should be happy to keep your stand with you as you are your tablet, even in shorts and a t-shirt” John told us by email.
Finally, it’s priced competitively. On the Plinth kickstarter page you can order it now for £18 (around $30 US) which includes free international shipping.
