‘Restlet’ – a low cost IKEA Tablet or Smartphone Stand

Materials: Ikea Inreda DVD rack, cutting knife

Description: Do you want a simple, beautiful and also cheap tablet stand? Take the Ikea Inreda DVD rack, cut it in a suitable piece and enjoy! I have done it with the Nexus 7 and it works great in landscape mode for watching movies or news. Even for travelling, it is lightweight and small.


Models:
I have tried in landscape with both Google/Asus Nexus 7 and Apple iPhone 4S with a very slim bumper case. Both worked really fine; for sure there are more models to use.

Assembly:
It is actually not rocket science at all – and even the IKEA product description says: “Can be cut to desired size to fit in different spaces.”€ I have cut with a Stanley knife but probably it works with any sharp knife or bigger scissors.

Steps:

Photo: IKEA.com

1.) The product itself to start with..

2.) Cut it into desired format. For the Nexus 7 I can recommend 3 lanes (each 15mm wide and 10mm deep) and the length of the longer side. If you try it before cutting – the leaning back top side should be above the rack. So you ensure the centre of gravity is also above the rack and the device does not fall over. Be careful with sharp tools!

Caveat:
Too much screen interaction makes the tablet vibrate a little — so that is not ideal but as a stand to rest until you grab it and run away or watching a movie it is more than sufficient.

History:
Longer time ago I have bought the IKEA Inreda DVD rack to line up my current CD cases on top of the stereo. But it failed as CD cases are slightly slimmer and fell over – so I did not use it and I just had it in storage. But then I saw it again today and I remembered that people build creatively a tablet stand from a DVD case, which is more complicated. This solution is really simple to build and to use – straightforward.

~ Mike H, United Kingdom