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Griffin Technology iCurve
August 16, 2002
by Stephen Hildreth
Editor-in-Chief
The first thing I noticed about Griffin's iCurve (MSRP $39.99) is that it looked like a work of art, sculpture, rather than a PowerBook or iBook stand. It has a jewel-like quality that make you want to touch it, and it looks much better in person than what you see in pictures.
Officially, according to Griffin:
"The iCurve is a laptop stand designed specifically for the PowerBook and iBook. Its main purpose is to better position the iBook or PowerBook in your permanent desktop environment. It does this in several key ways:
* The iCurve conforms to health and safety standards, making your laptop safer and more comfortable to use all day. Healthy Computing.com, the premier source for office ergonomics, recommends you position the top of your screen level with your eyes. They also recommend a user remain at least an arms length distance from the screen. Both of these key ergonomic standards are made possible using iCurve in conjunction with an external keyboard.
* The iCurve is specifically designed to position the top edge of the Apple PowerBook G4 at 16" high. This is exactly the same height as Apple's 17" LCD monitor. It's also about the same height of Apple's 22" Cinema Display. This makes iCurve perfect for tiling the PowerBook with Apple's LCD monitors. With Apple's 23" HD Cinema Display - that’s almost 3.4 million pixels of side-by-side screen real estate!!!
* iCurve elevates your iBook off your desk - freeing up significant desk space for a full size keyboard and mouse. Although you 'can' type directly on your iBook while it's placed on the iCurve, the addition of a full size Apple keyboard and mouse makes for the most comfortable long-term desktop experience."
After using an iCurve with both a PowerBook and an iBook for a week or so, I can attest to the fact that it works as advertised. I've been looking for something like this for the past year or so, since I occasionally like to use the full-size keyboard and mouse from my iMac with my PowerBook G4. However, when you do this, the PowerBook's screen gets pushed so far away from you that it becomes hard to see the type on the display (at least it does for me). Not so with the iCurve. The keyboard fits slightly beneath the stand, and the screen is much closer to the eyes. With an external display, the setup is just about perfect. The iCurve's best feature? Its simplicity. It's just one molded piece of plastic, and there are no moving parts to break or wear out.
Downsides? Well, the iCurve is designed so that you can type directly on the laptop's keyboard while it's on the stand, but I found this to be awkward and a little shaky. It's much better when used with an external keyboard. Griffin does state that the iCurve is meant to be used with an external keyboard, not for typing directly on the laptop's keyboard. That's about it for downsides.
Friction pads on the surface of the iCurve secure your laptop and keep it from sliding. I had no problem with these--neither laptop budged an inch. Finally, and TiBook users will best appreciate this, air circulates around the PowerBook much more efficiently when it's on the iCurve, and as a result, it runs cooler. My TiBook's fan didn't come on as much when I was using the iCurve.
If you use an external keyboard with your laptop, or you'd prefer to have the laptop's display at eye level, rather than desk level, Griffin's iCurve is an elegant solution. More information can be found on Griffin's website. |
