iDownloadblog - "This thing looks like something out of Jony Ive’s kitchen"

Padgadget - "Minimalists will love Slope... Slope is unlike any other iPad stand I've seen"

Locker Gnome - "Nanofoam-based Auminum Stand That Will Rule Them All"

iMore - "Slope may very well be the only stand you need for your iPad or any other tablet you own"

Techli - "Slope Stand Sticks to Apple's Aesthetic..."

Applebitsblog - "Our next (and likely last) iPad stand is Kickstarter hopeful ‘Slope’"

Pandodaily - "It attaches to a desk and holds your iPad at a 66-degree angle. And that's it. There's no shape shifting, no multiple viewing angle, no pretense of being back-pack ready."

TUAW - "It's fairly rare that we pass Kickstarter URLs around the TUAW newsreader room but Slope really grabbed our attention"

Ubergizmo - "extremely simplistic in nature, but incredibly elegant at the same time"

Greetings, Kickstarters. We very much appreciate the opportunity to show you what we consider the best tablet stand anywhere, and the one you'll use for the next 20 years. If you use your tablet at your desk, this is the experience you're after. Here are four reasons why.

Design. Anchorage. Orientation. Feel.

It's attractive, it's minimal, it's got a small footprint and it's made of the most desirable materials available. It anchors firmly to the desk while getting your tablet upright and out in front of you at just the right angle and height. And given it's materials, it feels every bit the solid construction it is.

It's the perfect meld of form and function, and this is what it looks like from behind.

What's holding that iPad to that stand, you ask? Suction. Suction via what? Suction via thousands of tiny air pockets functioning as mini suction cups. Pretty cool.

Form

Slope is made from aerospace grade aluminum. Her minimal form is shaped via CNC machining, her beauty by way of her finish—hand buffed, glass bead blasted, hard anodized and sealed. It's a finish aptly complimenting the craftsmanship of Apple's iPad, with no expense spared.

Function

Suction is the thing that drives its function. Slope has two nanofoam pads affixed to its aluminum base, one gripping the backside of the tablet, the other gripping the surface of the desk underneath. These pads are comprised of a special make of foam that, as you can see from the video, are extremely effective.

The material that comprises nanofoam was manufactured in such a way that it is laden with thousands of open air-pockets along its surface. Pressing an object with a flat surface up against the nanofoam forces the air out of the pockets thereby creating a vacuum, and it's this vacuum that creates the suction you experience. You can't truly grok it until you feel it for yourself.

The Experience

You know the feeling you get pulling the car door shut in a BMW—the muted thud and solid vibration? This is the sense of quality Slope projects interacting with it. The 'ting' it gives off as you pull your tablet from the surface is unmistakable, and a direct reflection of the quality of its build.

In use you'll note how indispensable it becomes. Having lived with Slope for many months now I'll share with you how I use it. This image you see above is my set-up. It's how I use Slope. I view it as the spot for my personal screen off to the right of my laptop where I surf the web, watch podcasts, and receive notifications. I love it and use it every day. (Soon I'll have it set up with Slingbox where I can watch Dexter and Homeland).

Interesting side note regarding grip, you'll note there's a settling-in that takes place as the tablet sticks to the pad. After 30 seconds or so the tablet becomes noticeably harder to pull away and that's pretty cool. It adds to its sense of firmness.

Slope mini Demo Video

A minute and a half of sticks and pulls with Slope mini + Nexus 7 & iPad mini. Three segments from three angles. In each of the three the order is Nexus 7 first, iPad mini following up. (It was our intention to demo Slope mini with the white version of iPad mini—given its matching aluminum coloring on its backside—but we just couldn't get our hands on one).

Slope mini + Nexus 7

Slope mini + iPad mini

Slope mini + iPad mini

Slope