When it comes to “docks” for our iPhone and iPad, we prefer to have stands that hold up the dock and then fade into the background. In our opinion, they’re there to hold up our devices, not de-emphasize the devices we’re using. It was for this reason we were pretty excited to test out both the iPad and iPhone MoviePeg stands, they fade into the background, and they should provide enough support to hold up the device.
Both of the devices work in a similar manner, having a “peg” for you to place on your device, letting you lean the device back on the stand at an optimal viewing angle for movies. While the iPad edition comes with two pegs, the iPhone model only has one, which makes sense given the footprint difference, and weight differential between the two devices. Two pegs should mean that the device is a lot sturdier, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Table of Contents
The iPhone Version
The one pegged, MoviePeg stand for your iPhone is a neat little piece of rubber, it’s got the perfect notch for an iPhone, and it will hold your device up admirably in both landscape and portrait settings. The MoviePeg fits snugly, and doesn’t relent to gravitational forces. I have no reservation leaving the iPhone unattended while it plays movies or music, at no point did it seem like it was going to crash to the desk.
The iPad Version
The weight difference here was obviously at play with the iPad MoviePeg. While the iPhone version was secure and easily unattended while I was busy doing other work, I wasn’t met with the same reliability with the iPad edition of the MoviePeg. Despite trying to use the iPad edition in the exact same manner as the instructions showed on the back on the MoviePeg packaging, my iPad continued to split out of the pegs until it was on the brink of crashing into my desk. I intervened every single time, but I have no doubt that my iPad would have crashed into my desk. A fall from the landscape layout wouldn’t have been too terrible, but from a portrait position it would have done some damage.
This might be the case of two pegs not being better than one, but it’s more likely a result of the peg notches being cut to big, or the materials for the peg not creating enough friction to hold the device in place.
Suggestions for a fix
Changing the material used, or added some kind of rubber in the spot where the notch is would help stop the slipping of my iPad. It seemed like the slipping was caused in two places, in the notch of the MoviePeg, and where the MoviePeg meets the desk. Maybe my desk is slipperier than most, but it took between ten and twenty seconds for me to start to feel uncomfortable with my iPad crashing down onto the desk.
A non-slip material for the MoviePeg, and a tighter fit would easily rectify the problem.
Final Thoughts
Both the iPad and the iPhone version of the MoviePeg work extremely well in landscape mode, when they’re not slipping, but once you switch your iPad into portrait view, it becomes a bit of a gamble, your device could slip or fall at any time.
With the iPad edition, it seems like our test unit’s slots were a little bit too big to securely keep our iPad in place. The iPhone edition, which we tested on our 3G iPhone, fit a lot more snuggly, and didn’t make us nearly as paranoid about leaving the phone unattended on our desk.
As it stands we can easily recommend buying the MoviePeg for the iPhone, but we have to caution you about the iPad edition. It seems like the brushed metal is just too slippery for the MoviePeg to hold.
You can buy both devices from their website. The iPhone edition is 4.99, and the iPad edition is 12.99. Both come in an array of colours.
