Cheap and Quick Portable IPhone / PMP Stand

I travel quite a bit and have always been searching for stands for whatever PMP (personal media player) / iPod / PSP / iPhone or whatever gadget I'm currently using to watch movies while flying. the catch is the stands have to be small and easy to transport and still work well.

I tried the business card one, some origami ones and some other mediums (I had cut one from plastic) but they all were either too involved to recreate midair or not sturdy enough to hold the thing at the right angle.

I happened to have a hotel room key in my shirt pocket and mangled it into something that I now find myself dependent upon for my iphone holding needs. I like the fact that I can reuse something for another purpose and hey, they're free! It works well in coach as well as first class and haven't hit any turbulence rough enough to unsettle it. :D


Quick little update:  Lots of emails and feedback on this little concept!  I've added some bends to accomodate my new blacberry, I mainly use that as a stand at work . I see others have added bends as well as well as even making a nice dock!  awesome. 

Honestly, I know it's really simplistic, but sometimes those are the best ideas.  I have used these on every one of my flights for my iphone while watching movies and I tell you it's the best traveling stand, because it's handy, easily replaceable and basically free!   

Step 1:

First off make sure you have a hotel room key. I usually have mine from my recent stay still with me, but once you make one of these you can keep it with you are reuse it over and over again. any plastic card wil work too, those fake credit card junk mail things you get would work great too.

Step 2:

next you will fold the card into this shape. I start with the card and fold it about half an inch off center. this will leave a little of the card for you to fold the other way to make the part that the iPhone will rest on. the thickness of your phone / pmp will be good guide to show you how much of a tab you need to have.

Step 3:

with some tweaking you can make the angle perfect for your viewing pleasure. I can crank one of these out in about 2 seconds and some people sitting next to me have commented that it's a really good idea, I've even given one to someone who asked if I had another hotel room key to make him one.