Smartphone and tablet accessory-maker Rokform is known for its interchangeable locking mechanism, which allows most of the company's cases to connect with any of the stands, mounts, clips and other accessories. Rokform had quite a showing here at CES 2013, unveiling four new products that add to its already impressive assortment of gadget goodies. There's a versitile tablet kickstand that attaches to the universal connector, a beanbag pillow dock, an aluminum dock for the iPhone 5 and a brand new case for the iPad mini.
The kickstand was extremely versatile and can connect to the iPad or iPad mini in both the horizontal or vertical orientations. There are two different supported angles; the first is ideal for placing the tablet on a table and watching a movie, and there's a sharper angle made for typing. Snapping the clip on and off was mostly easy, although it may take a few tries before it's second nature.
The beanbag dock was the most unusual product, created for comfortable use of a tablet while relaxing on a bed or couch. The beanbag had decent weight; while it wasn't exactly heavy, it's definitely not filled with traditional beanbag pellets. Instead, it has a tight and sturdy feel. You definitely won't be using this beanbag as a pillow once you detach your tablet, but the dock also won't be easy to accidentally knock on the floor.
The company also unveiled its classic Rokform case for the iPad mini. The release of this case seemed inevitable, as Rokform has cases for each version of the iPad and iPhone thus far, but it's a welcome addition to the line for Rokform fans who now have Apple's newest devices. We enjoyed using the iPad mini case with the kickstand, as it was easy to attach, detach and prop the iPad at a usable angle. We could also attach the iPad mini to the beanbag.
The last addition to Rokform's new offerings is the RokDock aluminum iPhone 5 docking station. Much like the popular Kickstarter-funded Elevation Dock, the RokDock has plenty of weight that will help keep the iPhone from getting stuck when trying to pull it out. There is an adjustable piece of plastic that allow for easy customization of the dock size, making the RokDock compatible with a large number of iPhone cases. We just wish the dock came with its own Lightning cable, since the dock itself isn't very portable. Out of all the new products, however, our favorite was probably the RokDock. It had a stylish look, plenty of weight and worked well.
The RokDock costs $99 and is currently available on Rokform's website. When we asked about a release date for the other products, we were told that Rokform hopes to release the kickstand, iPad mini case and beanbag in February of this year, but there's a chance they won't be available until March. The kickstand will be $19, the iPad mini case will be $59 and the beanbag dock will cost $49.
