Where's My Phone?

An aside: I’m posting this early as next week is generally a very busy week for a lot of people. On to the article!

Clutter!

If your desk is as cluttered as mine you’re always looking for ways to free up some space. One of the easiest and often overlooked things you can do is to keep your phone off your desk. Yes, I’ve struggled with this myself and have tried many things to help me in this area. That’s our subject this time and I’ll share my opinion on the various options.

What do you want to accomplish?

Sure, getting your phone off your desk but still keeping it easily accessible is the goal but what other things would you like to accomplish in the process? Do you also want to charge it? Do you want to use it without picking it up? Do you just want to keep it above the other clutter on your desk so you can always easily find it?

Folding stands

Perhaps the most straightforward option is a stand like this Nulaxy stand from Amazon https://a.co/d/ijOzJCQ. It folds up, keeps your phone above the clutter, has screws on each of the two hinges so you can make sure your device won’t cause it to collapse. It also has an opening at the bottom of the platform that holds your device so you can attach your charging cable to your device. It doesn’t clamp your phone in place so it’s easy to remove your phone when it’s time to move. However, I see several downsides to this kind of stand. One is that the stand itself takes up space on your desk. Sure, you can move it out of the way when it’s not in use but then it can become covered or lost in the clutter and then you’ve got to find the stand. Another downside is that the stand can move around. Even if it has non-skid pads on the bottom, it can still move around. Finally, if you are in the habit of collapsing the stand when it’s not in use it can easily disappear under the clutter. I’ve tried these stands and have experienced all of these downsides so I no longer use them.

“Sticky” stands

These differ from the previous in that they have some sort of sticky substance on the bottom of the stand. That addresses one of the downsides I mentioned: it can slide around. But it has its own downside: it more or less permanently takes up space on your desktop. If you have limited space on your desk then this may make it a non-starter. Also, many of these types of stands have the ability to extend away from the base - they may have a hinge that allows the stand to hold your phone at an angle from the base of the stand. I may not have explained that very well so take a look at an example on Amazon: https://a.co/d/6PjBIvL. I’ve never had good luck with stands like this - I haven’t been able to get them to stick to my desktop and stay stuck but you might be more fortunate.

Clamping stands

I prefer a stand that clamps on to the edge of my desk. It takes up almost no room on my desktop and keeps my phone away from the clutter and easily accessible. The one that I have is no longer available on Amazon but I found a few others that are similar. I prefer MagSafe to hold my phone in place on the stand as opposed to a clamp or “fingers” or protrusions on the part that you actually put your phone on like on the Nulaxy I referenced, above. So the ones I’ll discuss next all use MagSafe to hold the phone in place. And don’t worry if your phone doesn’t have MagSafe builtin. You can buy cases that have MagSafe built in to them or, if you already have a favorite case, you can buy a ring to attach to the back of your case that will make it MagSafe compatible.

Gooseneck stands

The first that clamps onto your desk is a flexible MagSafe gooseneck phone holder (https://a.co/d/aqCxrLT). My take on stands like this is that you always run the risk of the gooseneck collapsing or just slowly sinking toward the desktop. Maybe not right away but over time the gooseneck can loosen up and there’s no way to tighten it back up.

My choice - adjustable hinged stands

The second option that clamps on your desk has straight pieces of metal that are joined with hinges (https://a.co/d/7BtCa1W). This is my preferred stand and is the closest to what I have now. Each hinge can be tightened or loosened as necessary to maintain the desired angles.

Hybrid stands

The last one I’ll discuss is a hybrid of the above two - a gooseneck at the end of solid metal arms like https://a.co/d/9BNkSjq. As far as I’m concerned this has the same downside as the first option - the gooseneck can loosen up and collapse.

That’s all for this time

If you have the same issues I have keeping your phone available and above a cluttered desktop, hope I have explained some options and given you my take on each of them. Don't hesitate to write to me if you have questions!

As always, my intent is to help you understand the basics and equip you to search for more detailed information.

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