A magazine can be used to make an adhoc viewing stand for your media device. When I travel, flying mostly, I often want to watch movies or video podcasts during the trip. On one flight I was frustrated by having to hold the player so I tried to find something to rest the device on.

After failed attempts with various items from my travel bag, I decided I was ok with sacrificing an American Way magazine if it meant I could watch my content and banish hand cramps from my traveling experience.

After a couple of minutes experimentation, I developed the technique described below. For those of you, like me, that are squeamish about bending pages, this technique is completely reversible causing no lasting damage to the magazine.

Materials

• Magazine (Heavy covers work better
• Media device (iPod Touch for me)

Steps

• Orient the magazine so that the back is away from you.
• Then lift the top 10-20 pages and fold the edge underneath into the back of the magazine.
• Lift 15 pages or less and fold them up and into the back of the magazine.
• Prop your device so that the back of the media player is against the first fold and the bottom is behind the second fold. Adjust the bottom fold as needed to prevent sliding

Video

Here is a short video showing the technique.

HowTo: Create an iPod Stand from a Magazine from Don Thorp on Vimeo.

I’ve used this technique for many trips. It works well, there are always magazines in the seat back, and one less thing to carry.