The Kowala transforms your iPad into a lapboard and easel

07.09.2012
With all this , you have to stop and wonder why someone would create a shell that makes the current iPad not only bigger, but heavier. And yet thats exactly what has done with the $79 , an iPad lapboard for artists and workers alikeand its surprisingly good.

Im not kidding around about the Kowala making your iPad feel huge. With the iPad positioned flat, the Kowala adds an extra three inches of white or black plastic bezel to the left and right, and 2.3 inches to the top and bottom. Your iPad sits in a baltic-birch base, with the bezel holding the iPad in placethe bezel is attached to the base by magnets. The Kowala also adds an extra 2.5 pounds of weightalmost twice the weight of an iPad itself.

All that said, the Kowala doesnt appear bulky or awkward. It extends Apples design outward, framing the iPad in an almost artistic way. (Important, seeing as how artists will probably get the most use out of this tool.) Hidden under the bezel is a carrying compartment for an iPad stylus; there are also tube slots on the top and side of the lapboard for temporarily stashing your stylus while youre actively working. Carefully sculpted holes in the base provide access to the Sleep/Wake button, back camera, headphone jack, and dock-connector port. The volume buttons and side switch are inaccessible.

You can use the Kowala one of two ways: on your desk, with its adjustable easel stand, or on your lap, sitting just about anywhere. In my testing, it fit in remarkably well with my office setup; the adjustable stand lets you choose an angle from 11 to 60 degrees from horizontal using a handy push-button, so you can go from typing on the iPad to sketching to tapping in an instant.

My preferred Kowala usage, however, has to be on the couch, in bed, or lounging anywhere thats a desk. While testing the Kowala this way, it allowed me to steadily prop up my iPad with my knees while sketching, eliminating the awful hunch-back-crick I regularly get while testing styluses at my desk. And that giant bezel is a real asset when you want to avoid dragging your hand on the screen (if you dont have a to safeguard yourself): It allowed me to rest my palm and arm in such a way that I could sketch with vastly improved control. When I tried to scribble a few days later on an Kowala-free iPad, I found my drawings much shakier and more unpleasant than their Kowala-influenced varieties.

The only complaint I have with the lapboard is that the magnets holding the bezel in place might be a tad too strong: After a few weeks with the Kowala, three of the four magnets on the plastic bezel escaped from their glue to hold fast onto their polar siblings in the wood. Regluing seems to have returned them to their place for now, but given my experience, I suggest against holding the Kowala in a wayjust by the bezelthat could send your iPad crashing down out of its enclosure.