This is the Hoverbar duo, another extremely nice and well-designed product from Twelve south.
It is a desk lamp-like stand for your tablet (or phone, for many phone sizes). It has just the right heft, weight, and adjustment points to always feel secure and solid, and getting your device in and out is as simple as could be. Just pull the clamp apart a bit and slide the tablet in or out. It feels a little scary the first time - "How hard should I push? How strong are those clamp springs? What if I lose my grip?" - but it quickly becomes second nature. It even has an extra base allowing you to mount it at the edge of a table, shelf, or other flat surface.
My only problem was that I did not have much use for it.
What I intended when I bought it was to use it for writing. And it is very nice for that. Place the Hoverbar on the desk, lean back with your favourite keyboard and type away. I even got around to getting a USB adapter so that I can connect my mechanical keyboards if I like. (Plus a mouse, if I want to go all-in on computer mode.)
What really killed this great idea was that I got myself a new laptop not all that long after getting into the Hoverbar. The all-in-one-ness of the laptop makes is much quicker to move and set up than the hefty Hoverbar, and it also works the same as always on soft surfaces.
The Hoverbar spent some time standing by itself next to my work desk. Sometimes with my Ipad in it, sometimes without, but rarely actually used.
Fortunately, it eventually occured to me that I had another device which could use a solid stand every now and then: our Switch.
It might look a little scary in the photos, but the fit is just right. I really enjoy the Switch in all its configurations, but there is no denying that many of them are ergonomically bad for me. Playing hooked up to a proper TV is of course best by far, but of course a major point of the Switch is being able to play without hogging a TV all the time.
For this, the Hoverbar fits my needs perfectly. I can sit back and have the screen at a much more comfortable height than if I had just put it on the table and used the kickstand. And if I want to connect some wired headphones, the Hoverbar keeps everything a lot more solid, lowering the risk of accidentally pulling the console by the wire.
(At the moment of finishing this text, the Hoverbar and Switch are in very gainful use at the kitchen table, to my immediate right, entertaining and frustrating a ten-year old in about equal measure. Me playing games is fun and all, but getting the next generation in on the fun is the win I am really after.)