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Ever since the release of the MacBook Air, or affectionately called by many, “MBA”, we have seen more and more laptop accessories on the market, from colorful hard shell covers to washable keyboard skins, and of course, all sorts of desktop stands that help you prop up your laptop for a better viewing angle or hold your laptop upright, like a vertical docking station. Today, we’ll be taking a look at a new product from CM, a company best known for PC cases, but also known for PC hardware from power supplies to CPU coolers, PC gaming peripherals such as mice and keyboards, and now, mobile lifestyle-oriented accessories for tablets and laptops – CM’s latest vertical laptop stand designed for the MacBook Air and now, also Ultrabooks. THE UNBOXING All we can say is that CM sure knows how to package their product well. For owners of any Apple products, they will have a similar experience when opening up the box. The box is simple but nice, with a few images highlighting the product. There’s also a mention that it is designed for the MacBook Air (MBA owners being its primary target most likely), as well as the Ultrabook, which we didn’t expect at first since they don’t really advertise it as such. So, for our review today, we chose to focus on the Ultrabook stand aspect of it, and have decided to test out the new CLUTCH stand with a new Samsung Ultrabook. FIRST IMPRESSIONS While we thought the name choice was a bit interesting at first (“CLUTCH” conjures up images of a product meant for the female demographic), we quickly realized how fitting the name was when we opened up the box and tested it out. As its name implies, the CLUTCH literally, well, clutches. The CLUTCH from CM truly grips like no other stand we’ve tested. We tested out the stand with a Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook, and it was a good, snug fit that’s not so tight that the laptop became difficult to insert or remove, unlike some other stands we’ve tested out in the past. CM chose a soft, rubber-like material to line the inside surfaces of the stand which we really liked. This material definitely added a nice touch to the stand, and we give CM props for choosing it because no one wants to see scratches on their MacBook Air or Ultrabook because of their docking stand. BUILD QUALITY The first thing you will notice when you pick up the CM’s CLUTCH is the weight of the stand. But, as is often the case, looks can be deceiving because while the stand really doesn’t look like it would weight much at all, it does, and it’s a really good thing. When you dock that MacBook Air or Ultrabook of yours on the stand, you wouldn’t want it to wiggle, wobble and maybe eventually even topple over (knock on wood) just because the stand isn’t heavy enough to really support the weight of the laptop. With the new stand from CM, we can be sure that won’t happen, and that your MacBook Air or Ultrabook is safe. Made out of smooth, high-quality aluminum, the CLUTCH’s one-piece design looks like an Apple product. It definitely goes very well with the aluminum unibody of the MacBook Air, but we think Ultrabooks docked on this stand would also look great – like our Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook. Besides the aluminum all-around and the soft, rubber finish on the inside surfaces, CM added a chrome finish along the outer edges of the stand. That finish definitely adds a bit more sleekness to the overall design, but we do worry whether the chrome might be easy to scratch, unlike the rest of the stand which is made out of aluminum or rubber that tends to be more durable in the long run. Nevertheless, for a vertical stand that is just meant to hold your MacBook Air or Ultrabook in place on your desk for easy docking and access to ports, the CLUTCH from CM sure is built well. FINAL WORDS We are impressed. The CLUTCH from CM brings together a lot of great things – design, quality and more importantly, grip. Sleek and stylish, it complements the modern-day Ultrabook and MacBook Air very well, especially for mobile professionals and even college students who are always on-the-go. It’s a practical solution, if you don’t use a desktop and prefer to hook up your Ultrabook or MacBook Air to a bigger, crisper, higher resolution monitor when you work or play. The stand is made out of a nice material that we feel should hold up well to everyday laptop docking use, and we really like that slip-free inner surface. At its current price point, we feel that it’s a pretty good deal for what you get. CLUTCH is a MacBook Air and Ultrabook stand that is true to its name.

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