The ePillow by Veyl Products LLC is a large, soft pillow with a U-shaped ridge designed to comfortably and securely hold a tablet or e-reader in a usable position for extended periods. If you have an Android tablet, iPad, or one of the heavier eReaders (for example, a Kindle Fire which comes in at about a pound), you’ve probably discovered that holding one of these in a “view a film” or “read a book” position for more than a few minutes isn’t really pleasant. In fact, you’ve probably propped yours up against a pillow or other object to try and ease the strain of holding it up… only to have it slide down (or off!) after a while. In a plane or car it’s even worse, since you’re far more limited in available space to make some kind of prop. This is the problem the ePillow is trying to solve – and it does so simply and effectively.
The ePillow Front and Back
The first shot above is the front of the ePillow. It’s a large (18″x11″) soft, light (honestly I have no idea – less than a pound for sure) and fluffy (about half a foot thick, if fluffed, or compressing down to a few inches) pillow. It comes in either a suede or faux leather finish for the pillow itself in seven colors. The “retaining ridge” is faux leather in black, gray, or pink. There’s a little pocket on the right side for your headphones or a microfiber wipe.
The back just has a strap for easy airplane carry-on – slide the ePillow onto your roll-on luggage and you’re done.
iPad Pillow Fight
This is a simple product, so I’m not going to belabor the point. Pretty much the goal of this thing is to sit there and hold a tablet. I took it for a spin with an iPad2 in portrait and landscape orientation:
The bottom lip of the retaining material is deeper than it seems at first look, which lets you slide the iPad down for a secure hold. Even just sitting on a table for a photograph, the ePillow keeps the iPad at a comfortable “sitting next to it” viewing angle. On a plane on the tray table, or in your lap in a car or plane, the iPad is easy to see. The ePillow is firm enough to hold the iPad steady for navigation (swiping and pressing), but I found it to have a little too much give for serious typing. Not that I can do much serious typing on glass anyway, but I have seen people pound away at their iPads when typing out an email, and I think the ePillow would make that even less accurate than it already is.
In portrait mode you’ll really be thankful for that deep lip, as the ePillow will easily keep your iPad upright without worry that it will flip or fall out. I found reading with the ePillow to almost rival the comfort of hand-holding my tiny 6 oz Kindle. You can also clearly see in this photo that the ePillow has no trouble accommodating an iPad with its Smart Cover attached and flipped back.
10.1″ Android Tablet
Next up is my Viewsonic gTablet; coming in at an inch wider and a quarter pound heavier, this thing really isn’t comfortable to handhold for extended periods.
Horizontally, it’s definitely pushing the limits on width, but it does fit – I’d say this is about as wide as you can go. Also, you should note that with both devices, the front bezel is obscured on the bottom by the lower lip of the ePillow – after all it is slotted down there to hold the thing in place. If you have a tablet with a very narrow, or no front bezel, you might lose some screen viewing/access when it’s in the ePillow.
Portrait mode on the longer gTablet still works just fine on the ePillow. In fact, I was able to actually find a good viewing angle (the gTablet has a pretty horrible screen) and maintain it comfortably for nearly an hour of reading with the ePillow. I’d pretty much given up on the gTablet for reading because it is normally so hard to find a good angle and hold it there, even using pillows or other props.
A Simple Idea That Works
The ePillow isn’t a complicated product. It’s a pillow with a retaining lip, pocket, and strap. The construction is solid – it looks like it will hold up to use and travel. It’s light enough to bring along on a trip, and it’s easily mistaken for a regular pillow so it can be left hanging about the living room. If you use a tablet weighing a pound or more, between 7 and 10.5″ wide, the ePillow will give you a lot of options for comfortably holding it for extended periods.
Product Information
| Price: | $29.95 |
| Manufacturer: | Veyl Products LLC |
| Requirements: |
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Great pillow and nice review, though it gets even better: you can flip the strap over to the front. I like to use the pillow while on my back, knees bent, and my ipad standing almost upright on my belly. The strap comes over the top edge of the ipad, preventing it from falling face down on my chest. Buy, try, enjoy.
I own this pillow and use it throughout my day every single day. It seems so simple in design but it carries a large impact. I use it when I am enjoying my iPad 2, my net book, one of those old fashioned books of paper, my cell phone to name a few. It would make a great gift to yourself or others.
Hi Julie,
I saw this on your timeline, and was inerested, I just gt new samsung galaxy note, and looking for something comfortable to prop it up on. I haven’t even gotten a case for it yet, can you tell me where to get it, and do you have a source for cases for the Samsung Galaxy Note other than the usual Amazon? Thanks, dear one and I hope my “sister” is doing very well these days. I have not talked with you in a long time. Fran Thibadeau Smith
I ordered the ePillow immediately after reading this review. It arrived a few days later and I must admit that it’s one of the best “gadgets” I’ve ever bought. My tablet is the original Verizon Motorola Xoom. It fits very nicely in the ePillow. I don’t think this tablet has as wide of a bezel as the iPad but that’s not a problem. If I push it all the way into the bottom of the tablet pouch, a small part of the screen is obscured and inaccessible, but there is no need to have to push it all the way down. In fact, a side effect of this is that I can position my tablet at almost any angle I might want. I have a couple cases for my Xoom but they only have 2 or 3 angles for usage. I can position the Xoom and the ePillow in almost any angle I might want. This makes it convenient for typing or just viewing and reading.
I like having the little pocket as well for earbuds. A lot of my tablet usage is while my wife and I are sitting on the couch and she is watching TV. If I want to watch a video or listen to an audio file, it’s really convenient to always have my earbuds right there and not have to go get them.
I travel a lot and the ePillow is great for reading in bed in hotel rooms (or at home), either sitting up or lying down. Depending on the height of my head, I sometimes just use the ePillow as a prop for the tablet instead of keeping it in the pouch if I need it nearly vertical. The only trip I’ve been on since it arrived was a road trip, so I haven’t taken it on an airplane yet; I’ll do that tomorrow. I think it will also be great just to have a pillow with me on the plane for resting me head when I’m not using my tablet–the ePillow is about the size of a small travel pillow.
I would like to see an inflatable version of the ePillow. I think it would be much more compact for travel. The amount of air could probably be increased or decreased to assist with getting a needed angle too. If the tablet pouch section was separately inflatable, it could help with adjusting how obscured the screen might be when the tablet is fully inserted. Other than that, I can’t think of anything I would change about it.