A Not Hot, But Cool, Product
Bruce Von Stiers
I recently got in a new product to try out. This is a product designed to work with laptop (notebook) computers. One of the press releases sent with the material really grabbed my attention. The header for the release started out with “protect dad's genes from hot laptops..” Wow! I didn't realize that there might be a problem there. But according to information in that press release, heat from a laptop computer, combined with a man pressing his thighs together to balance a computer on his lap, could very well lead to a lower sperm count. Important? Maybe not to some, but definitely something to think about.
So what is this new product? It is a plastic holder for your notebook computer. Well, actually it's more like a flat desktop surface for the notebook computer. The name of the product is Laptop Desk. You place your notebook computer on the Laptop Desk and then place it on your lap to use.
The product is indeed made of plastic. But that's not all. Several parts of the surface area are coated in non-skid rubber. This has been done so that the product will tightly grip the user's clothes and also the computer.
The company that makes the Laptop Desk is LapWorks. Jose Calero heads up the company and designed this product. With some new revisions, this product is actually version 2.0. A note from Jose said that he had “designed the Laptop Desk to be a versatile, portable platform that allows any notebook computer user to work more comfortably with it on their lap, on a desk or any other work surface.” He also wanted it to be lightweight enough so that it could travel with the computer wherever the user went.
The product has a lap span of 20-1/2” long by 11” wide. There is a center area to hold the computer and extra space on each side to accommodate a mouse or possibly a cell phone. It is only about 5/8” thick and weighs in at less than a pound and a half.
The Laptop Desk has five ventilation channels on each side. This allows heat that the computer generates to escape through the channels and out into the air. And not onto a person's lap.
The Laptop Desk is hinged so it can fold in half. This makes the product compact and easily carried around in a notebook case or backpack.
Sounds interesting; but is that all there is to it? Not by a long shot. With it being able to fold, there is an added feature. You can use the Laptop Desk as a laptop stand. The underside of the Laptop Desk has a hinged support arm. This allows the user to place the laptop on one side of the unit and position it in one of five different ergonomically correct typing inclines. That means instead of hunching over the keyboard, hurting your wrists, you can type in an ergonomic fashion. Anyone who has spent hours at a time pounding on a keyboard will be sure to appreciate this feature.
But does the Laptop Desk work like they say it will? You bet. I tested the product out on an old Compaq Presario notebook that was gathering dust. Sitting in my office chair, I placed the Laptop Desk on my lap and the computer on it. I used the computer for about an hour. The Laptop Desk actually did keep the heat of the computer away from my legs. I then tried the five ergonomic typing inclines. All of them seem to be fine. The support arm held steady and my wrists weren't sore at all.
But the good test was around bedtime. I borrowed my wife's Gateway notebook to fool around with. Lucky for me she decided to be nice and let me use it. While we were watching M.A.S.H. on late night television in bed, I tooled around on her Gateway with it sitting on the Laptop Desk. After watching back to back episodes of the show and banging away on the laptop, it was time to go to sleep. Were my legs hot? Even relatively warm from heat off the computer? Not a bit. So for me, the Laptop Desk definitely worked.
The Laptop Desk 2.0 was made to support notebook computers that weight five pounds or more. The company offers up the Laptop Desk UltraLite for computers less than five pounds. The UltraLite is designed the same way as the 2.0, it's just for lighter computers.
Okay, so it's a pretty decent product. But what about cost? Is this thing going to cost me an arm and a leg? Hardly. The Laptop Desk 2.0 comes in at just $29.95.
The Laptop Desk goes a long way towards giving notebook computer users relief from warm thighs and reduced reproduction. It definitely beats the last thing I was using; a wooden breakfast bed tray.
You can buy the Laptop Desk 2.0 at CompUSA or online from Tiger Direct. You can also order one directly from the LapWorks web site. You'll find it at www.laptopdesk.net .
© 2006 Bruce E Von Stiers