Computer Times
B
Editors' Choice Accessory
LapWorks Aluminum Desktop Stand
Reviewed by Terry Kibiloski
If LapWorks seems familiar to you, it may be that you remember reading about this company when we reviewed their Laptop Desk Version 2.0 (Retail $29.95), in August 2003, which is a portable lap desk for mobile computer users. (You can see our full review of this product at http://computertimes.com/aug03edchoicelaptopdesk.htm). Many of our readers purchased this super cool laptop desk after seeing us demonstrate it at various locations. Well, now, LapWorks has come up with a cool device to keep your laptop cool while it is on your desk, the LapWorks Aluminum Desktop Stand (Retail $69.95).
This new aluminum desktop stand elevates your laptop keyboard and screen to improve ergonomics through better screen viewing and typing angles, reduce heat, and, in our application of it, to free up some badly needed desk space. While LapWorks' claim of cooling your laptop up to 23 percent, to extend its useful life, was not fully tested, one things is for certain, in our 3-month test of this product, it eliminated one very annoying noise from our laptop, the sound of the cooling fan constantly coming on. We have not heard it since we elevated our test laptop (Dell Inspiron 6000).
This sleek laptop stand features 6 easy-to-adjust elevated positions. The shorter 3 elevations (see photo at left) raise the notebook screen by 3 1/2, 4, or 4 3/8 inches and angle the notebook's keyboard to improve typing ergonomics. The 3 steeper inclines (see photo at right) raise the screen 6, 6 1/2, or 6 3/4 inches closer to eye level to create an ergonomically-sound desktop workstation when using a separate keyboard (not included).
Constructed of heat-dissipating brushed-aluminum, the sturdy Aluminum Desktop Stand is also portable, weighing 1 pound, 5 ounces and folding flat and thin (12 x 9.5 x 3/8 inches) for easy storage in a computer bag. The laptop stand also includes non-skid rubber pads to grip the laptop, a built-in turntable for 360-degree rotation and screen sharing, a neoprene travel bag/slip cover, which doubles as a mouse pad, and it carries a one-year warranty.
It is a well-known fact that raising a laptop's screen closer to eye level protects you from holding your head forward to see it, reducing strain on your upper body and neck, which, in this author's experience, was all that was needed to eliminate symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. See our article at http://computertimes.com/aprfeature.htm for further information. Angling the keyboard also allows arms and elbows to hang relaxed at your sides, for more ergonomically comfortable typing than when set flat on a desk. At the bottom of this article, we have reprinted an ergonomic illustration from the LapWorks' Web site that will help you correctly set up your laptop as a desktop workstation.
The photo at right shows how we used a flat screen monitor to further enhance the ergonomics of our test system and to free up some badly needed desk space (underneath the laptop stand) for placing small items like pens, notepads, etc. In our photo, we are using an older Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse and a Samsung SyncMaster 205 monitor.
If you read our earlier review of the Laptop Desk Version 2.0, you will note that this laptop desk came with LapWorks' SwivlPad™, which is the thinnest available turntable for notebooks & tablets. We got creative and placed this swivel pad beneath our Samsung flat screen monitor to allow 360-degree rotation and viewing in our office. To our editors at Computer Times, that is the beauty of LapWorks' products; they compliment each other in various ways.
For more information about this cool, cooling, aluminum desktop stand, go to http://www.laptopdesk.net/aluminumstand.html#specs. For more information about setting up your laptop for more comfortable and healthy computing, see the illustration below.
