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Price: $60
http://www.targus.com
Targus is well known for their distinguished notebook accessories, mainly their notebook bags and cases, but their Targus Laptop Stand with Removable Chill Mat will give them something to brag about in the cooling department. The stand provides both passive and fan cooling. The optional Chill Mat with two powerful, yet noisy, fans can be attached to provide more cooling power to the notebook. We found the Chill Mat to be, however, a bit hard to remove and at times felt like it was going to break in the process. The stand is sturdy enough to handle the heaviest notebooks and the cradle can fit even the thick notebooks. This is definitely a positive, as other stands seem to have trouble supporting the bulkier notebooks. Opening up the stand reveals the ability to adjust the it to four different angles and also exposes an inner compartment to store cables and small accessories; and by small we mean a couple of thumb drives and maybe a fun-sized Snickers bar.
Price: $80
http://us.kensington.com
For Kensington, ergonomics is no joke. Kensington’s Notebook Stand features a color-coded hand chart, which allows you to measure the size of your hand and adjust the stand to its corresponding color and angle. What we failed to understand, though, is how this feature has anything to do with ergonomics. The notebook stand is designed to act as an elevated notebook screen so its mounted clipboard panel blocks off use of the keyboard. Without access to the keyboard, the angle of the stand has no effect on your hands. With that aside, Kensington’s detachable 4-port USB hub and clipboard panel are the only things to “hoo-rah” about for this notebook stand.
Price: $40
http://www.griffintechnology.com
This notebook stand doesn’t have as many features as most notebook stands would offer. No USB ports, no cooling, and no adjustable height. But if simplicity is what you’re looking for, Griffin doesn’t disappoint. The sleek (and a little Mac-esque) Elevator sets your notebook 5 ½ inches above the desk at eye level to help with ergonomic-conscious user. The sure-grip pads aren’t as “grippy” as we would like them to be, as heavier notebooks (anything above 7 pounds) will slide a bit. The brushed aluminum stands are a bit wobbly and can shake with the slightest bump. After extended use, we found that notebooks with less grip on the bottom could eventually slide off the stand. Thankfully, no notebooks were damaged in the testing process! The Elevator is a bit pricey for its lack of features, but its stylish look makes up for it.
Price: $100
http://www.targus.com
Targus does not disappoint, again, with its Ergo D-Pro Laptop Stand. This stand is sturdy, even supporting up to 27 pounds in our tests. It offers a document stand in the front with tabs to adjust the angle. In the back, it provides wire management guides as well as a lockable compartment, although the compartment is quite small and can fit nothing more than a few cables or a thumb drive. The grilled back allows air to dissipate through the bottom. There are no built-in USB ports, though, but a separate port replicator is available for purchase as an extension. The D-Pro is not at all portable as it weighs in at a hefty 7.7 pounds, but that is expected when the suggested weight capacity more than five times the weight of our laptops. The steep price tag will hurt your wallet, which is unfortunate because the Ergo doesn’t match up to other stands in its price range (such as the Logitech Alto Cordless).
Comments are closed on this article
jwalch.hawk
July 23, 2008 at 5:50pm
Heh, I love the tags... "Intern"... It made me giggle.
But seriously... I guess this will be a good way to find the articles from either/both of these two in the future.
And a nice job, guys... Although a 2 on the LapDawg... Don't you have to get special senior editor approval to whip out that can of mean? I mean, YOUCH... That bad, huh? Lol.
whisp
July 23, 2008 at 10:18pm
The documentation had enormously false claims with how much the stand can support, its way too short to be of any legitimate practical use, and it was breaking down even after the short bit of time we spent with it. The product design was good on paper, but the end result when built was extremely feeble architecturally leaving the that nice design useless cuz you couldnt put anything on it! I was going to give it a higher rating cuz it still CAN be used for a very small amount of things (FAR less then it is advertised as being capable of)-- then i saw the price. It mise as well be a scam @ $130, also their website wasnt particularly trusting either - http://www.lapdawg.com/
I believe in using the full scale or 1-10, not 3-9. If a superiour inquires as to my rating I am more then happy to discuss it, but so far im in the clear.
"we Plan for Tomorrow, but we Live for Today"
jwalch.hawk
July 24, 2008 at 9:23am
Eh, the part about having someone's else's approval was a joke. I agree with you totally about using the full scale... I just hadn't seen anything in the mag or on here (although there is a good chance that I simply missed something) that had actually warranted that bad a rating. But yeah... From what you're saying, it deserved it. It's kind of a shame these "good on paper" things can turn out so badly.
sdcat
July 23, 2008 at 4:56pm
First of all, thanks for the review.
Second, I think with adding in white paper of thermal/aero dynamics and cooling /fan info. would be great. Then it would be a good review to probably be added into a printed magazine.
Some may argue the reviewers were mainly focused on the physical strength of the stands, but I would say why not go full and make it all the way. So that this could better deserve a special section of this own, and a great guide for people to keep in hand.
Anyway good work. ^^
guoruiwu1994
July 23, 2008 at 4:52pm
It says: Not quite your standard QWERT keyboard, this puppy dished up a surplus of function keys.
It should say: Not quite your standard QWERTY keyboard, this puppy dished up a surplus of function keys.
