‘Book Mystique Review: LapWorks Bright Colored Futura Laptop Desks
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
by Charles W. Moore
I think Lapworks’ excellent little Futura laptop desks are very attractive and classy-looking in their standard gunmetal grey livery with black accents but I’m not averse to a bit of color spicing things up, and in a bid to brighten the traditionally gray PC and laptop accessories market, LapWorks offers eight , bright new color themes in its new line of colorful printed Laptop Desk Futura laptop coolers. LapWorks plans to expand the program with a variety of colors and patterns, and is polling customers for color suggestions, with a plan to offering one or more new option every month throughout the balance of 2008.
The voting page for new colors is here:
http://www.laptopdesk.net/painted/vote_painted_futura.php
The colorful Laptop Desk Futuras are available from LapWorks for $49.95, initially in four solid shades and four patterns:
• Deep Red • Bustin’ Blue • Passion Pink • Tempting Teal • Largely Leopard • Desert Camou • Jungle Camou • Red Marble
Customers get to choose final touches on their laptop cooler, such as matte or semi-gloss finish, and black or translucent no-slip rubber pads. Order turnaround time is approximately five business days.
Personally, my preference among the original eight color options was for the Desert Camou. with clear pads.
My wife, who is a “blue person” (actually so am I in most contexts) likes the “Bustin’ Blue” Futura best.
And my daughter is partial to all things pink.
Happily, with the range of themes offered, pretty much anyone should be able to find a Futura that suits them, and of course if you have a reserved and conservative bent, the original basic Futura remains available at $29.95.
The colored Futuras are made using an innovative new ink-jet printing process. “We wanted people to have some fun without having to shell out big bucks,” says LapWorks’ president and chief designer Jose Calero, “So we searched for a top quality graphic process that wouldn’t price us out of the ballpark.”
Mr. Calero continues: “We chose a new, highly-specialized UV ink-jet printer that applies a heavy coat of industrial-grade ink to both sides of the Futura that hardens when exposed to UV light. We believe LapWorks is the first to print a three-dimensional product using this process. The printer can reproduce any color or pattern on the Futura, giving us an opportunity to provide a wide variety of choices.”
The UV-cured ink has a similar hardness to automotive paint, and a final coat of matte or semi-gloss acrylic further protects the colored surface.
Finally, to give each Futura a finished look, LapWorks air-brushes the outside edges with automotive-grade paint to match the printing. This is necessary because the ink jets spray downward only, leaving the 1/2 -inch curved outer edges of the Futura with only a smattering of ink.
Because each Futura is custom-made, LapWorks is offering its customers a two-week window to inspect the product and return it, unused and in original packaging, for a full refund if it isn’t to their liking.
In the coming months LapWorks will also accept $69.95 custom printing orders if customers provide a high-resolution 300 dpi image in CMYK at 12” wide by 22” long.
As for the Futura lapdesk’s functional side, Apple’s Intel-based MacBook Pros and MacBooks run famously hot, and later model G4 PowerBooks like my own 17-incher can get pretty sultry as well. In fact, the high operating temperatures of these machines is the reason why Apple, no doubt with an eye to potential product liability torts, has stopped referring to them genetically as “laptops”, substituting “notebook” instead.
Nevertheless, most users will want to use these computers on their laps from time to time, and it can’t be denied that they can get uncomfortably hot. There is also the matter that one’s lap can be a precarious perch for a complex and relatively expensive and fragile device.
The solution to both of these problems is to use a laptop desk, the largest-selling line of which are the LapWorks Laptop Desks, which sell at a rate in excess of 15,000 per month.
An evolutionary development and enhancement of what LapWorks learned building the original Laptop Desk 1.0, 2.0, and UltraLite products, all of which remain available, the Laptop Desk Futura is distinguished from its forbears by its sleeker styling plus three main engineering improvements.
First, to improve computer cooling over previous designs, LapWorks has incorporated open ventilation slots instead of the closed channels used in earlier models so cooling air can circulate more freely from under the Futura.
Secondly, the cooling slots have been elongated by 2 inches, providing a less restrictive pathway for hot air to escape from under widescreen notebooks.
Thirdly, the Futura has a 1/8-inch air space between the computer and the desk support surface to let cool air circulate under the notebook, facilitated by rubber pads that lift and separate the ‘Book from the Futura.
Like its Laptop Desk predecessors, the Futura’s dual-purpose design provides an ergonomically-sound workspace across the lap, and folds into a wedge-shaped stand for desk use. An oval-shaped burst differentiates the more streamlined Futura design, which also provides enhanced functionality.
“The Futura’s design takes better advantage of the thermal dynamics of heat rising to cool notebooks,” says Jose Calero. “The moment hot air radiates from the bottom of a notebook, it travels laterally looking for the quickest way to rise. The new open, elongated slots let cool air in from the bottom to mix with and begin cooling the hot air seeking its way out and up. Additionally, we are confident that the Futura will not absorb sufficient heat to overheat and radiate heat downward, which is good news for the lap.”
Like its Laptop Desk 2.0 and UltraLite siblings, the Futura is a dual-mode design that also can serve as a simple, lightweight notebook stand for desktop use. When used as a laptop desk, the two halves of the Futura unfold to create a support surface 21 x 11 x 3/8-inches wide that can comfortably accommodate any Apple notebook, including the 17” MacBook Pro and PowerBook.
According to LapWorks’ ergonomist consultant Sally A Longyear, CIE, MPH, “LapWorks’ Laptop Desks span the entire lap so you can relax your knees naturally instead of squeezing them together to balance a laptop. This minimizes strain on the shoulders, neck, back and arms. This illustration shows correct laptop-using posture on a desk and on a lap.
For notebook stand duty, the two halves of the unit fold into a shallow wedge shape offering five different angle settings providing the keyboard rake some users prefer for typing, and a modest degree of display elevation up to 3 3/4 inches for use with an external keyboard. The Futura’s fold-down support for the elevated leaf when in notebook stand mode is a hinged panel made from the same ABS plastic as the main unit, which is more elegant and attractive than the wire bail of the Laptop Desk Ultralight shown here.
For storage or transport, the Laptop Desk Futura folds flat into a compact wafer measuring 11 x 10 3Ú4 inches by one-half inch thick and weighing just a fraction over one pound (16 1Ú4 ounces) for easy tucking into your computer bag or backpack.
Compared with the older Laptop Desk models, the Futura is not quite as wide and provides only a minimal mousing surface, so for users who prefer an external mouse when using a laptop on their lap might better consider the Laptop Desk UltraLite which was designed to support notebooks weighing less than 5 pounds. LapWorks expects to offer a snap-on MouzPad to expand the Futura’s mousing area in the near future.
I’ve had a Laptop Desk UltraLite for several years, and have been using the Laptop Desk Futura for about 10 months now, finding it even cooler - both figuratively and literally. The appearance has definitely gone upmarket, and cooling efficiency has to be enhanced with all those open slots. I’m quite happy using the trackpad when in laptop mode, so the less expansive mousing surface is not a problem for me with the Futura and it still has plenty of room for my 17” PowerBook. LapWorks’ build quality has always been excellent, and continues to be with the Futura, the price won’t bust your wallet, and now for a few dollars more you can have a Futura in your choice of designer colors. If you use your notebook on your lap on a regular or frequent basis, you really should have a laptop desk, and the Futura represents the state of the art.
For more information, visit:
http://laptopdesk.net/
Other links of interest:
Painted Futura program::
http://www.laptopdesk.net/painted/painted_futura_lapdesk.html
Ink-jet printing process:
http://www.laptopdesk.net/painted/how_we_painted_futura.html
Voting page for new colors:
http://www.laptopdesk.net/painted/vote_painted_futura.php
Note: Letters to PowerBook Mystique Mailbag may or may not be published at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.
Opinions expressed in postings to PowerBook Mystique MailBag are owned by the respective correspondents and not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Editor and/or PowerBook Central management.
If you would prefer that your message not appear in PowerBook Mystique Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.
CM
