Laptop Lifts Minimalist Notebook Cooling Enhancer And More -- ‘Book Mystique Review
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
by Charles W. Moore Laptop Lifts Minimalist Notebook Cooling Enhancer And More -- ‘Book Mystique Review
Over the past 13 years I’ve reviewed many laptop stands. All have had their virtues; some a few vices as well, but the Laptop Lifts product I’m reviewing today has to be the most elegantly minimalist and inexpensive solution to enhancing air convection around the bottom of your ‘Book -- providing more efficient cooling.
Another issue that Laptop Lifts nicely address is lost laptop feet. Most notebook computers have small, rubbery pads or feet on their underside to protect support surfaces from abrasion and to some degree heat, although they don’t provide enough elevation for really efficient airflow. Unfortunately, sometimes these “feet” lose adhesion to the computer and get lost, especially on ‘Books that get a lot of mobile use. Laptop Lifts can be a low-cost replacement for lost feet, along with their other benefits.
One of those is making the machine easier to pick up -- it’s much easier to lift the computer off of the table when it is raised slightly and you can get your fingertips under the body of the machine. They also provide a more secure grip on the machine when you have it in hand by holding the Laptop lift, and better protection should you spill your drink on the desk or table it’s parked on.
Laptop Lifts are essentially just large soft rubbery silicon strips that attach to the bottom of most laptops with a heat resistant adhesive. As noted, they enhance convection cooling airflow and protection from spills, scratches and slipping. They are engineered to resist side to side force and will not pop off unintentionally, thanks to their fastening adhesive’s grip strength and temperature resistance (tested to over 240°F/115°C). The adhesive and the specific shape of Laptop Lifts provide a lot of strength against side to side bumps and bangs that a laptop endures. However, they can be pulled straight up for removal without too much effort -- the remaining adhesive can be rubbed off with your fingers leaving no damage or hard to remove adhesive residue, although they’re a one-time application deal and can’t be reapplied after removal.
The “traction” provided by Laptop Lifts’ is far superior to that of standard laptop feet, thanks to their generous dimensions (6”/15.25cm and 2”/5cm) and the soft stickiness of the rubbery compound they’re made of.
Here’s another example of the Laptop Lifts'’ stick-to-itiveness.
Strong and flexible enough to tied in a knot without breaking and with no clips or frames to wear out or snap, Laptop Lifts can passively provide the cooling assistance your ‘Book needs without resort to battery draining USB powered cooling fans or complex and bulky separate modules, and will also enhance the performance of the aforementioned devices if you do use them.
Laptop Lifts will work with just about any Laptop, Notebook or Netbook, and come in sets of six to amply supply an ideal combination of Lifts to will fit your computer. Two different sizes are provided and can be used in any combination. It’s not necessary to use all of the Laptop Lifts but with six pieces to play with you should have the the flexibility to devise a combination of Lifts placed so they won’t interfere with any of the computer’s operating ports and still support and balance the machine.
At 1/4” high, Laptop Lifts are still modest enough in profile to fit in most stands, bags or coolers you may already own, save perhaps for the tightest skin style or sleeve bags. If you use a computer “shell” case the Laptop Lifts can be applied to the outside of the shell instead of the computer itself
It’s a good idea to experiment to test your Laptop Lifts placement before committing as outlined in the installation instructions.
Laptop Lifts will not need to be cut in most cases, however the manufacturer saus that if you’re careful they can be sliced easily and cleanly with a razor blade to clear access panels, ports, or cooling vents.
A summary of Laptop Lifts’ benefits:
• Permanent enhancement of protection from heat, spills and scratches.
• The small lift means a significant drop in temperature: according to the MacBook Pro manufacturer, some customers have measured temperature drops of 15° F.
• Your computer won’t slide on support surfaces
• Soft and comfortable to touch. High quality silicon. Makes your computer easier to handle and diminishes potential for slipped grip and dropping the machine.
• Always on the computer - nothing else to carry or set up
• Easy to apply.
• Very robust and rugged
• 100% performance guarantee that Laptop Lifts will not come off until you take them off.
Consequently, it’s recommended that you take care in determining an arrangement of lifts on the bottom of your computer before committing them with adhesive. Place laptop upside down on a table or similar flat surface, arrange the Laptop Lifts on your computer making sure to not obscure access screws or block ventilation ports, but don’t expose the adhesive yet. Instead, place a book or similar flat surface on top of the Laptop Lifts to hold them in place, then while pressing the book and computer together like a sandwich turn it over and confirm that the computer is level, balanced and stable.
Once you know where you will put them, clean the laptop’s bottom surface with a mild solvent like Isopropyl alcohol to remove grit and grease residue and prepare the surface for proper adhesion. finally, peel the backing strips and apply the Laptop Lifts to the computer. I actually found using all six Lifts just about right for this iBook, due to needing to skirt the battery.
Laptop Lifts’ developer Chris Adams says he’s a longtime professional laptop user, and finally spent the big bucks on the first model of the MacBook Pro, which he wanted to protect my laptop from any mishaps -- paranoid about spilling water or coffee on his desk and having it puddle up under the machine. Like many of us, Adams says he always has either water, coffee or both at hand. Copping to being “very clumsy,” he suggests this may be a more of an issue in his workspace than yours, but having killed one keyboard by accidentally dumping liquid in it, I don’t dismiss adopting a cautious approach.
Adams also notes that those first-gen MacBook Pros were hot running critters, and discovered that the processor in his machine could reach temperatures hot enough to boil water and still be operating within specifications (100 degrees C), but like this writer, he’s averse to howling cooling fans, and experimented with balancing the computer on two pencils to enhance airflow underneath the machine, noting that this also made the computer easier to pick up. The extra elevation also made some peripherals easier to use because there was another centimeter of clearance to plug and unplug cables and dongles. Unfortunately, pencils don’t make very stable laptop supports, but what about something stickier with roughly the same dimensions as a pencil?
The germ of a concept was formed that culminated in the development of the Laptop Lifts product from soft and durable silicon that feels soft to the touch and provides a lot of grip to the support surface so your computer will stay put. You can confidently put your computer on, say, the sloping hood of a minivan or other spaces and with reasonable confidence that it will not slide off, although Laptop Lifts sensibly disclaims any falls sustained because of poor judgment.
Laptop Lifts are soft and gentle so they will not mar or scratch furniture or countertops. Their spherical proportions are based on the golden mean ratio, and currently offered in dark grey they’re color-complimentary with a wide variety of computer finishes. The rounded edges don’t catch on corners or other obstacles.
They are also very tough. You can sand them, pull them, twist them, scrape them and crush them and they will look the same as when you started. The one way that you can change their shape is by slicing them with a sharp blade, which has benefits when fitting them to a tight spot.
In summary, I think Laptop Lifts are a great product at a very reasonable price, that do what they’re advertised to do and do it well. Elegant in their minimalism, they have the potential to be a valuable problem-solver for laptop users, and I’ll give them a full five out of five rating.
For more information, visit:
http://www.laptoplifts.com/
Laptop lifts can be purchased from Amazon.com for $12.95 with free Shipping
http://www.amazon.com/CJ-Solves-It-Laptop-Lifts/dp/B001LT2OAS
Also from Tiger Direct for $9.99
http://bit.ly/aclf38
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