Most laptops these days are used as a person’s single computer as opposed to a companion system to their desktop. Along with that portable power comes heat generation and a lack of ergonomic orientation. Laptop stands in various forms have come to the market to fill this need. Some are very large and bulky. Others are very thin and flimsy. They range from very artful to very functional to clumsy to utile. I’ve been using one for over a month now which delivers on all of those aspects, but mostly the good ones.

I’m speaking, of course, of the LapWorks Attaché Laptop Stand, a new product in their extensive line of mobility products for laptop users. The stand ships in a standard FedEx packing box, so its not very large, but its certainly not designed to be a portable stand. Unlike its lower priced brother, the Attaché is topped with an aluminum face, which is supposed to draw heat away from the bottom of the laptop. This process is assisted by two ultra-quiet fans located in the center of the panel.

The entire unit is powered by USB and a cable is included. Oddly, and this was one of the things which my PR contact even found confusing, there is an integrated AC adapter port. Why is that odd? LapWorks was neither aware of the port nor offered a power supply which worked with it. It would be nice to have one, since the stand is also a USB hub. Sure, you can plug in mice and other USB 1.1 un-powered devices, but with an AC adapter, it should work as a powered hub. Oh well.

The overall design is simple. There is the platter which the lappy rests on. It has two flip-up lappy stops at the bottom edge. Around the back is located a riser tongue. Press the button under the right edge and it releases the tongue lock so you can select an angle. With my MacBook Pro is was, at most, able to select either flat or one notch up due to the Apple lappies display hinge arrangement. Classically hinged lappies can ratchet all the way up, though they don’t look as nice or work as well.

The resultant angle is very comfortable for typing and viewing. Whats nice is that, while they are large, the flappy stoppers don’t get in the way, even when using the trackpad. They are almost twice as tall as a MacBook Pro, though. The fans themselves are truly near-silent. When I first plugged it in I thought the unit was DOA, but sure enough, there was air flowing out of the sides. The stand seems to be well constructed, but there are some little issues I have.

First, the thing is laid out like a tripod. Take a look at the image above and you’ll see that most of the weight from the lappy is placed on the rear corners, where there is the least amount of structural support. Its very easy to tip it towards one of those corners, especially the left on my unit. While its in no real danger of tipping over, I don’t like it. Second, I don’t like the fact that there is no power supply included or even available. It would be fantastic, since it would act like a sort of USB hub/dock.

Pricing is set at US$69.96 and it is available now. I’m relatively pleased enough with the stand to say that price is reasonable, though it would do better if it came with the power supply. The other option is to drop the price by $15 and skip the power supply.

written by Tyler Regas