Review Summary

The average user review is positive, giving it a total average of about 4 out of 5, which sounds great. But are there any complaints? One reviewer calls it “trash” due to a problem with the cooling pad’s power cord. As for the rest, it’s difficult to find any overly negative comments. On the other hand, few users are ecstatic about the product, merely stating that it’s a good buy for the money. It provides adequate cooling and the fans are silent, says one reviewer, while another one states that it works well but is slippery and has an overly long cord.

On the whole, it looks like a cooler that offers decent value for money, although it has no extras of any sort and the “motorized” gimmick is more than a little odd. It’s a plain cooling pad with two fans and that’s about it. It probably delivers what you’d expect at this price point and with so little money involved there is little risk pulling the trigger on one. The description states that it fits all sizes, which is never the whole truth. It is likely best suited for laptops between 14 and 15 inches, whereas it would be too large for a netbook and probably too small for a large gaming laptop.

The highlight of the product is no doubt the blue LED-lit giant fan that transports a lot of air underneath the notebook when it’s hooked up to a free USB port. Most reviewers convey the opinion that this is a high quality product, even of itäs mostly made of plastic. It remains stable thanks to its rubber feet. According to Antec you should be able to use this cooler on your lap, but considering the design and that it isn’t perfectly flat, this might be rather inconvenient.

It comes with switches for the two fan speeds and lighting, and the cable is held in place with a rubber band. On the top side where you place your laptop, the cooler has the Antec-typical honeycomb mesh. The frame is made of black plastic and is reinforced with metal elements, which makes it suitable even for heavy gaming laptops as seen in this short review from Geek.com.

Nevertheless, the aim of a cooler is of course to reduce the temperatures inside and outside the laptop. This appears to be its strong point, which is not surprising considering the size of the fan. It draws a little more power than the average laptop cooler–up to 2.25 Watts–but this is still no enough to have a major impact on battery life.

With the Unbeatable Notebook Cooler 200, Antec has brought a well-designed and effective product to market. The cooling capacity has been confirmed as good, which is the primary objective, but most users are also very enthusiastic about the design. The price tag of around $50 is pretty high for a notebook cooler, but this one is definitely one of the top models out there right now.

While there are no editorial reviews available for this cooler, it has received spectacularly good reviews form the user base with an average of about 4.5 stars out of 5 on Amazon and other shopping sites that collect user reviews, which is somewhat surprising for such an unconventional product.

The highlights that most users point out with the X-stand is that it’s highly portable, lightweight and sturdy, as well as the fact that it has no moving parts and thus requires no power supply of any kind. It also provides a better working angle and a more comfortable position for your wrists. In other words, it certainly looks like an attractive option for those who do not require active cooling and prefer a product that is easy to transport, while providing enough benefits to be worthwhile.

In a somewhat unusual move the manufacturer also states the life expectancy of the product, in this case 10,000 hours. There’s no built-in means the USB hub or any other unique features. The product has received quite varying reviews online.  We haven’t been able to locate any lengthy editorial reviews. There is no general consensus amongst reviewers either, some say that it’s great, whereas others rate it one out of five.

One reviewer points out that it can’t be used on your lap, it is strictly a desktop product because of its design. Apparently there is no shielding at the bottom of the device, so placing it on an uneven surface will effectively stop the fan. This sort of limits its usage scenarios. On the plus side is quite an inexpensive product, so if you’re looking for something to use on your desktop this might be a viable option.

Well, it has actually received very varied reviews from across the web–but primarily user reviews as we’ve been unable to locate any lengthier editorial reviews. The short sound bytes that normally comprises user review state everything from that the product doesn’t work to statements that it’s an excellent product. We will refrain from passing judgement on the product and only summarize the facts and user opinions.

The manufacturer states that it is compatible with all laptops, which is true for practically all laptop coolers in that they can at the very least cool down parts of the machine. It is a different matter if it suits your particular laptop of course–factors such as where the CPU and GPU are placed come into play in any and all cases, but the placement of the fans on this product look intelligent. The small form-factor makes it convenient to carry and it should even fit into most laptop bags because of its small measurements.

Like most other devices of its kind it is powered by your computer’s USB bus and needs no extra power adapter. It should be noted, however, that external USB hubs sometimes do not provide sufficient current to power external hard drives and other units that require relatively large amounts of power (these have to be attached straight to the computer). On the other hand the power consumption for this hub/cooler is rated at below 1W, so it should have very little effect on you laptop’s battery life even when the fans are running.

The rubber strips on top and rubber feet on the bottom ensures that the whole arrangement is kept in place. Using a netbook when seated at a desk is not very ergonomic to work with by and large, and it doesn’t get a whole lot better with a 2-inch pad below the computer. However, that’s not the intention with the Netbook Chill Mat. When placing the computer on your lap, the effect is the opposite.

The fans are powered by a USB port, which is good for cooling but naturally reduces your computer’s battery life somewhat when you’re away from the mains. Unfortunately the Netbook Chill Mat doesn’t use a standard mini-USB connector; instead Targus has opted for a proprietary solution so you must take care not to lose the included cable.

Another negative aspect in this case is that it has no USB hub that adds some extra USB port, which would really come in handy for a netbook in particular, since a mini laptop rarely has a plethora of USB ports.

The fans are audible when running but it never gets annoying. If you feel that the heat from your mini notebook is becoming a problem, this product is a sensible choice, but again it’s unfortunate that Targus omitted the USB hub on this one.

To compare it further to the pillow-like CushTop, the CushDesk is definitely more convenient if you are planning to bring the cooling pad along on your travels, although it is still quite large. It has a lower profile, is harder and has a milder angle compared to its softer cousin. There is no active cooling here, so the main purpose is to give you a convenient working angle and of course keep the heat off your lap, which it does admirably.

The CushDesk can be adjusted to fit different laptop sizes, but it is somewhat better suited for larger laptops due to its size. Thanks to the hard surface, you get the same cooling effect as you would have from placing it on a desk–in other words the laptop can make full use of its built-in cooling as opposed to what happens when you simply put it on a pillow or straight on your lap.

On the whole, it’s hard to find fault with this product. If you need active fan-based cooling you will have to choose another cooling station like the Targus Lap Chill Mat or similar unit, but if you simply need a surface to put your computer on that also gives you a more comfortable working angle, the CushDesk is a good choice.

Review Summary

At this writing there are no editorial reviews available -neither  here or at other sites – of the PA2481U1, but a short summary of the user reviews at Amazon.com for example reveals would contain plenty of descriptions along the lines of “awful”, “junk” and “terrible product”–and this is just a small sample of a few dozen reviews that reflect about the same sentiment. These are obviously not at all the type of comments that inspire confidence.

We will refrain from passing judgement without having tried the product, but we have tested the aforementioned Lap Chill Mat from Targus and that one we can recommend without hesitation.

According to the manufacturer it is also weather resistant (not that you would use your notebook in the rain anyway, but still). For the reasons stated above, it is a smaller product than the average stand and should not be considered for larger laptops.

Review Summary

There is no editorial review available for this product. The PC Treasures Blast cooling station has however received a number of user reviews online at Amazon and Walmart, and in general the ones who have purchased the unit are very satisfied with it, resulting an 4-5 stars out of 5 average. One user remarks that the cooling stand’s built-in fan is very silent and that the speakers are decent. Another reviewer is also impressed with the sound quality coming out of the small speakers, and one says that it is an excellent buy at the current price point.

As the name implies, Macally primarily makes Apple gadget accessories, but the TuneFan will work with any laptop 17″ or smaller whether it’s a MacBook or a PC. Like just about every other laptop stand or cooling pad available it uses a USB port from your notebook to power the built-in cooling fan.

What separates the Macally TuneFan from the rest is that it also includes stereo speaker as well as a subwoofer. With that feature set, its only real competitor for the time being is the Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N700. However, the N700 falls short if you also want some nice-looking LED decoration thrown into the mix. On the other hand, the LED is purely decorative and has no practical function whatsoever, but it looks cool nonetheless.

So, how does it perform? The fan is audible but quiet enough to not to be a nuisance. In an otherwise quiet room it is noticeable, but in places with other ambient noise the fan sound is not an issue. It’s certainly nowhere near the loudest fans we’ve tested. Obviously, with the speakers in use, fan noise is a secondary factor in any case. The CPU core temperatures were tested with Core Temp: with the fan active, the core temperatures hovered around 130 degrees F / 55 C compared to an unhealthy 195 F /90 C with the laptop resting on a regular pillow.

It is relatively large–large enough to accommodate a 17-inch laptop, so it would probably look pretty strange to place a small netbook on top of it. For a 17-inch capable stand it is still not exceedingly big though; our 15-inch laptop was quite a good fit for this cooler. Its angle is not adjustable, but the default angle should be comfortable enough for most users and provides an ergonomic tilt for typing. A rubber lining along the cutout keeps your laptop from slipping.

Although cooling is an essential feature, the highlight of the TuneFan is no doubt the 2.1 speaker system, that delivers stereo to the left and right sides of your laptop with an added bonus in the form of a subwoofer that gives the overall sound quality a nice boost. When the stand is resting on your lap you will literally feel this feature. It is in fact powered by a high-end Class D amplifier.

The thing is loud! It will easily outperform any integrated laptop speakers–even the most powerful ones. If you are using it on battery power, this added power draw when using the TuneFan to its fullest will surely deplete the battery faster than the integrated speakers would have, but this is a compromise you will have to deal with. The volume is controlled from the computer, which can be connected with a simple stereo plug or USB. You can supply the speakers with some added power with an included power cord and get some more volume out of it, but this is not necessary for it to work.

On the whole, this is a very good product that kills two birds with one stone–excessive heat and lousy laptop speakers. The fan moves a lot of air away from the bottom side of your laptop without producing much noise in the process. An added bonus is its excellent design and build quality. The overall sound quality is surprisingly impressive for such a small product.