How is a portable laptop desk a great tool for the genealogist? Many of us doing genealogy research, work at strange hours and places and the portable laptop desk gives us the ability to be more flexible where and how we work. One of the gifts I received for Christmas has proven invaluable and now I would not want to do without it.
The most common use I have for the laptop stand is right on the desk. The position I have it set at in this photo allows for better positioning of the hands for typing. The rubber bar across the front gives a comfortable place to rest the wrist and hands. (No, my desk is not normally this clean!)
When I was in Poland, a fellow genealogist had a laptop stand that was used when in the hotel room which allowed for work to be done on the computer while sitting in bed. The laptop desk was very well built and sturdy, which was made from oak. I really liked this idea. One drawback that I was not all that exciting to me was the weight of this unit (Especially if one is to take it on a plane). Being made of oak it was quite heavy. It also had only 1 position it could be used in.
When I returned home I began my search in stores and on the internet for something that would be lighter and allow use in different positions. I was not able to find it in any of the local stores, but did find it on the Internet.
When I finally found what I was looking for, I let the word out that I this is something I wanted for Christmas and I got it.
The laptop desk is made from aluminum and has 3 locking joints on each side that rotate 360 degrees and lock at 15 degree intervals. The unit has a built in double cooling fan that can be powered by the USB port (cable included). I have not yet found I need the cooling fan as my 17" MacBook Pro does quite well by itself and the tray that the laptop sits on is aluminum and wicks away the heat quite well. If you have ever used a laptop on your legs, you know that it can get quite warm. Just knowing this fact alone would be consideration for using a laptop desk. If you tend to use your laptop in bed then the laptop gets very hot when sitting on the bedding, which may severely damage your laptop.
The legs can be positioned in so many ways. There is an included diagram with various example positions, but with a little trial and error you can customize positions to what works best for you. I would make sure that any adjustments to the leg positions be done without the laptop on the stand as doing so may let the laptop slide off.
The stand is very light (a little over 4 lbs), but is able to hold up to 30 lbs. It does not feel heavy at all. Its size allows it to hold a 17" laptop. Although you can make a mini desk with the proper leg adjustments, I not know how practical it would be to actually do regular work on the laptop in this position. I have found it practical to position my laptop when needing to reference a document on the laptop when deskspace was not available where I was. The mini desk postion may be nice ot use if you were watching a video.
Possible drawbacks: There is only room for a laptop, it would be nice to be able to hold something you may be transcribing. I saw one model that included a coffee cup holder. Can you imagine what could happen if you were using this in bed? Depending on the laptop, it could slide off the stand, so be careful if you are moving the laptop stand while the laptop is on it.
You can click any of the photos for a larger view of the photo.
Below, I have included links to this laptop desk and others like it on Amazon. NOTE: I do receive a small percentage for sales through these links, but feel free to look for a model that may suit you better. I own the unit on the left. Although they look similar I can not attest to the strength of the other models.