Review: Thinkpad Adjustable Notebook Stand

[gator]

I own a Thinkpad T60 and I am currently having a APC notebook stand with a fan that I got cheap. It barely tilted the keyboard, and the USB fan did not make a difference at all. Above all, the darn thing would not stand in a place - a lightest push would move it and I got fed up with it.

I looked at many options for a good notebook stand that would bring the LCD upto eye level and give a comfortable tilt to the keyboard. I particularly did not want a docking station since my T60 has enough ports and I use it primarily at home. I searched the forum and had the following posts:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=18426
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=17046

I then had a chance to see the the Thinkpad Adjustable Notebook Stand (Part#: 40Y7676) at one of the labs in school, and was very impressed. It looked extremely sturdy and seemed to do exactly what I wanted. From this IBM link, I found out that any thinkpad system can be used with this stand.

It is quite expensive at ~$70, but my school has a tie up with Lenovo and I got it at a student price. I looked at notebook stands from various manufacturers and the simple ones (< $25, both with and without a cooling fan) did not look good. I decided to buy this stand from lenovo afer confirming from sales that I can return it if I did not want it.

I am using the stand now and I am happy that I got it. It has a base that stays firmly on my table (has 4 large 'suction' feet) and a ledge attached to the base through a heavy spring. My T60 sits on the ledge and I can adjust the tilt of the ledge from 0 (paralled to base) to 60 degrees (0, 30, 45, 60) using two handles on the ledge. The ledge placed the LCD at eye level.

There are 2 risers on the back of the legde on which the thinkpad sits - this makes a small clearance between the laptop's base and the ledge itself to promote air circulation. The front of the legde has a lip to prevent the laptop from sliding. The lip has a rubbery finish on the inside to prevent scratching the laptop.

I will post some pics when I get some free time. This is a great notebook stand to use, and is so solid, it will last for many many years.
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[Purcy]

That sounds interesting to me, I also like a tilt to the keyboard. I got a slight tilt from my docking station but I've ditched that since I suspect some interference going on. But may I ask a question, sorry if it's stupid. What advantage would another fan be just because it is on a stand. Would this just cut down on the heat your main CPU fan has to deal with? Thanks and enjoy your new toy.

[gator]

What advantage would another fan be just because it is on a stand. Would this just cut down on the heat your main CPU fan has to deal with? Thanks and enjoy your new toy.

That is what I thought, since I have seen many friends with some dell inspiron models use one since the underside of thier laptops got very got. But it did not cool my thinkpad much, because it was not getting hot in the first place. I got the APC one because I got it very cheap.

This stand is simply excellent and gives a great lift and tilt to the keyboard and the LCD comes to eye level - you can put a docking station on top of it too.

[oghowie]

This stand is simply excellent and gives a great lift and tilt to the keyboard and the LCD comes to eye level - you can put a docking station on top of it too.

I plan on getting a mini dock with it so my wife can use an external keyboard since it will mostly be for office use. Hopefully she like this one.

[rkuo]

Seems to me that docking with an external monitor and keyboard would be the best solution. A notebook stand seems like it would barely address the issue.

[dsigma6]

I wouldn't use my laptops without a Targus Coolpad. No fans, but that's why the [censored] laptop has a fan built in...It tilts the keyboard at a nice angle, and it's adjustable.

[oghowie]

Seems to me that docking with an external monitor and keyboard would be the best solution. A notebook stand seems like it would barely address the issue.

A notebook stand is alot cheaper than going out and buying a nice lcd for office use. I think the main reason she uses it is for better ergonomics.