Macopinion

The Road Warrior Review - Laptop Laidback 3 Stand For Reclined Computing Re-Engineered [UPDATED]

For the past seven years or so, an important element of my work infrastructure has been a disarmingly simple but elegant device called a Laptop Laidback - a notebook computer stand designed specifically for use while reclined.

The Laidback's essential distinctiveness is signalized in its name; the stand is engineered specifically for optimum comfort when using your laptop in a reclined position, such as lying on a bed, sofa, the floor, or whatever. Coincidentally, the Laidback is manufactured about 60 miles as the proverbial crow flies frauds from where I live here in eastern Nova Scotia, Canada, its furniture-finish wood material hewn from good solid Canadian maple, with a computer support tray of melamine made in a factory somewhere "away."

Back in 1996, Doug Martell, a high school physics teacher in the small community of Arichat on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island., bought his first laptop computer. Doug liked to work at home in a reclined position, and soon discovered that laptops, despite their name, are pretty uncomfortable to use on your lap, especially if you're lying down. Not only are the ergonomics bad for typing, modern laptops with fast processors get pretty hot.

Doug began searching for some sort of device that could hold his laptop in more comfortable position for this sort of use. Finding none, he retired to his backyard garage and cobbled up a makeshift laptop table and stand out of lumber and plywood - the first rough prototype of the Laptop Laidback workstation. Doug decided the device had commercial possibilities, and began designing a more refined version that could be mass-produced, He says that after teaching physics for nearly 30 years, he is probably 'half an engineer.'

The first production version of the product was patented, and Martell formed a company, Laidback We 'R' Inc. to market Laptop Laidback over the Internet. Doug says he has a soft spot for Apple Computer, which gave his new product a boost early on by providing a link from the Apple Website to the Laptop Laidback site.

The Laptop Laidback has been as close to perfect at what it's designed to do as any piece of equipment I've ever owned, and has looked (and felt) great doing it. The only complaint one might have is that are that the solid hardwood material is perhaps a tad heavy, especially if you want to take the Laidback on the road, but the extra weight pays dividends in stability on what are sometimes less than stable support surfaces.

The Laidback, in production since 1998, was also a bit pricey for a laptop stand. Fine quality wood joinery and finishing don't come cheaply, and while I would contend that the value was there - after seven years intensive use, my Laptop Laidback 1 looks as good as the day it arrived here - and you can't put a price on the tactile feel of nice wood. However, I expect that the Laidback We "R" Inc. folks did encounter some price resistance, so I completely understand why they have re-engineered version three of the Laptop Laidback, retaining the excellent basic design functionality, but in a substantially lighter, substantially less expensive package.

Unfortunately, that translates to offshoring the manufacture to China and substituting high-strength engineered polymer plastic for the erstwhile wood. The very good news is that the Laptop Laidback 3 does pretty much the same excellent job that versions 1 and 2 did, and throws in a couple of cool new wrinkles to boot, such as a handy carrying handle.

However, there have been sacrifices. Honeycomb section plastics simply can't match the spectacular looks and comfortable, satisfying feel of fine-finished hardwood, nor the latter's overall strength I imagine. The sort of plastic used to make the Laidback 3 is very rugged, but one detects more flexibility (that is to say any flexibility at all - there was none with the maple version) in the leg assembly, although I don't doubt that the Laidback 3 will hold up just fine in service. It is rated to hold up to 22 lb., which is more than twice the weight of the heaviest Mac laptop ever built.

The plastic is considerably lighter than the wood (under 3 lb. compared with 4.75 lbs for the Laidback 1), which is welcome when moving the unit around, with or without a laptop on board.

The lower limbs of the leg supports have been lengthened by 1 3/4 inches which helps compensate for less stability imparted by road-hugging (well, bed-hugging) weight.

Another new feature of the Laidback 3 is that the computer support tabs at the lower age of the laptop tray now adjust for positioning - the ones on the wood/melamine Laidbacks were fixed in place. This is especially convenient if your laptop has a front-loading optical drive, as you can position the tabs so they don't block the drive slot.

The downside, so to speak, is that while the support tabs are about the same height as the maple ones on my Laidback 1, they are much thinner in section and smaller in width, which allows them to dig into your palms uncomfortably, and I'm using the unit with a relatively thick by today's standards Pismo PowerBook. The issue would be even more pronounced with thinner machines, which most are these days. A wider top edge or slightly less depth to the tabs might help. You can work around this issue somewhat by adjusting the tabs' positioning.

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[UPDATE] Carla Martell writes to say:

Hi!

I was just reading your review of the Laptop Laidback V3.

I’m just wondering if you know that the tabs on the front of the Laptop Laidback V3 flip over to allow for slimmer laptops?? They can be flipped two ways, one way for higher profile laptops to ensure they don’t slip off the table and then can be turned the other way to allow for the slimmer profile laptops so that they don’t hurt wrists.

CM

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Thanks for the info., Carla. I had not noticed that feature. I've now tried it, but the lower-profile mode doesn't provide enough support to hold the PowerBook Pismo with its contoured edges in place, although the shallower-lip configuration would presumably be fine with more squared-off laptop designs or perhaps the very thin MacBook Air .

Charles

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The Laidback makes it possible to optimize the ideal arm, hand, neck, shoulder, and leg positions recommended by ergonomists to maximize comfort when using a laptop computer. Comfort is key in this context When you're comfortable, you are also pain and stress free, and can extend your laptop usage, be more efficient and effective, and can significantly reduce further stress on your body. The correct position is to always have your upper arms and elbows resting on a flat surface (no reaching), so to ensure this the laptop table must be able to adjust up and down so your palms and fingers rest on the keyboard (without having to lift your elbows off the support surface).

Adjusting the Laidback to find the most comfortable configuration of height and tray angle takes some trial and error experimentation. An assembly instruction diagram is pictured on the back side of the support tray, where it will always be handy.

I had a leg up on the process, as I just copied the configuration file my Laidback 1, which after seven years of use has been fine-tuned to a fare-thee-well. One small refinement addition I would like to see is adjustment gradation markings on the tray height adjustment sliders. You can eyeball it pretty accurately, but the obsessive compulsive in me wants to get the two sides precisely synchronized.

While the angle of the keyboard when the computer is mounted on the Laptop Laidback trade appears "wrong" from an ergonomic perspective, when the user is reclined, the ideal 90 degree elbow angle and straight wrist posture are easily achievable. I find the typing angle quite comfortable with my palms resting naturally on the computer's palm rests. Besides people who just want to use their laptops well reclining in comfort, the product has also proved popular with people who have physical disabilities, are pregnant, recovering from surgery, or are confined to bed for any reason.

Another major advantage of the Laptop Laidback for portable computer use away from a desk or table is that it keeps the hot computer away from you or the blankets, which will allow it to run cooler, and is a lot more comfortable for the user. This is particularly important for newer laptops with their hotter processors.

Laidback is designed to be a dedicated-purpose product and to fulfill that purpose uncompromisingly well, so Laidback We "R" Inc. don't recommend purchasing it to eat snacks on, use as a TV tray, or a perch for the bird.

The product is specifically designed for laptop users who want to maximize comfort in the horizontal position, although that being said, they do have customers that have found other uses for Laptop Laidback such as a stand to rest a book on while reading in bed.

There are five main components; two two-piece articulated, legs joined respectively by knurled bushings that allow "knee-style" angle adjustments in five degree increments. The adjustment angle is secured by sturdy and generously sized thumbscrews for each joint. The tray section is now of the same plastic material as the legs, with two angled slots at the back containing captive sliding anchors for the thumb screws that fasten the legs to the tray. This allows the user infinite adjustment of the Laptop Laidback tray height within the range of the slots.

The support legs detach and fasten to the tray's front surface with Velcro strips, and self-adhesive Velcro pads are also provided to use securing the laptop to the tray if you wish, although I have never bothered. With the legs fastened to the tray, the entire Laidback becomes a single, relatively compact unit for storage and transport - very slick and convenient, and made more so by the molded-in carry handle.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm a consummate Laptop Laidback fan, and from a functional standpoint I'm as enthusiastic about the Laidback 3 as I was about the earlier models. If you are a frequent or regular user of the reclined computing mode, this product is the gold standard, and with the Laidback 3 the cost of ownership has dropped by about one-third, which should allow more laptop users to enjoy the benefits of this excellent device.

Laidback We "R" Inc. warranties its product for 1 year from date of purchase, and the product is sold with a "30-day money back" return policy with no restocking fees but shipping costs in either direction are not refundable.

Laptop Laidback 3 sells for $99.99

For more information, visit:
http://www.laptop-laidback.com/index.php



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cmoore@macopinion.com

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