Laptop Lap Desk: Xbrand XB-1002 360 Height Adjustable Laptop Stand with USB 2.0 Hub Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Having a laptop, I wanted to be able to use the laptop as a desktop in a spare room in my house, but still be able to quickly take the laptop without having to fiddle with a lot of plugs. This X-Brand stand showed a lot of promise, so I gave it a try.

The stand has a four-port USB 2.0 hub built into it. You place it on your desk where you would normally place a display or LCD panel. You plug a USB keyboard, mouse, and any other USB devices you may have (printer, scanner, USB hub) into the stand. At that point, it's ready to go. You simply place your laptop onto it, and plug the stand's USB connector into your laptop's USB port. All of the devices plugged into the stand are then connected to your laptop, giving you a full-sized keyboard, a mouse, and whatever else you have plugged into the USB ports. The stand angles your laptop so that while you cannot use your laptop's keyboard (which is why you plug in a full-sized keyboard), the laptop's display isn't as far back as it would be if you laid it down flat and placed a keyboard in front of it. The display is also raised a bit higher and is closer to eye-level. The end result is that with a single plug, you transform your laptop into a very workable and convenient desktop.

There are some drawbacks to this device. If you have a laptop with a front-mounted CD/DVD drive, it will become inaccessible since the front of your laptop rests on the front lip of the X-Brand stand. Also, this particular stand does not have audio capabilities, meaning that you'll still hear sound out of your laptop's speakers. If you choose this model, I would recommend getting an iMic audio adapter. It's a tiny USB audio device that has an analog input and output. While designed for a Macintosh, it's recognized and fully supported by Windows XP and Vista. With an iMic (or anything similar) plugged into the X-Brand stand, and a full, amplified PC speaker system plugged into the iMic, when your laptop is hooked up, you have full audio capabilities from powered speakers, just like any desktop.

There is a model above this one that has more features. The higher-end X-
Brand stand has a built-in ethernet adapter and audio controller (similar to the iMic). This stand can have powered speakers plugged into it, and be hooked up to your network. When a laptop is placed onto it, you have instant network capabilities and full, powered audio. While this is nice, the majority of laptops have wireless capability and do not need a USB-based ethernet connection. The only flaw I found with that particular X-Brand model was that there was a problem with the audio jack on it, and the left speaker did not work. The sound from the right-speaker did appear to be of low quality, sounding a bit garbled and with some static. I do not know if that was indicative of the defective audio jack (since the left speaker did not work), or of the USB audio chip within the stand. If you already have wireless capabilities on your laptop, and have a wireless network, it'll be more cost-effective to just buy an iMic and this particular model X-Brand stand that only has the USB hub, rather than buying the higher-end model with USB, ethernet, and audio.

All in all, I find the X-Brand USB notebook stand to be well worth the money. It lets me use my laptop like a desktop, yet in a way where it's easy to grab my laptop when I'm on the go.

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Product Description:
Height Adjustable Laptop StandWith Integrated USB 2.0 HubQuickly Transforms Your Laptop Into A Desktop To Improve Your Comfort, Workspace & Style! As we spend increasing amounts of time at our computer workstation, we need to be aware of how the design and arrangement of our equipment can impact our comfort, health, and productivity. Improve your style, comfort and productivity by transforming your laptop into a desktop computer. The 360° swivel and 4 position height adjustment laptop stand offers better ergonomic positioning of your laptop by promoting neutral postures to help reduce the head, neck, back and wrist strain commonly associated with laptop computer use. Its sleek and elegant footprint is the perfect compliment to an enjoyable and more effective workspace. In addition to being just plain uncomfortable, using a laptop on your lap can be damaging to your health- especially for men. A recent study reported in the "Journal of Human Reproduction" suggests that adolescents and young men who use laptops several times a day over many years face the greatest risk. The study's author fears that if laptop use is not curtailed, in 15 - 20 years when they want to start a family these men could face problems.Features: * Compact and lightweight. * Connect in seconds through a single cable connection to your laptop. * Attach keyboard, mouse and any other USB devices to the stand's integrated high speed USB 2.0 hub. * Connect laptop to stand through the integrated hub's USB link cable. * Compatible with all 12" - 16" and virtually all 17" screen laptops. * 4 integrated USB 2.0 ports. * Includes 2' USB 2.0 uplink cable, power adapter and user's guide. * Great for college students. * Weight: 3.1 lbs. * Dimensions: 11.8"W x 11.0"D x 4.25"H. * Constructed of sturdy plastic composite. * Manufacturer's 1 year warranty.