Lapworks Futura Laptop Desk

CNET Editors' Rating 7.0/10 Very good Editorial policies >>

Product Summary

The good: Lightweight; works as both a lapdesk and a laptop stand.

The bad: Custom colors cost too much; no room for mousing.

The bottom line: The latest from Lapworks, the Futura Laptop Desk, does effective double duty on the lap or desk, but we miss the room for mousing that earlier versions had.

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Dan Ackerman
Reviewed on: 05/06/2008
Released on: 04/09/2008

Laptops are designed, theoretically, to sit comfortably on a lap, a desk, a coffee table, or any place we need easy access to a computer. In reality, we're often at the mercy of overheated systems, non-ergonomic angles, and wobbly knees. This leads people to use a variety of methods to get their laptops propped up the way they like them, from laptop desks, to pillows and pads, to little rubber feet.

One option is the $29.99 LapWorks Futura Laptop Desk (ours added an optional paint job for a total of $49). We've previously looked at--and liked--the LapWorks UltraLite and Laptop Desk 2.0 models. This new model is substantially similar, made of plastic and hinged in the middle.

Measuring 20.5 inches wide by 11 inches long by 0.25 inch thick, the Futura has room for most 15-inch or smaller laptops, and has small rubber feet on both the top and bottom for stability. Besides acting as a laptop desk, the Futura can be folded in the middle and propped open with a tiny kickstand inside, allowing for greater airflow and a better typing angle when using your laptop on a desk or table. You can raise the back of your laptop by about 3.75 inches, with the rubber feet holding it in place.

One of the selling points is the selection of custom colors, which unfortunately nearly doubles the price. We can appreciate the complicated painting process, described by Lapworks as requiring a specialized UV printer, a clear acrylic coat, and hand-painted touchups via airbrush. It's a labor of love, but unless one of the custom schemes (camouflage, leopard print, and so forth) especially appeals, we'd stick with the default gray.

We liked the available solid mousing surface on the earlier Laptop Desk 2.0, but this model has too many slats to work as a mousepad, too. Lapworks, however, offers a snap-on mousepad that covers the end of one side of the Futura, for an additional $5.