Check out the Dell Store on CNET
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 12 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
12 out of 14 people found this review helpful
1.0 stars
"Don?t waste your money on this piece of future landfill material (aka ?junk?). See $2 solution below"
Pros: None whatsoever that I could discover, except it took less than a week to arrive
Cons: Lapinator's claims of heat dissipation are untrue - in practical use, the Lapinator causes Toshiba laptop to overheat and crash 20 times faster than when used on a wooden desk
Summary: FOR THE $2 SOLUTION, scroll to bottom of page if you don?t want to read the whole review).
I have a Toshiba large-screen laptop (14? wide by 11? deep) which I use regularly as my primary computer on my wooden desk. After about an hour of constant use with numerous applications running, my laptop will sometimes unexpectedly shut down due to over heating meaning that I lose the most recent part of what I was working on and have to reboot the computer. In the past I?ve solved the problem by simply propping up the back of the laptop with a thin paperback book which allows for greater airflow, however if I?m burning CD?s my laptop will still tend to overheat after about 5 cd?s, so propping up the front of the laptop with another book has been necessary in those cases.
LAPINATOR WEB SITE MAKES CLAIMS TOO HARD TO RESIST:
At Lapinator.com, they state ?the Lapinator keeps your laptop computer cooler too! In fact, it reduces the CPU temperature 11 degrees more than the same laptop running on a wooden desk. Better yet, it cools your laptop CPU 16 degrees more than LapLogic's top of the line product which is twice as expensive! How is this possible? When a laptop runs on a desk, the wood or metal surface acts as a ?heat sink?.?
Being a mechanical engineer, I was a bit skeptical of these ?scientific? claims but thought, what the heck, for $37 bucks* it?s worth a try. (*I chose the larger Lapinator Plus for $29.95 on Amazon plus almost $7 shipping since I had seen complaints on other review sites that the smaller size for $24.95 was too small). I figured that even if the Lapinator only marginally improved the heat buildup problem under my laptop on my wooden desk, I?d be better off if I could avoid the occasional unexpected shutdown. Well, I couldn?t have been more wrong?
LAPTOP OVERHEATS AND CRASHES IN RECORD BREAKING TIME USING THE LAPINATOR!
I received the Lapinator and immediately tried it out adding the 3 little rubber bumpers that Lapinator recommends using if you have an exceptionally hot laptop ?so that the vented heat will not cause the plastic top (of the Lapinator) to temporarily distort and block the vent? and also for heavy laptops ?to prevent permanent bowing of your Lapinator?. I was already getting worried when I read these initial warnings!! What kind of flimsy piece of junk had I just invested $37 in??
I turned on my laptop (it hadn?t been turned on since the night before so it was completely cool), and within a record 3 minutes, my laptop overheated and shut itself off! At the time, I had only 3 applications running (I usually have more than 5 running at any given time). I tried the Lapinator a second time with only two applications open on my laptop this time and it overheated and shut off after less than 5 minutes. Not only did the Lapinator not prevent my laptop from not overheating, it caused it to overheat over 20 times faster than when it sits flat on my wooden desk!
I then removed the Lapinator from under my laptop and replaced the softcover book which usually props up the back of the laptop. I immediately used the laptop with 6 applications running for well over 30 minutes without it overheating (it would normally have taken longer to overheat, but since it had already overheated twice while using the Lapinator, the core temperature had already shot way up and it was struggling to come back to its usual operating temperature).
LAPINATOR OWNER STATES THAT THE EXAGGERATED CLAIMS ON THEIR WEB SITE WERE WRITTEN BY SOMEONE ELSE (BUT HE DECIDED TO EMBLAZON THEM ON THE WEB SITE ANYWAY) AND NOW REFUSES COMPLETE REFUND
I contacted the owner of Lapinator and asked what I needed to do to get a refund of my money, told him of my experience and also of the exaggerated claims on his web site. His only reply about those claims was, ?That quote about keeping your laptop cooler was from a reviewer and not from us!?. He then directed me to a link on Gadgeteer.com. I read the review but nowhere to be found was the above quote from the Lapinator web site nor any claims about metal or wood surfaces acting as a ?heat sink?. And even if Gadgeteer had made those claims, by placing that statement on the Lapinator.com ?How It Works? page (as opposed to the ?Testimonials? page), Lapinator was completely supporting this unsubstantiated claim. The owner refused to refund my shipping charges (which will total almost $15 by the time I return the Lapinator) stating it?s not their policy. He also stated that they don?t get very many returns of the item, and I can see why.
OWNER CLAIMS THEY HAVE FEW RETURNS (WHICH IS NO SURPRISE WHEN YOU REALIZE ALL THE TIME AND MONEY IT COSTS TO RETURN THE THING FOR AN INSIGNIFICANT REFUND!)
If most people are buying the $24.95 smaller version, then discover that it?s a piece of junk and then they have to spend about an hour of their time going to the post office to return the item and pay an additional $7 for an envelope and shipping, their total refund will be approximately $18. Who?s going to go to all that time and trouble when they have a busy schedule for an $18 refund?? No wonder they don?t get many returns! My guess is that most people simply toss it in the trash creating more land fill waste.
I requested a complete refund of my expenses (including shipping) stating that I bought the product only because of the false claims on the web site, suggesting that the claims referring to the heat dissipating capabilities of the Lapinator be removed so future buyers won't be duped into wasting their time and money and thereby giving him the opportunity to do the ethical thing. The owner sent an angry reply stating "We have in no way misrepresented the Lapinator."
LAPINATOR PLUS DOESN'T FIT IN LAPTOP BAG
A few other points about the Lapinator ? not only does it not prevent bottom venting laptops from overheating and actually causes them to overheat over 20 times faster (at least in my Toshiba?s case), it?s also bulky and doesn?t fit in my laptop bag. I imagine you could cram the smaller version into a laptop bag, providing of course you don?t use the rest of your laptop bag for carrying your power cord, mouse or other files, but the larger size just doesn?t fit, so forget about using it for traveling.
And for desktop use, the Lapinator is just plain ugly and bulky, taking up valuable desktop space and adding to the clutter.
THE ONLY POSITIVE REVIEWS ABOUT THE LAPINATOR
that I could find were from people who primarily wanted something comfortable to sit on their lap as a barrier to the heat from their laptop, for home and/or travel use. BUT GUESS WHAT??...
ANYTHING SOLID THAT YOU PLACE BETWEEN YOUR LAP AND YOUR LAPTOP IS GOING TO BLOCK A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF THE HEAT FROM REACHING YOUR LAP!
Why waste $37 on a Lapinator or any other lapdesk for that matter??
THIS ENGINEER?S SOLUTION THAT WILL COST YOU ABOUT $2 (or better yet, is FREE!):
FOR A CUSTOM DESIGNED LAPDESK:
Go to your local hardware store and ask them to cut you a piece of plywood that is the size of your laptop or bigger, if you want room to use a mouse. Not only is plywood thinner, less bulky and lighter than the Lapinator, it actually WILL prevent your laptop from overheating better than the Lapinator (at least 20 times better in my case!)
If your primary concern is that you have something to block the heat between your lap and the computer, the wood will do this much more effectively than the flimsy heat- and weight-vulnerable plastic of the Lapinator.
A thin sheet of plywood will also fit much more easily into your laptop case for travel.
FOR AN EVEN EASIER SOLUTION
that you probably already have in your home (although perhaps a bit heavier): walk into your kitchen, take one of your wooden or plastic cutting boards (or go out and buy one in the size and colour you prefer) and use that as a laptop desk! VOILA! a solution to your problem right in your very own kitchen! The plastic cutting boards are designed to withstand the extremely high heat of dishwashers as are the wooden ones (by nature?s design ? very convenient during mild forest fires).
FOR ADDED PADDING AND SUPER COMFORT (also free):
When you?re at home, put any small pillow or cushion between your lap and the board of your choice and when you?re traveling, use one of the pillows or blankets conveniently provided by every airline.
There you have it, two cheap and easy solutions that will save you the time and waste of money you?d otherwise be spending on the Lapinator, not to mention the added benefit cutting down on landfill waste. If I weren?t into recycling and saving the environment, I assure you that?s where mine would end up rather than taking the time and money it?s going to take to return the thing. Live and learn.
.%20See%20$2%20solution%20below%22%20-%20Lapinator%20user%20review%20and%20rating%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/docks-stands/lapinator/4864-19213_7-31256839-1.html){kind=small}