A Closer Look:

   Initial feel of the LapLogic Lapdesks were great. They exude a quality feel and construction. They're solid without bend and also very tacky on both sides. The small sleeve (CD pocket?) on the underside is a bit of a mystery. It's only useful for something like a CD, DVD or two and/or business cards as the site states. I know I wouldn't use it, but maybe you would.

Quick Comparison Shots:

   If you've been reading this site for awhile now the it's no secret to you that I love my lapinator plus laptop desk. It's huge and works perfectly with my 17" HP DV9500T and logitech trackman. I've been using this combo for literally years. Let's see is the new AeroGel's can compete and earn my personal business and make me switch.

(Top to Bottom) AeroGel Extreme, AeroGel Extreme - Wide, Lapinator Plus

  As you can see with the pictures above is the vast difference in working space between the 3 laptop desks. It's proof that they're not all made the same. Now since I absolutely always use a trackman when using the laptop, it's plain to see which one has the most working space for me.

One thing that I'd like to note and you can follow along by analyzing the pics above; notice how the top Aerogel Extreme actually has more laptop sitting area than the middle, larger AeroGel Extreme - Wide version? That's very interesting and may just come back to bite LapLogic in the end.

Installation & Comparison:

   In this section I'll be sizing up a Dell 15" notebook and my personal HP 17" laptop to the AeroGel Extremes and see if they can hold two mainstream laptops in comfort.

Well here's where the rubber hits the pavement, so to speak. There's no hiding behind features and specs here. Let's analyze what all these pictures say to us.

First of all, we'll talk about the Dell 15" on both the Extreme and Extreme - Wide. On the Extreme, it fits "ok" if you will not be using any sort of accessory input device. You'll also need a pretty small lap to sit comfortably using this rather small unit. However it is what it is and it does work sufficiently for 15" and smaller laptops. The Wide version handles the 15" with ease and adds a nice space for a mouse. Again the AeroGel desk itself is very stiff and always you to manhandle the unit with a laptop sitting on it to place it on/off your lap.

Next let's look at my HP 17" widescreen notebook and how it fits these two units. Obviously it's too big to work comfortably on the regular Extreme lapdesk, however it could be done if you don't mind a little overhang on each side and will not be using a mousing product. Using the 17" notebook on the Wide version is where it gets interesting. The Wide version is not for large (17" and above) laptops, contrary to what you may have thought. There is two main reasons that this is totally apparent.

First, the cooling material and ribs are not wide enough to fully support a 17" notebook as you can see in the "Not Big Enough" picture above. That section is actually the exact same size on both the Extreme and Wide Versions which tells me that the wide version is just more room for a 15" laptop or smaller. I think that's a big mistake on LapLogic's part personally.

Secondly, the overall width of the wide version is a bit small for a 17" and mouse. So it's a no-go there for me also. I'm really not sure why anyone would waste their time making a larger, wider lapdesk and not design it to fully support 17" users. Now, sure you can use a 17" on this, but it's not ideal because technically it's not designed for it.

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