Lapvantage Dome
Introduction
If you compute all the time then you’ll know that after some time ergonomics becomes a very important thing. Getting any kind of repetitive stress injury is often very painful and it can effect more than just work. Often, these seemingly small injuries can take a toll on your other activities. As a previous sufferer of RSI in the wrists, I know the pain can be acute and frustrating.
Along with typical hand injuries, the other most common injury is neck pain and this is due to having your monitor at the wrong level. Now, using notebooks compounds the problem even more because it normally sits on the desk and requires you to look down a bit just to see the screen. Sub-notebooks and other smaller notebooks require you to look down even more.
A while back during one consulting job, I had to work at the client’s office and of course, they put me in the most undesirable room with extremely high and non-ergonomic desks that could not be adjusted. After working there for a while, I developed some injuries so I went out looking for some accessories (billed to the client of course) that would get me healthy again. Through some random Google searching, I discovered Lapvantage and their laptop stand named the Dome.
The Dome
The Lapvantage Dome is a curiously designed product and one that mimics the “idea” of the Apple iMac computer. The Dome is a laptop stand consists of a metal and plastic covered base and an adjustable platform comprised of polished acrylic. The design allows you to place your keyboard under the platform and have the screen closer to you. The Dome is large enough to handle almost any sized notebook on the market. Lapvantage says the 17” Apple behemoth won’t fit.
As you can see, the Dome is simple and elegant. It comes in two different colors: white and black. I choose the white one since it matches my motif so well. The base rotates 360 degrees around easily so you can get the best angle.
The bottom of the Dome has several 3M plastic nubs to keep the Dome in place on your desk. It provides a lot of stability and takes a fair amount of bumping.
The Dome allows you to lower and raise the platform by sliding the arm up and down. There’s a knob to tighten the arm. According to Lapvantage, the arm, which is made out of anodized aluminum, will support up to 75 lbs. The platform can be raised 4.75” to 6.5” so you can get the perfect height for your environment. Not all notebook stands allow you to adjust the height so this is a nice feature. Lapvantage also includes some additional clear plastic nubs to place on the top of the platform so that you can raise the back of your notebook so that it’s slightly off the platform allowing more air to cool your notebook.
Final Thoughts
I love the Dome, it’s well designed, it works as advertised and is aesthetically pleasing. My only complaint is that I feel that it’s expensive at a list price of $79.95. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great accessory and fits a wide range of notebooks. I would recommend notebook users to get some sort of stand for their notebook if they’re using all the time.
The price isn’t that bad when you consider that your health is worth more than $80 and it’s a lot cheaper than having to go to physical therapy and chiropractors because your neck is in pain.
As you can see, you simply need to add a keyboard and mouse and you’re ready to go.
You can find more information about the product at Lapvantage Dome.
