I waited a couple weeks before submitting a review. This unit is quite sturdy. Other cooling pads can be flimsy. I wanted one I could depend on when traveling but I did find a couple issues.
1) It can't be my only laptop 'desk'. On a table or desk yes, but if seated on a chair or bed, the pointed feet dig a bit into my legs. It really needs to be on a flat hard surface. I have a fold-up from another vendor that provides a flat surface. The cooling pad can then sit on top of it. For best performance and comfort, I use both (or a desk and the cooling pad.) Seems daft to need to carry two items, though.
2) Because the top and bottom are both dead-flat, if you set it down on a bed the fans get starved and the pitch rises, notifying you. The post-type feet easily sink into a bed surface. The same thing happens when I straddle the little feet when it is on my lap. My legs starve the fans. On top, because the non-skid strips are so thin, if I pick up my laptop, the pitch drops.
3) The non-skid strips on the top are too far apart and too thin in height. I have a 15-inch MacBook Pro (MBP) and if I have the front sitting on the forward non-skid strip, it drops off the back strip. At home on my work table, I use two half-round molding pieces horizontally between the non-skid strips, which increases the space between the computer and unit for better air circulation. These don't travel, yet, as they slide. Hmmm... maybe those rubber-coated draftsman flexible curves as a better work-around...) I've seen other cooling pads that are dished to allow better circulation. The Zalman user guide notes in a tip: "Cooling performance improves proportionally with the gap between the notebook and the cooler."
4) It cools slowly. My MBP is quite old now and gets hot. Perhaps because of the design issues above, it takes its time to cool my laptop. (In a pinch, I found using the AC adapter and removing the battery immediately drops the temperature several degrees, when I am really concerned in a hot session.) I tracked it while working on the Mac with a Windows XP VM open to stress the computer. It took a full hour to drop from 205°F to 154°F.
Here's what I would like in the next generation of this product:
(a) higher non-skid strips, closer together.
(b) perhaps a slightly dished surface to better encourage air circulation
(c) flip down, full-width bar-type feet like the fold-up unit, which might avoid the starving issue mentioned above.
This is my third cooling pad. I'm surprised nobody has gotten it right. Laptops have been out for quite awhile now. I purchased this unit due to the 5-star reviews. I give it three stars because the competition is so pathetic.
