Product Review

Product        NoteRiser - Contour Design
Version/URL        N/A / http://www.contourdesign.com/noteriser/
List Price    $129.95

Review Date        March 18, 2004
Description        A collapsible stand that puts a PowerBook's screen at the proper height for desktop viewing
Requirements        An iBook or PowerBook


Summary

The Contour Design NoteRiser is designed to elevate the screen of your notebook to a comfortable viewing height when used on your desk with an external keyboard and mouse. Using one of seven pre-set positions, you can vary the height of the back of the laptop from 3.5" to 8.7" above your desk. When not in use, the Note Riser folds flat to easily fit in your notebook's carrying case. Made in Germany, the Contour Design NoteRiser is, like its countrymates from BMW, Mercedes, and Audi, a marvel of engineering. Also similar to its countrymates, the NoteRiser sells at a substantial premium over its competition. Whether that premium is worth it to you or not depends on how you use your laptop...

Product Details

The brushed-aluminum-finish NoteRiser is the most portable of the various PowerBook stands that I've seen either in person or on the web (including the LapVantage Dome PowerBook Stand, the Kamas PowerBook Stand, the iCurve, and the iBreeze). When not in use, it folds completely flat, as seen in the image of the back of the NoteRiser at left (click the image for a larger view, and here's a large view of the front) -- it's less than 2/10ths of an inch thick in its flattened mode.

Ingenious use of strategically placed foam rubber pieces securely hold the various moving parts of the NoteRiser in place when it's flattened -- so it stays flattened even during rough handling. In addition to being very thin, the NoteRiser is also quite light, weighing in at under a pound.

When it's time to use the NoteRiser, it takes merely seconds to pop the two PowerBook-supporting feet out, and choose an elevation for the stand using the adjustable slide-out in the center. The engineering of this product is truly first class, as everything feels well connected and thought out. Even after a couple months of folding and unfolding its various parts on a daily basis, I haven't seen any loosening or other signs of weak parts.

In Daily Use

I've been using the NoteRiser at the office, where my PowerBook is slowly taking over my daily tasks from my Dell. I've also been taking the NoteRiser home each evening to test its durability through multiple folding cycles and to judge the wear and tear on the finish. As noted, I've yet to notice any loosening in the parts, and the finish is holding up quite well. I have a "micro" PowerBook bag which is dimensionally just larger than the 12" PowerBook itself. The NoteRiser easily fits in the length of the bag, but it's slightly taller than my bag. This isn't a huge problem, as I keep it in an "open" pocket on the back of the bag, but if you were travelling, you would probably want to have it completely enclosed in a larger bag.

When I arrive at the office each day, I pull out the NoteRiser and set it up, then open the PowerBook and place it on the stand. The PowerBook rests against two aluminum feet, as seen in the image at right, each of which is covered with a foam rubber pad. The pads prevent any damage to your machine, which is a good thing, but they also make it basically impossible to open a newer PowerBook if the machine is already on the stand -- the foam rubber seems to grip both halves of the machine, effectively preventing the latch from working.

Once the laptop is on the stand, it's very solid. I actually make all the plug in connections (keyboard, mouse, monitor, Palm dock, iPod) after placing the PowerBook on the NoteRiser, and there's no sense that it wants to move around and/or collapse. The height of the NoteRiser is adjustable to any of five preset levels; I've found I prefer the first or second setting, and then I just adjust the pitch of the PowerBook's screen until it's vertical.

Due to my limited desk space, I've run into one minor problem -- the tab that's used to set the height of the NoteRiser (visible in the above right image) extends into the area in which I occasionally need to use my mouse (on really long mouse movements). If you have limited desk space, you might run into this problem as well, given that the NoteRiser takes up about the same amount of space as a PowerBook.

Since the NoteRiser isn't designed to be used with the PowerBook's built-in keyboard, once the machine is set up on it, there's really not much more to worry about. Just go about your work with the external keyboard and mouse, and enjoy the eye-level view of your PowerBook's screen. When it comes time to leave for the day, I reverse the setup process. First I disconnect all the external cables, then I lift the PowerBook off the NoteRiser (as those same foam rubber feet prevent the lid from closing when the machine is on the NoteRiser), then I flatten the NoteRiser, which takes but a second or two, and put the whole works in my travel bag.

Pros and Cons

Pros:
  • Extremely portable design
  • Light weight
  • Solid engineering
  • Foam rubber feet prevent scratching of PowerBook case
  • Multiple viewing heights
Cons:
  • Price
  • Too tall for mini laptop bags
  • Foam rubber feet prevent opening laptop on stand
  • Price again...

Conclusion

The NoteRiser is a very well built product, and it does what it's designed to do extremely well. I've had some hands-on time with several laptop stands at tradeshows and in stores, and the NoteRiser is clearly the cream of the crop. From it's aluminum finish to its low weight to its tricky collapsing technology, the NoteRiser has a huge engineeering edge over its competition.

However, you pay a price for the high level of engineering and portability in the product -- most of its competitors sell for anywhere between $29 and $79, while the NoteRiser is $129. So if you use your PowerBook in one location all the time, and never need to move it around, you probably won't get any benefit out of the NoteRiser's best features (low weight and portability). However, if you move your PowerBook from spot to spot and use an external keyboard and mouse in several locations, then the NoteRiser would be a worthy investment.
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