Looking For The Best Adjustable Laptop Stand

Finding the Best Adjustable Laptop Stand

I have a friend who is looking for the best adjustable laptop stand at the best price on Amazon. She found several versions of the same basic model and asked my advice about which one I would buy. I decided to share my findings with all of you. So here is my two cents on finding the best adjustable laptop stand at the best price.

The Adjustable Laptop Stand I Have

There are actually several excellent laptop stands on the market. I have a stand that I specifically bought because I needed a cooling fan and I wanted the laptop to also sit at an angle. It works great at keeping my laptop cool while allowing the laptop to sit at a couple of varying angles for better typing while using the keyboard. I tested the cooling pad with an application called Core Temp to see if it actually did cool my laptop, and sure enough, it brings it down several degrees. Unfortunately the exact model that I have is no longer available on Amazon, but here are two cooling laptop stands that are pretty much identical to the one I have, and they also have excellent ratings.

A More Versatile Adjustable Laptop Stand

The specification for the laptop stand my friend wants are somewhat different from the cooling laptop stand that I have. She needs an adjustable laptop stand that has multiple surface contact points in order to make it more versatile. She works from home and needs to use her laptop at different locations throughout her house and while she travels. With multiple surface contact points it can be used on a counter while standing, used while sitting on a chair or the couch, used on a desk or table, used in the car and even used in bed, if desired.

Tips On Buying From Amazon

When I buy from Amazon, which I do a lot, my first requirement is that the item I am buying is fulfilled by Amazon. There are occasions that I have bought items that were not shipped by Amazon, and everything has been fine; but, if possible I always buy items that are Prime Eligible. I have been a member of Amazon Prime for over 10 years and even though the price is higher now, I still think it is worth it. However, if you don’t have Prime, no worries. If the item you buy is fulfilled by Amazon, they will still ship it free if you purchase $25.00 or more. Here are some of the reasons I always try to buy items fulfilled by Amazon:

1.  The Shipping Cost. I do find that Prime Eligible items are sometimes a couple of dollars more than the items that are not Prime Eligible, but adding shipping costs usually makes the non-prime more expensive.
2. 2-Day Delivery. Most Prime Eligible items arrive within 2 days of ordering. I live in a rural area so 2-day shipping saves me a lot of trips into the city.
3. Returns. If there is something wrong with the order, it is very easy to return it to Amazon. Most of the time I can go online to request a return, and I am given the choice of either printing a return label to return the item through UPS or USPS; or I can take a code to a UPS Store, and they will box it and ship it for me. Both options are very convenient and easy. Once Amazon receives notification that the item has been shipped, they usually go ahead and process the return. That is sometimes not the case when dealing directly with the seller.

The second requirement that I have when buying from Amazon and probably the best reason for buying from Amazon is the Customer Reviews. I usually use the filter that only returns items with at least a 4 star rating, although I do sometimes buy things with a 3 1/2 star rating, depending on what it is. I will look at a few of the best reviews, a few of the worst reviews and a few of the medium reviews to see what people have to say about the item and try to determine whether the reviews are legitimate. Sometimes there may be a bad review because shipping was delayed not because the item was bad. Sometimes there may be good review even though the item was bad, but the company had good customer service. Throw out the reviews that don’t seem to be legitimate and make your choice from the helpful reviews.

Amazon has a great rating system, but there are a few kinks. Make sure when looking at the reviews that most of the 4 and 5 star reviews say verified purchase. Also make sure the reviews are not for items that a consumer was given as part of a give away. I also look at the number of reviews. The more reviews the better. An item with 4 stars that has 1000 reviews is a better choice than an item that has 5 stars but only 5 reviews. The last kink is the worst one. The reviews sometimes seem to be for a totally different item than the item that is listed. Sometimes it is because items sold on the same page with several variations are lumped together in the reviews and it is very hard to distinguish which item the review is for. And sometimes the reviews are just messed up and put on the wrong item. When I can’t distinguish whether the reviews are actually for the item I want, I usually just look for something similar with correct reviews. With all of that being said, I still think Amazon has the best review system that I have found. Even if I am buying an item from a different place, I will check the Amazon reviews.

The third requirement is price. Of course, I want the best price I can find. I used to use a filter to give me the price from low to high, and I still sometimes do if there are several pages to sort through. However, I have found that the low to high price filter doesn’t always work as it should anymore, and I end up not getting all the results that I would get without it.

My List of Choices for the Best Adjustable Laptop Stands at the Best Prices

Now….. Here are the best adjustable laptop stands at the best prices that I would choice on Amazon.

 

This is the least expensive choice. It is made for a smaller laptop (approx. 14″ or less) or tablet. The legs only have two segments and it doesn’t have a mouse station. I’m not sure how useful a mouse station would be anyway, because of the limitations it would have on mouse movement. It has an Aluminum-Magnesium Alloy frame and the height can be adjusted from 1.57 to 10.24 inches.

 

This model will hold a 17″ laptop. The tray is made of aluminum but the reviews say that the legs are plastic. It has a mouse station and a cooling fan. The height can be adjusted from 1.5 to 18-inches. The only difference I see in the two versions is the color. One is silver and the other is black.

 

This model will also hold a 17″ laptop. The tray is aluminum and the legs are plastic. It has an aluminum, clip on mouse tray and 2 cooling fans. The height can be adjusted from approx. 1.5 to 19 inches.

The Desk York Adjustable Stand will hold up to a 17″ laptop. The description says it is made of aluminum, I presume that includes the legs, but the legs could be made of plastic like the ones above. It has 2 cooling fans and a mouse tray. The price is about $5.00 higher that what is reflected on the link.

The Adjustable Stand That I Would Choose

If I were buying a stand for my tablet, I would go with the first one listed. It is the least expensive and would definitely do the job for a tablet or small laptop.

If I were buying an adjustable stand for my 17″ laptop, any of the remaining options should work. They all have great reviews and the specifications look like they are the same, with perhaps an exception to the legs. I am unsure whether the Desk York has aluminum or plastic legs, but all the other have plastic legs. I think I would lean towards the Desk York and hope that the whole unit is made from aluminum.