Macenstein

My new MacBook is my first laptop in years, having spent the last decade or so of my computing life tethered to desktop machines. And while I appreciate the newfound mobility the Macbook offers, a good 80% of my laptop computing is still done at my desk.

Using the MacBook’s built-in keyboard and trackpad for 9-10 hours a day just isn’t an option for me (or my wrists). Ergonomically, I am just having a hard time adjusting to a full day’s work on a laptop. Perhaps after a year or so with the MacBook my tendons will learn to adjust to prolonged periods of laptop input, but for now, I much prefer to use a full-sized keyboard and mouse.

Rain Design’s mStand offers one of the simplest and most elegantly Mac-like solutions to the ergonomic challenges faced by “desktop-laptop users” like myself. Designed to mimic the brushed aluminum stand that supports Apple’s latest Cinema Displays and iMacs, the mStand is molded from one solid piece of metal, providing an attractive pedestal which raises your laptop off the tabletop about 6 inches (roughly the height of the Cinema Displays).

6-inches may not seem like a big deal, but this small lift does two things. First, it relieves neck strain by putting your laptop’s screen at a more comfortable height. Second, it allows you to plug in a full-size keyboard and mouse without taking up any more desktop space than an iMac. And, if space is really an issue, you can also stow your keyboard under the mStand when not in use.

Solid

Don’t be fooled by the mStands’ aluminum construction. This is not the Duff Beeramid we’re talking about here, this thing is heavy. Of course, heavy is what you want in this case, and the extra weight combined with the wide support base means you laptop isn’t going to fall over due to an accidental jolt while reaching for the Doritos. But it also means you won’t be carrying it back and forth from the office.

The mStand not only looks cool, it helps keep your laptop cool. By raising your laptop up, the mStand allows for more air to circulate under the machine, thus lowering the temperature a bit. In a test I conducting while ripping a DVD in Handbrake, the MacBook’s temperature dropped 10 degrees, and a whopping 20 degrees while at rest.

The mStand sports rubber pads in each of its four corners to support your laptop, as well as a set of pads near the front of the stand to hold the laptop in place. Its one-size-fits-all construction means the mStand can securely support anything from your 12-inch PowerBook to your 17-inch MacBook Pro.

The only other feature the mStand boasts is a chord-management hole, located in the rear of the supporting arm. Assuming you have an extra power cable to leave at the office, I suggest routing the cord through here, along with your keyboard. It just makes the whole package look neater, and comes very close to looking like a standard Apple Cinema Display instead of a mish mosh of peripherals and CPUs.

Issues

I don’t really have any complaints about the mStand, but I suppose some users may wish the stand swiveled, as some other laptop stands do. I did not personally find this to be an issue, as the whole stand can turn, base and all, fairly effortlessly given its weight. Also, I have found swiveling stands to feel less sturdy. Still, if you plan to do a lot of sit-downs with clients where you anticipate spinning your laptop around and saying “take a look at this” a lot, you may want to look elsewhere. The mStand is really designed to make your laptop perform like a desktop machine.

Above: The mStand in an extremely cluttered work environment. Notice how my MacBook now sits up with the big boys.

Conclusion

Thanks to the latest dual-core processors, Apple’s laptops have approached near desktop-class performance, meaning more and more of us are using our laptops as desktop substitutes. The mStand allows you to get your laptop off your lap and up to a more ergonomic and usable height, as well as making it easier to use more comfortable full-sized keyboards and mice.

If, like me, you find you often use your laptop on your desktop, the mStand is well worth the $45 price tag.

mStand by Rain Design

Price: $44.91 (regularly $49.90)

Pros: Simple, effective, and very Mac-like design elevates your laptop and makes it more ergonomical for desktop use, provides cooling benefits as well

Cons: Non significant