SUMMARY: Large, quiet fan - the rest needs work.

The good guys at cRadia were nice enough to send samples of the cRADIA flexLapper Notebook Cooler to try out. This is the only notebook cooler I have seen that features a 220mm (yes - 220mm) fan. The fan is powered from a USB port - no separate power supply. It also runs at one speed - low and quiet.

To open up the cooler, you push towards the rear on the points I circled in red:

This opens up the cooler so that you can use it as a notebook stand. I found the angle too severe; I also found that when using the keyboard, the stand "bounced" - the weight of the laptop and the angle of the cooler combined so that when I typed, it gave a little and then bounced back.

Once open, there is a compartment on the right side which houses the USB plug:

Turning the laptop cooler on its back shows the 220mm fan:

In use the fan was very quiet. I also did not find any cooling difference on my laptop with the fan on or off. I believe the most effective use of a laptop cooler is to fashion a gasket to make a plenum; this more effectively concentrates cooling air into the laptop's fan intake ducts (see Laptop Cooler Mod).

The opening and closing instructions are reproduced below:

I have to say this was the most frustrating part of this cooler - when I closed in incorrectly, it took 10 minutes to figure out how to manipulate the stand so that it would close properly (but that's me). Whatever you do, DO NOTclose this up by pushing from the back - if you do it jumps the track causing all kinds of grief. You close the cooler by reversing what you did to open it. There are instructions on how to correct this as well.

Like the fan - not so keen on the "bouncing laptop" part.

Thanks again to cRadia for sending this our way.

Email Joe