Belkin F5L001 Laptop Cooling Pad
by Belkin Components
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List Price: Our Price: $17.88 You Save: $12.11 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $14.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Belkin F5L001 Laptop Cooling Pad
Customer Review: Don't even bother with it
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this thing about two weeks ago, and even before it broke it wasn't a satisfactory product. Where to start?
My computer is a high powered laptop which is well known to have severe heating issues (enough to be painful on bare skin); it's also somewhat larger than many other laptops. The pad itself didn't cover the entire bottom of the laptop, meaning that sitting on my lap my legs would still touch the corners (one of the most heavily heated area's of the laptop), necessitating that I place something on my lap under it, a towel or a t-shirt, and reducing the effectiveness of the pad itself.
I also noticed that it was never a terribly effective cooler. At best the laptop was always at least moderately warm. It was usually still hot, but provided enough cooling to be moderately beneficial.
The big thing was when I looked at the pad this morning, and noticed the USB power cable to it hanging loose. I went to plug it back in, and found that the power adapter port on the pad had broken and was rolling around inside the thing. Its in the trash now.
Customer Review: Surprisingly effective!
Summary: 4 Stars
After months of upper shoulder pain, eye strain and a hot laptop from a constantly whirring laptop fan, I decided to try the Belkin F5L001 Laptop Cooling Stand in an attempt to add a little more comfort into my work day. I read on my company's ergonomics site that raising my laptop on an angle would help with my eye strain and shoulder pain. When I saw the Belkin Laptop Cooling Stand, I thought it might also get rid of the problem I've had with my fan running constantly.
I've been using the laptop stand for a week now and I've yet to have eye strain (typically a daily occurrence) or shoulder pain! The fan in the stand has kept my laptop nice and cool, too. The laptop fan only comes on when I am really hitting the processor hard, which should be the case. I am really impressed that this $30 piece of plastic has done such an excellent job!!
I only give it 4 stars because it isn't adjustable. It is portable, though, and that is a nice perk since I tend to travel quite a bit.
I will be buying a second one for my personal laptop!
Customer Review: When it works it works, but it doesn't always work
Summary: 3 Stars
That is to say, for me, this cooler succeeds in cooling my laptop when the fan is functioning correctly. I have had it for about 3 months and use it daily.
After the first week or so, it stopped working. But I opened it up (unskrewing a bunch of screws) and saw that some debris had been sucked into the fan. So, I cleaned it up. Then it was back to normal. Lesson learned: place the cooler & laptop on clean, solid surface. Even if I'm on the couch, I place the cooler on something like a thin children's book so it's not sucking up more than air.
Over time, though, the fan stopped working consistently. This time it's not debris stuck in the fan (I tried cleaning it again). Instead, there's some wiring problem. If I hold the power wire in at different angles it will work again. Sometimes if I let go of it, it stops working. It's finicky. You have to get it just right.
I imagine it will go completely kaput at some point, but it does an okay job so far. I'm not enthused about the product, but like I said, when it works it works.
Customer Review: So far so good.....not anymore....
Summary: 5 Stars
Update November 2, 2008
Well, I went to unplug it from my laptop today and it broke. The piece fell into itself, and I cannot fix it. The lucky thing is that I purchased this from a local wholesale club and they will take it back (if I find the receipt). I did NOT abuse this, so, I have to say, pass on this and try something else. It would seem the quality is just not there.
I bought this today and used it right away. I have a Dell Inspiron, and it gets HOT, really HOT. Not only was I constantly worried about spontaneously combusting (okay, maybe I am exagerating a little), but I was also worried what all the extra heat would do to the longevity of my computer (when it heats up, it slows down a lot). This really keeps my laptop very cool. I am very impressed with the strength of the fan. This was an impulse purchase at my local "wholesale" club, and I am very happy I bought it. It works exactly as advertised. It is USB powered, so you can probably count on draining your battery a lot faster, but still, it's a small price to pay.
Customer Review: Utter Junk - Stay Away!
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this laptop cooling pad on 7/20/09. Initially it worked fine, aside from the fan being a little small for my liking. Today (7/24/09) when I took the pad out of my laptop bag to set up for the day, I noticed that the connector on the back of the pad (where you connect the USB cord) had fallen back inside the pad. This pad has not been treated roughly - it hasn't ever been outside the house! Completely shoddy build and a rather epic design flaw! I know I'm not alone with this problem - there are several other reviews that note this same thing happening to them.
I won't be rushing to purchase anything else by Belkin in a hurry. If I could give it no stars, I would. This laptop cooling pad is a piece of utter junk and I urge other Amazon customers to avoid it like the plague!
If you want a decent cooling pad, I'd recommend paying the extra $ and getting a solid one from a manufacturer such as Antec. (My mom has a cooling pad by Antec and has never had a problem with it).