Logitech N110 Notebook Riser review: Logitech N110 Notebook Riser

Once you make the move to putting a laptop on your desk for full-time use, a new set of issues and concerns pop up, as any laptop used long enough is going to present ergonomic challenges, particularly because of the flat keyboard designs and placement of the display.

6.5

Logitech N110 Notebook Riser

The Good

Adjustable height; rubberized parts; large enough for big laptops; swiveling foot.

The Bad

Thinner laptops sit awkwardly on it; somewhat flimsy.

The Bottom Line

The Logitech Notebook Riser N110 is a flexible ergonomic stand, but check first for a perfect fit if you use a thinner laptop.

If you don't use a docking station with a separate keyboard and monitor, the next best solution is to use a laptop riser--a stand that both elevates the display and puts the keyboard at a more comfortable angle.

Logitech's $29 Notebook Riser N110 doesn't break much new ground in this area, but it offers a decent amount of flexibility and folds down flat for easy storage or transport when not in use. The off-white plastic base has green accents and gently rounded edges, for a clean, if generic, look.

A small latch allows the bottom panel to slide away from the base, forming an angle at one of three different settings, 20, 30, or 40 degrees, and locking into place. The main plate is 14.1 inches by 10.1 inches, but enough for most 15-inch laptops. Set to the highest angle (40 degrees), the rear edge sits 7 inches from the ground, but only 4.1 inches when set to a 20-degree angle.

While designed for laptops with up to 15-inch screens, we found the N110 had some issues with both very large and very small systems. Larger systems revealed that the sides of the riser flexed a bit when applying pressure--but you'd need a heavy laptop with a fairly wide keyboard to notice. More troubling, the two fold-out feet at the front end of the riser (to keep your laptop from sliding off) were clearly not designed with thinner laptops in mind. The rubber-coated feet fold out perpendicular to the base, but stick out a full inch, meaning they'll shoot past the keyboard tray on any laptop that's less than about 1.2-inches thick. This made typing difficult and uncomfortable--you may want to check the height of your laptop (minus the thickness of the lid) first.

However, we liked the single rubber-coated circular foot at the rear of the N110--it rotates freely, letting you easily swing the entire package, laptop and all, from left to right, as if it were on a mini lazy Susan--a feature you won't find in most one-piece plastic laptop stands.