Logitech is Making Notebook Coolers Too

With sales of notebook computers surpassing desktops, the peripherals market is taking note (hah) and shifting towards making buddies for your lappy.

By nature, notebooks are self-contained machines that should be mostly self-sufficient without the need for peripherals. You’ve got your built in keyboard and mouse, which usually does away with the need for external parts -- unless docked for a more desktop-like experience.

So without the need to purchase a keyboard (most laptop users still prefer to use an external mouse when possible), Logitech needs to find ways to sell other things to laptop users.

Enter the fancy notebook cooler. While cooling pads have been available for years from smaller companies, Logitech today announced its own offering in the Cooling Pad N100.

“We’ve identified two ways in which people use their laptops around the home – in structured spaces such as the home office, and unstructured spaces like the living room,” said Denis Pavillard, Logitech’s vice president of product marketing for keyboards and desktops.

Logitech said that its own research finds many people who feel that what they gain in the convenience of a laptop, they lose in comfort. According to the company’s survey, “more than 60 percent of people reported using their laptops on the couch. However, more than 50 percent of them are concerned about laptop heat and 43 percent believe that excessive laptop heat can slow, or damage, their computer. Among people who prefer a more structured computing environment, more than 64 percent use their laptop on a desk, but 41 percent report concerns about how this affects their posture.”

Like most laptop coolers, the Cooling Pad N100 is powered by a USB plug. The power draw shouldn’t be too much of an issue since the cooler will mostly be used in an indoor setting where outlets are available.

Logitech says that what sets its product apart from other coolers is that it features a rear intake that’s less likely to be blocked, and that it can be used on a lap -- something that can’t be said for the more basic slabs of plastic.

For those who don’t need the active cooling but want ergonomics, Logitech also announced the Notebook Riser N110, a laptop stand with an adjustable tilt – with 20-, 30- and 40-degree angles – and a rubber-soled swivel base.

The Logitech Cooling Pad N100 is expected to be available in the U.S. in March and Europe in April for a suggested retail price of $29.99. The Logitech Notebook Riser N110 is expected to be available in the U.S. in May for a suggested retail price of $29.99.

Just last week Microsoft announced its own notebook cooling device. It seems keeping laptops chill is the in thing now.