The Package

The designer sits front and center of the all white packaging with the familiar yellow racing stripe. At the bottom, there is a rendering denoting the use of up to 15" notebooks and an image of the designer in use on someone's lap.

On the back of the packaging there is a flow chart for the Designer, a shot of the underside, and an image denoting the ergonomic positioning. In four various languages, Antec adds feature lists to the bottom.

There isn't any separate hardware to find when you open the box. Just plug in the USB connector and put it on a table or on your lap for use. Pretty simple!

The Antec Notebook Cooler Designer

The top of the almost "X" shaped Designer is made of plastic and is an almost gun metal silver color. In the middle there is a ventilated area backed by the 110mm blower fan. The rubber feet on your notebook will stick to this surface and keep it in place.

From the side, the Designer starts very slim at the front. It rises as it moves over the fan and to the back, ending in 1.7" of height. This will allow for better hand position on the keys, and also raise the screen just a bit.

The exhaust vent is placed under where the screen will sit. The edges of the black bottom half are rounded to feel a bit better on your legs, while the top stays flat to fully support your notebook.

Underneath the Designer there are four rubber feet that keeps it from slipping off any flat surface. You will also notice various trails for the USB connection and the wire. This will allow the wire to be locked into place while offering a way to get the connection cleanly to any side of the Designer.

This is where I grabbed my Lenovo 15" Ideapad and set it on top of the Designer. With the front of the Designer being very low profile, there isn't much to visually see of it from the front.

Looking at the Lenovo from the side, you can see how the angle of the Designer elevates the screen about 2". This not only offers a better ergonomic position for your hands, but by raising the screen it may make you want to stop slouching in your chair. To power the unit, I just picked the appropriate trail and plugged the connector into a spare USB port.

With my 15" Lenovo it almost makes the Designer look undersized, but the Designer is just big enough. I will get into this a bit more in the conclusion, but the Designer is just big enough to do exactly what it is designed to do.