Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N700 Review

Watching a movie on a laptop on the couch typically results in these problems: a sore neck, a hot lap, and iffy sound quality that doesn’t do the movie justice. Lapdesks have been around for ages, and lapdesks featuring integrated cooling fans are nothing new. Logitech puts a new spin on both of these with its N700 by adding USB-powered speakers to the mix -- and they sound pretty darn good.

The Good: Comfy, batteries not required, great-sounding speakers, quiet fan

The Bad: Heavy, no mousing area

The Speaker Lapdesk N700 has a cushy, mesh-covered base with a centered fan, and it rests sturdily on your lap. It’s not a lapdesk for the weak or wimpy -- this thing is solid and it is heavy. It’s definitely not a travel accessory, and I doubt you could slide it under most couches for storage.

The padding is a bit bulky, but it’s worth it in this case. You could keep the computer on your lap for an entire three-hour movie without having to shift it around. Laptop stay firmly in place on the desk, and they’re further protected by flip-up rubber tabs.

Not only are your legs more comfortable, but the lapdesk raises your computer a bit (Logitech says 10 degrees), so your neck doesn’t strain as much to stare down at the screen.

Logitech bills the fan as “virtually silent” and they’re not kidding. You can hear it whirring if you’re sitting in a silent room and you strain your ears, and even then it’s no louder than a laptop’s internal cooling system. If you have music or a movie playing from the N700’s speakers, you can’t hear it at all.

The N700 is powered via USB, so just plug it into a spare USB port and you're ready to go -- nothing to download, no battery life to worry about. It comes with a few controls on the right side: volume up and down, mute, and an on/off switch for the fan.

The speakers feature 2-inch drivers, and I was surprised at just how loud they could go and how clear they sounded. Even turned up at full volume, there was no distortion (although I'm not sure how long they'd stay like that if you kept it blasting whenever you used it). They were certainly louder and clearer than my laptop's speakers; while it's not exactly home-theater-quality, you'll feel much more immersed in your media.

Wish List

I'm not a fan of the touchpad on a laptop. I know they're just like trackballs (as in some people swear by them), but I like to have space to mouse. Logitech's N315 Portable Lapdesk comes with a slide-out mousing area, but no such luck on the N700. If you truly can't get along without a mouse, you could use the Logitech Anywhere MX mouse over the N700's speakers -- I tried it and it will work. Obviously, the smaller your laptop, the more practical this will be.

Logitech prefaces the N700 by noting it should be used with laptops with 16-inch and smaller screens. I did try it with my 17-inch laptop, and the music still sounded great even with the speakers partially obstructed.

Bottom Line

Yes, it's a bit pricey for your average lapdesk, but you're not just paying for comfort with the N700. You're shelling out for those attached speakers, and the sound you receive makes it not a bad deal at all.