Page 2 - A Closer Look, Usage
LapLogic's G800 Aerogel Extreme has a pretty interesting looking design. It's not particularly pretty, but it's got quite a few features that I haven't seen before -- and I also noticed that none of it is there for decorative purposes. The reflective material you see? To prevent heat radiation by reflecting it back. The piece of clear plastic? To hold CD's or DVD's (or a USB thumb drive, if you can fit it in there). The surface which the laptop sits on is said to be non-slip -- and I can confirm that. The surface holds the laptop in place pretty well, to be honest.
That brings me to my first issue with LapLogic's G800 Aerogel Extreme. I realize that it's going to be a "stickier" material to make it non-slip -- but I felt that some regions of the surface were too sticky. In fact, after holding the G800, I looked at my fingers -- and there it was, the same sticky material had stuck onto my hand. I dashed into the bathroom to clean it off, and noted it duly.
UPDATE: Turns out the no-slip issue was actually just an isolated incident, as I tested the LapLogic W800 Aerogel Extreme (W = wide version) for the same issue. And in the case that you do happen to receive such a G800 Aerogel Extreme, they would "consider that a defective product and exchange it for free". My kudos to LapLogic.
On the bottom side of the LapLogic G800 Aerogel Extreme are two pockets made of canvas -- it's hard to notice just from the pictures, but it's distinguishable when you see it up close. The pockets are actually sealed together using Velcro -- much stronger than the Velcro that my sneakers were held together with when I was a child.
The G800 makes for a great travel companion thanks to its laptop-similar size and its relatively light weight. It can't be folded up, but that's why it serves as a lap desk -- its rigid body makes it perfect for resting a laptop on top of while sitting in a comfortable position (I could even cross my legs while using it -- try doing that with the Thermaltake iXoft).
I opened it to find a piece of reflective foil, as well as -- the famed Aerogel which the LapLogic G800 is named after. Aerogel -- the same material that they use in space? The very same.
In simple terms, Aerogel is similar to jelly (hence the name). Jello, originally a liquid, behaves like a low-density solid state due to the introduction of a gelling agent. Aerogel works like that, behaving like a low-density solid -- feels and looks kind of like Styrofoam or insulation in a house, but originally not a liquid, instead a gas. Aerogels are created through the process of supercritical drying, which extracts the liquid factor of a gel -- or in our case, the gas factor. Thus, Aerogel is actually the lightest and lowest-density solid in existence known to mankind. That's serious.
How's this apply to the LapLogic G800 Aerogel Extreme? Apparently, Aerogel happens to be a remarkable insulator due to its possible negation of the three methods of heat transfer. Air is incapable of circulating throughout the structure -- thus, it neutralizes convection. The next two methods of eliminating heat transfer fully rely on the material the Aerogel is made of -- Silica, being a poor conductor of heat, will not transfer the heat and thus keeps the heat away from your body. If the Aerogel is made of Carbon, it will be capable of absorbing the infrared radiation that could end up transferring heat -- although it will not absorb the heat itself..
However, LapLogic doesn't totally rely on Aerogel to beat the heat -- oh, far from it. As I have already stated, there is a piece of reflective foil that serves as the second line of defense. The first line would be the surface on which the laptop would sit on; beneath the meshed sticky stuff, there is a layer of reflective material, which will reflect heat. That's all layered above the atmosphere of Aerogel.
Because the LapLogic G800 Aerogel Extreme insulates the heat completely using either reflective material or chemicals such as Aerogel, it doesn't require electricity -- and thus saves your laptop on battery life.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look
3. Usage, Testing, Conclusion
