One of our must-have PowerBook accessories is the ***RoadTools|http://www.roadtools.com/*** ***Traveler CoolPad|http://gallery.prwdot.org/grab_bag/P1020716***. This is a hard plastic pad designed to be placed under your laptop. It has a two-plate pivoting design, so that your laptop can easily be swiveled from side to side for enhanced viewing. The pad also raises your laptop to a comfortable viewing/typing angle, and increases airflow around your laptop so that it doesn’t run too hot. It comes in a slim design so that you can easily slide it into your laptop case. The Traveler also has a bigger cousin, the Podium, which is designed for more permanent fixtures like desks or presentation stands.
Recently, the pivot screw on our Traveler had been coming loose. This caused the pad to occasionally slip apart when the laptop was sitting on it. Luckily we never had any serious damage, but it was pretty annoying. Well, I decided to write in to RoadTools about it. I quickly received a response from Jim MacEachern at RoadTools, telling me that he thought I needed a new CoolPad. He said that he’d send one out the next day if I’d just provide a mailing address! Well, my ***new CoolPad|http://gallery.prwdot.org/grab_bag/P1020717*** arrived today, and I couldn’t be happier. The new model has an improved design that pivots more easily and doesn’t seem to come loose. It also has a more ***aggressive tilt|http://gallery.prwdot.org/grab_bag/P1020719*** than the previous model, allowing for better positioning of the laptop and improved airflow.
Anyway, I’m impressed with RoadTools’ customer service. Maybe there’s something about New England companies – RoadTools is located in New Hampshire, and like the Maine-based ***LL Bean|http://www.llbean.com/***, they offer lifetime warranties on all of their products. (LL Bean is known for doing free repairs on boots that are decades old. They’ll also do things like replace zippers free of charge.) I’m certain the reason that RoadTools was willing to send me a new CoolPad on good faith alone is that they wish to build a good reputation, and are counting on the fact that I’ll spread the word about them to help grow their business. And they’re right – I’ll heartily recommend their products to anyone with a laptop.
***Check out RoadTools!|http://www.roadtools.com/***