MacMice Workspace Products Co. has released the iPerch Plus, a fan-cooled acrylic PowerBook desk stand.
The US$69.99 stand is 5.5 inches tall, clear, and supports Apple portables at a 15-degree angle. It supports 12, 15, and 17-inch PowerBooks and 12 and 14-inch “ice” iBooks. The iPerch Plus built to offer improved screen viewability when the laptop is being used on a desktop. The iPerch Plus includes a cooling system that’s based around a 80mm acrylic ball-bearing fan, as well as air ducting between the device and the PowerBook.
The iPerch Plus reduces laptop surface temperature between 15 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit, according to MacMice President Jack Campbell. It generates 20dB of sound at a distance of two feet, he added. The iPerch Plus uses a lower DC voltage than its designed operating voltage. By using a lower voltage, the fan runs slower, and makes less noise, Campbell said.
“At face value, this seems simple enough,” he explains on the MacMice site. “However, there’s a challenge in this method. We had to make certain that the fan we used would always develop enough torque to start and run properly at the lowered voltage, and we had to make sure it would continue to operate properly for many years into the future.”
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