What it is is a 2/3" laptop insulator. Your laptop sits on it, and it sits on your lap, or your desk, or wherever else you use your laptop. It accomplishes two very worthy goals. First, it’s got a set of raised surfaces, so that your laptop doesn’t sit flush on it — there’s about a ј" gap between the laptop and the top of the Xpad. That allows air to circulate below the laptop, bleeding away heat buildup. Second, it’s got layers of insulation in the Xpad itself, which means that very little heat transfers from the laptop to your lap. I know they both work because the top of my laptop (where I rest my wrists while typing) is much cooler now than it used to be — the air cushion is doing its job. And there is basically no heat on my lap, or my desk, even when I’ve been working for hours, so the insulating layers are working, also. (The website claims 30° for your laptop and 60° for your lap. I don’t have the tools to check that, but I’m not doubting it.) The Xpad can be even more useful when you’re working on a bed, or any other soft, cloth surface that can smother your laptop’s heat exhaust.

It has no moving parts, so it’s going to be real hard to break. (No, I didn’t put it through any rigorous stress tests because I don’t want to break it, but it doesn’t bend or flex or appear at all brittle.) It’s just a light plastic frame, open on the bottom, but filled with insulation. It’s very lightweight (1 lb.), so it travels easily in my laptop case. It’s 13" x 10.5", so it isn’t as wide as my 17" PowerBook (but the folks at CES said they had a wider version coming out soon).

About the only part that didn’t live up to its billing are the no-slip pads at each corner. They’re supposed to keep a laptop from slipping even when the XPAD is tilted 45°, but they started slipping sooner than that for me. Of course, with a wider laptop (and with teensy footpads on a Mac), the Xpad couldn’t really get a grip on my footpads at all. However, Brasse, with a smaller Mac, wasn’t getting it to stop sliding at that steep an angle, either. (The bottom of the Xpad doesn’t slip at all.)

That doesn’t really seem like a problem — how often do you need to use a laptop at a 45° angle? But one other factor might be a concern. When you use your laptop on a desk, raising it even 2/3" might throw any careful ergonomics out of kilter. That’s higher than most wristpads are equipped to cushion, and raising your primary surface 2/3" might cause other problems. As it happens, I needed to raise my laptop by just that much, so it’s turning out to be an ideal solution for me.

Bottom line, I like it a lot. I might get several as gifts. It’s $25 via the website, plus shipping. I don’t know how that compares to other cooling options, but its simplicity makes it real attractive — I’ve already got plenty of moving parts, and don’t need another.