Laptops are great, but they don’t come with a laptop table. How many times have you seen someone balancing their laptop on their knees while sending messages or writing? Do you often sit at the dining room table working on your laptop? Or worse yet, do you hold your laptop in your lap while sitting on the couch. This balancing act can be harmful to your body as well as to the laptop.

The laptop often gets hot and can cause a slight burn or redness if it sits on your lap for a long time. You could end up with backaches or other pains from sitting in that position for too long. Sitting with a laptop in your lap can actually be a pain in your neck. And without a table, the laptop can be easily dropped or knocked off your lap.

You can find as many different versions of a table or stand as you can laptops. Here are a few examples you can find online or in your local store:

• The largest table resembles a desk stand. You can set this up while you are sitting on the couch working and watching television with your family. Make sure the table is at a good level so that you are not straining or uncomfortable. You may want to consider a wrist pad so that you are more comfortable.
• One of the most popular laptop tables resembles a TV dinner tray. Many of these are trays on top and pillows on bottom. These are very comfortable and relatively inexpensive. They are also portable and can be used anywhere, even while at the park!
• Cooling stands keep your laptop from getting over heated. However, you may not want to use the cooling stand as your only table. One of the tables mentioned above can hold the stand and the laptop effectively.
• Believe it or not, some people actually stand and work on a laptop. Manufacturers have created a wall mount. These are convenient if you need to prop up against something to write a quick email or if you just don’t like sitting and working on your laptop all the time.
• If you need storage, some laptop tables come with drawers. You can add the information from that big project in the drawers so that you won’t lose it. These are great if you want to keep the documents you are working on close to you.

After purchasing a laptop, buying a table seems an additional expense you don’t want. If you purchase from a local retailer, often a table or stand is included in the package (hopefully with a mouse pad, printer and other accessories). If you need to find a laptop table, most retailers carry the simple tray-like tables. You can find larger tables at furniture stores and office supply stores such as www.staples.com.  The prices range from around $20 for some of the tray-like tables to several hundred dollars for larger laptop tables. And remember, just because they are called laptops that doesn’t mean the lap is the most comfortable place for them. You can also find these tables on most online stores such as www.amazon.com or www.overstock.com. Just remember if you order online that you will have to pay shipping fees, which can be steep.