Grifiti, a consumer electronics and computer accessories company, has launched its Grifiti Deck Series of ultra-thin lap desks and keyboard platforms for Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, iPads, netbooks, notebook computers, keyboards, and writing. While lap desks and keyboard platforms are not new, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes, the Grifiti Decks are a unique blend of materials to provide users with optimal performance in a minimalist design.
“There are a number of performance characteristics we wanted to optimize in our design,” said Tin Hoang, one of Grifiti’s designers, “and the patent pending design we came up with is really the result of that work. We didn’t want to include cumbersome cooling fans but we wanted the ability to shield hot laptops from skin. We also wanted a portable platform that fit in carry-on bags so a thin, rigid lightweight profile was essential instead of thick cushions and flexible plastic trays. At the same time, two sided grips to increase the non-skid functionality on any surface with any device was something we found important and was missing on most lap desks because the designers were only thinking of lap use instead of use on the desktop as well.”
The Grifiti Decks do all this with a simple design: A rigid, lightweight aluminum plate sandwiched in soft, non-skid textured neoprene. While considerably more expensive than plastic platforms, the aluminum plate provides an incredibly thin platform that is lightweight and strong. The wetsuit grade neoprene cover with a shark-skin texture pattern has great traction to keep your notebook or keyboard in place and provides an effective dual insulation layer against hot laptops.
Ergonomics consultant, Mark Smith, has been testing the Grifiti Decks for about a month now. “It’s one of those products you don’t know you need until you use it,” said Smith. “Now I’ve got one at home and one at the office because they’re so addicting and I really can’t imagine working on my MacBook without one of these on my lap.”
While Smith was testing the Decks with laptops, writer Jana Strycker was using the Deck 17 with her Apple keyboard. “It works great as a keyboard platform so I can move it down on to my lap and it’s still comfortable and stable.” The Deck 13 is 12 x 13 x 0.25 inches and weighs 1.3 lbs. The Deck 15 is 12 x 15 x 0.25 and weighs 1.5 lbs. The Deck 17 is 12 x 17 x 0.25 inches and weighs 1.8 lbs. All are covered in shark skin textured black neoprene.
Grifiti designs innovative computer, camera, and consumer electronic peripherals and accessories. Product lines include: Retro Ergo computer accessories, including mood mouse pads, fat keyboard wrist pads, fat notebook wrist pads; Nootle reconfigurable supports for cameras, iPads, mobile phones and portable devices; Dootle book cases and notebook cases for iPads, Kindles, and iPhones.
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