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e

Object Culture

Laptop in-car mount is fugly, but flying off the shelves

By Rain Noe - March 6, 2009

I often see drivers parked on a nearby street at night, plundering the local free wi-fi via a laptop perched awkwardly on the passenger seat.

It's for people like these that the awkwardly-named "Portable Car Auto Seat Mount Tray Laptop Table Cup Holder" was designed. What is essentially an airplane tray table for your car attaches to the seatback or the steering wheel (with the helpful tip "Do not mount on steering whell [sic] while driving"). Yes it's ugly as sin, but the $13.99 device seems to be selling well--it's nearly out of stock.

thanks simone!

Rain Noe

Rain Noe is a writer and industrial designer based in New York City.

3 Comments

Ken J

10 years ago

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"...get out of the car if you can't find a chair or a bench, sit on the hood or something. "

Sounds like someone lives in San Diego. Try sitting on your hood in 20 F temps and eating food that is starting to reach equilibrium temperature. Or play around on a laptop with pixels frozen by the low temps.

"Yes it's ugly as sin, but the $13.99 device seems to be selling well"

Gasp!! Function!! The current design world is DOOMED!!

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thecolor

10 years ago

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Even being a reasonably thin person, I have to move my seat all the way back and tilt it to nearly 120 degrees (at the hinge) to comfortably type on my iBook G4 and it's small. Is the "assumed" user in the product shot, sitting in the back seat? ;)

Imagine, reaching around your seat to type... worse yet, going all "ghetto" and removing the back to the seat. Ugh. I'd rather just install my MacMini (it fits in the DIN after all) and use a small touch screen (and or wireless mouse and keyboard).
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James

10 years ago

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A sign of the times I guess. I don't understand why people want to spend some much time cooped up in their cars? Even if you are just surfing the web, get out of the car if you can't find a chair or a bench, sit on the hood or something.

This contraption- attached to a steering wheel with a laptop and cell phone on top- is probably the most pitiful sight I have ever seen. I don't even see how the average overweight person is going to fit between that tray and the seat. Sad, sad, sad.

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