Vantec Piano 101 Laptop Cooler Review

The Piano 101 looks snazzy. Its compact design is easily portable and completely genius, while maintaining a sleek and uncluttered look. The station itself is glossy and mostly made of plastic, but seems quite durable. The speakers fold right into the body, creating a nice, smooth rectangle. For some reason, the graphic designs on the speakers and station body are in a font that could easily be mistaken for gangsta lettering…. don’t know where Vantec was going with this, but it looks okay anyway.

The Piano 101 is also very lightweight, weighing in at around 3.08 pounds. Carrying it is no problem, as the box comes with a nifty handle. Also, because the Piano 101 is so compact, there are no weird edges to fit your arms around.

Now I don’t mean to insult any cavemen that may be reading this review, but setting up the station is super simple. All of the connecting inputs are located on the back of the station and are easy to find. Connect the two power cords, plug into a wall and into the station. DONE! If you want to hook up the audio, simply insert the included audio cable into the output on your laptop, and then into the input jack on the station. Any USB stuff? Same idea as the audio cable. Turn the system on and away you go! All you need is the three provided cables to get the station up and running, and even with all three connected, the station still looks clean and un-messy.

The notebook station features a USB Hub with 3 extra ports on the front. Considering my lame-o laptop has only one USB port, the additional three are quite useful.

Additionally, the Piano 101 boasts a nice cooling fan. For those of us who have finished using our laptops only to have some really attractive heat splotches left on our legs, the station is nice. Also, laptops tend to shut off after long hours of usage, leaving many of us with un-saved files really pissed. The fan, although small, does force enough air that it seems to be helpful to my laptop. The fan speed is also adjustable, and a flick of the switch will change the speed.

The fan is located in the center of the station, so most laptops will be able to suck that fresh air in without a problem. The fan is also very quiet; I had to check to make sure it was even on! At its top speed the fan is barely audible, unlike the annoying whirr of the fan I have in my desktop.