Hands on With the Upgraded Logitech Alto Cordless

Then: I raved about the Logitech Alto laptop stand with integrated keyboard and USB hub.

Now: I'm raving even more about the Logitech Alto Cordless, which fixes some issues with the original Alto and improves on some points that I didn't even know could use an upgrade.

The "Cordless" in the name refers to the keyboard portion of the Alto. The concept is the same, a collapsible system for raising your laptop screen to a more ergonomic height and offering a full size keyboard as well. But now the keyboard can be detached from the stand and used wirelessly, courtesy of two AAA batteries. While at first you wouldn't think this gives you much of an advantage, the ability to shift the keyboard around (even just a few inches now and again) lets you make your workspace much more ergonomic than with the old Alto. (And, naturally, if you have a keyboard you like even more than the Alto's, you can simply plug it in via USB.)

Other changes are more subtle. A common complaint from users was that the "lip" that held your laptop upright was too small. If your laptop has a rounded edge on the front, it would frequently pop off the Alto. (I experienced this many times.) Now the lip is thick and stout: In fact, it's a little too big. If your laptop has front-mounted media controls (again, as I do), now they're no longer accessible without a little jiggling.

The Alto still collapses super quickly and works without an AC adapter. USB ports are readily available and, thankfully, I no longer have the issue of the Alto occasionally crashing my laptop when I first plug it in. Thanks for that little fix!

The old Alto: Good. The new Alto: Even better. If you use your laptop at a desk as your primary PC for long stretches at a time, give it a whirl. You won't be disappointed. (The Alto Cordless launches today.)